GOALS FIRST
How to get fitter without a training plan
You don’t need a training plan to get fitter: you need goals you keep for years and a clear next session. Complete starts from your long-term goals, counts every workout that reaches Apple Health, and recommends what to do each day from your recovery and recent training. Over time it gets to know your body, your schedule and the sports you play, so each recommendation fits your life, not a template. The daily recommendation works without a plan; a race can add one.
Why goals, not a plan
A training plan runs for a set number of weeks and then ends. A body is built over years, and most of the time there is no race to peak for: you want to feel good, stay strong and keep playing your sport.
So Complete asks for your goals when you join: build muscle, lose fat, improve cardio, get stronger, general health, or become an athlete. They stay, and they steer what Complete recommends every day. The aim is more good years.
Four ways to work toward your goals
Train your own way, and it counts. Every workout that reaches Apple Health, from any watch that writes to it, earns points toward your score. You can also import FIT files, track a run with your phone or log a gym session set by set.
Follow the recommendation for each day. Complete reads your goals, your recovery and your recent training and tells you what to do today, with or without a plan.
Take on Roads with your friends. Roads are Complete’s ladders of targets, from your 5K time to your deadlift, and you see where your friends are on them.
Add a plan when you have a race. Complete writes running plans from 5K to ultra, Hyrox plans and general fitness plans, and builds the week around the sports you already play.
What the daily recommendation looks at
Each day Complete reads your goals, your preferences (including the days you always train), your habits, your history and your recent load (how hard your recent sessions were on your body), and it tells you what to do next. It reads every workout, whatever the sport.
It also reads your recovery. Your recovery is scored against your own baseline from HRV, resting heart rate, sleep and breathing rate, and it takes about a week to calibrate. HRV is the small variation in time between your heartbeats. On a red day, today turns into rest or an easy session, and your week stays as it is.
Over time it gets to know your body, your schedule and the sports you play. The Training Load screen shows your load: your last 7 days against a 42-day base, in one of five states from Decreasing to Excessive.
Train on any day, and ask the Coach
You don’t have to wait for the recommendation. Train offers a session on any day, with or without a plan. The Coach sees your recovery and can suggest an easier day when it is low. You decide.
Whatever you combine
Every sport earns points toward your score, which is how you rank against your friends, and every workout feeds the recommendation for the next day. Training load is different: it measures how hard a session was on your body, so a round of golf or a yoga class adds very little and a walk adds none.
| Sport | How it comes in | What it counts toward |
|---|---|---|
| Running | Apple Health from any watch, a FIT file, or tracked with your phone | Score, training load and the daily recommendation; running Roads from 400 m to the marathon; a running plan when you have a race |
| Gym and strength | Apple Health, or logged in the app set by set | Score, training load and the daily recommendation; Roads for your lifts, which you record yourself; a general fitness plan |
| HIIT, hybrid and other classes | Apple Health, or logged in the app exercise by exercise, with the distance of each run and the weight and reps of each lift | Score, training load and the daily recommendation |
| Hyrox | Apple Health for training; your own official result, from your results.hyrox.com link, a screenshot or your times | Score, training load and the daily recommendation; your official results on 13 Hyrox Roads, from single stations to your race time; a Hyrox plan |
| Cycling | Apple Health or a FIT file | Score, training load (rides of 20 minutes or more) and the daily recommendation; cycling training comes in 2027 |
| Swimming | Apple Health or a FIT file | Score, training load and the daily recommendation; triathlon training comes in 2027 |
| Padel | Apple Health | Score, training load and the daily recommendation; a padel Road for the level you enter |
| Tennis, football, hockey, basketball | Apple Health | Score, training load and the daily recommendation |
| Golf | Apple Health | Score and the daily recommendation, with very little training load; a golf Road for the handicap you enter |
| Yoga and pilates | Apple Health | Score and the daily recommendation, with very little training load |
| Walking | Apple Health | Score and the daily recommendation; walks add no training load |
When a plan helps
A plan helps when you have a date to work toward, such as a race. Add a race any time in the app and Complete builds your training toward it: a running plan from 5K to ultra, a Hyrox plan or a general fitness plan. Without a race, your goals and the recommendation for each day are enough.
Missing your sport?
If your sport doesn’t come in or doesn’t count the way it should, email support@ccomplete.app. What you tell us goes straight into what we build next.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t want a training plan, I want to get fitter overall. Where do I start?
Pick your goals when you join: build muscle, lose fat, improve cardio, get stronger, general health or become an athlete. Then train your own way, because every workout that reaches Apple Health counts, and follow the recommendation for each day. You can add a race, and a plan with it, any time.
I want to run a 5K but keep doing yoga. Does Complete handle both?
Yes. Complete writes a running plan for your 5K and builds the week around your yoga, which you add as a recurring activity. Every yoga class still earns points toward your score.
I play club football and want to run a half marathon. Can one app handle both?
Yes. Complete writes a half marathon plan and builds each week around your football, which you add as a recurring activity. Your matches count toward your score, your training load and the recommendation for each day.
I play hockey. Which app tracks my fitness and what I do off the ice?
Complete counts every hockey session that reaches Apple Health toward your score, your training load and the recommendation for each day. Off the ice, log your gym work or runs, and Complete tells you what to do next from your goals and recovery. There is no hockey-specific training yet; tell us you want it at support@ccomplete.app.
I only go to the gym. Is Complete for me?
Yes. Log your sessions set by set in the app or bring them in from Apple Health, and they count toward your score and training load. Complete tells you what to do each day from your goals and recovery, and you can record your lifts on Roads next to your friends.
I just want to play sports and stay fit. Do I need a plan?
No. Play what you like: every session that reaches Apple Health earns points toward your score and feeds the recommendation for the next day. Complete starts from your goals, and you can add a plan later if you sign up for a race.
I run, lift and play padel. Does Complete count all of it?
Yes. Runs, gym sessions and padel matches all earn points toward your score and add to your training load, and Complete recommends what to do each day from all of it. Padel also has a Road for the level you enter, next to your friends.
What does the daily recommendation look at?
Your goals, your preferences (including the days you always train), your habits, your history, your recent load and your recovery. Over time it gets to know your body, your schedule and the sports you play.
When is a training plan worth it?
When you have a race, because a plan works toward a date. Add the race any time in the app and Complete builds your training toward it. Without a race, your goals and the recommendation for each day are enough.
Can I train without a plan and still use the Coach?
Yes. Train offers a session on any day, with or without a plan, and the Coach sees your recovery and can suggest an easier day. You decide.
Do I need a watch?
No. Runs tracked with your phone, FIT imports and sessions you log all count. The recovery score needs a wearable; without one, the morning check-in on how you feel still shapes the day.
Is Complete free, and is it on Android?
Complete is free to download, and logging and sharing your workouts on it stay free. It is an iPhone app, so it is not on Android.