Switching programs
You can switch programs whenever you like: halfway through a week, in a deload week, even with a workout open. Tap the program, confirm, and you are on it. This page covers what comes with you, what starts fresh, and what happens to a workout you have open.
Rather read it? The walkthrough, step by step
- Switch programs any time: mid-week, mid-workout, even in a deload week.
- Tap Plan, then Change program.
- Pick a program. Tap Start this program.
- Tap OK. A workout you have open closes for you.
- Every weight you have earned comes with you.
- Week 1 starts today. Workouts you finished this week still count.
- Past weeks keep their goal, and an earned deload week stays safe.
- Everything about switching: liftspan.fit/help
How to switch
- Tap the 🗺️ Plan tab.
- On the Your program card, tap Change program.
- Tap Start this program on a library program, or Use this on the Liftspan plan or one of your saved programs. Tap See the moves first if you want to see every day before you commit.
- Read the popup and tap OK. That is it: Today shows Day 1 of the new program.
Starting a Pro program needs Pro, which comes with a 7-day free trial. Switching to the Liftspan plan, the three free starters (Full Body, Busy Week and Upper / Lower) or a program you have already saved is always free. The full list is on Programs: the library, switching and your own.
What comes with you
- Every weight you have worked up to. Liftspan remembers the weight and reps you reached on each exercise, including sets from this week, and picks them up whenever that exercise shows up in the new program. Only moves you have never done start from an estimate.
- Your streak. Weeks you have already finished keep the goal they had. Three weeks of 3 out of 3 on a 3-day plan stay three hit weeks after you switch to a 4-day program.
- Workouts you finished this week. They still count toward this week. Done two this week and switched to a 3-day program? The week reads 2 of 3, so one more closes it.
- Everything you have logged. Your history, PRs, XP, badges and daily flame do not change.
What starts fresh
- A new block at Week 1. Library programs run 8-week blocks: seven weeks that build, then a lighter deload week. The Liftspan plan and your own programs run 6-week blocks. If you have flagged a joint, both are two weeks shorter, so the lighter week comes around sooner.
- The days of the new program. Today starts at Day 1. Workouts from earlier this week belonged to your old program's days, so they count toward the week but do not tick off the new program's Day 1, Day 2 and so on.
- Days per week. The new program sets its own number of days, and from this week on your weekly goal follows it.
If you have a workout open
You do not have to finish it first. The popup tells you the workout you have open will close, and the switch closes it. Sets you logged in it are kept on record, but a workout closed by a switch does not count as a session for the week.
Switching in a deload week
Switching makes this week Week 1 of the new program. If you earned the deload by hitting every working week of the block, this week stays streak-safe after you switch: train with the new program or rest, the week counts either way. If the block was not fully earned, this week counts like any Week 1, against the new program's days.
Switching back
- The Liftspan plan comes back built from your setup answers, with every weight you reached.
- A program you saved comes back as you left it, with any move your current room cannot do swapped for one it can.
- A library program is fitted again to the room you train in and the joints you have flagged.
Each time you switch, a fresh block starts at Week 1.
Other ways a switch happens
- On a library or saved program, changing the muscles you want to build on the You tab offers to switch you to a Liftspan plan built around them.
- Saving a new program in the builder PRO, or importing one from a photo, switches you to it once you save it.
Both work the same way as switching from the Programs screen, open workout included. The one thing that still waits is editing the program you are on while a workout from it is open: finish that workout first, because the edit would change the session under you.
Related: the program library, how your weights go up, how the streak works and deload weeks, explained.
Common questions
Will I lose my weights if I switch programs?
No. Liftspan remembers the weight you reached on every exercise, including this week, and uses it whenever that exercise appears in any program. Only exercises you have never done start from an estimate.
Will switching break my streak?
No. Past weeks keep the goal they had, workouts you finished this week still count, and an earned deload week stays safe through a switch. From this week on, the goal is the new program's days per week.
Do I have to finish my workout before I switch?
No. The switch closes the open workout. If you have done at least half of it and want it to count, finish it first, then switch.
Why is Day 1 not ticked off after I switched?
Workouts from before the switch belonged to your old program's days. They count toward this week's total, but the new program starts at Day 1 so you get every one of its days.
How often can I switch?
As often as you like. Each switch starts a new block at Week 1, so switching every week means you never reach the later, harder weeks or the deload. Most programs need a full block to show what they can do.