Progression
When a client completes every set with three or more reps in reserve for two sessions, add 2.5 kg to that lift, unless they reported poor sleep that week, because load should follow evidence of recovery.
GUIDE
How to write coaching rules your AI can follow
A good coaching rule names the situation, the action, the exceptions and the reason, in plain language. Write it as “When…, do…, unless…, because…”, cite where it comes from, and test it on scenarios you did not use to write it.
The format
When
The situation, as a subscriber would describe it or as their logs show it.
Do
The specific action, with numbers where you use them.
Unless
The exceptions that change your answer.
Because
Your reason, so the Brain can tell similar situations apart.
Examples
Missed session
When a subscriber misses a session, move it to the next free day, unless that puts two hard sessions in a row, because recovery between hard sessions matters more than the calendar.
Deload
When logged effort rises for three sessions at the same load, reduce volume by a third for one week, unless a competition is within two weeks, because fatigue hides progress.
Calorie target
When weekly check-ins show no change for three weeks, flag the calorie target for review instead of cutting further, unless the subscriber says they did not follow the plan, because adherence comes before adjustment.
What makes a rule work
- It names a situation the Brain can recognise from what subscribers say or log.
- It uses your numbers: loads, sets and days, not “a bit more”.
- It says what stops it: the exceptions are where your judgment lives.
- It gives the reason, so similar but different cases can be told apart.
- It cites where it comes from: your interview, a document or a case.
Common mistakes
- Rules that only restate a principle, such as “progress gradually”, without saying what to do.
- Two rules that give different answers to the same situation: resolve the conflict and keep one.
- Rules that try to handle pain or medical issues: those always come to you, enforced in code, so write rules for training decisions.
- Rules with no exceptions: almost every coaching decision has an “unless”.
Where rules come from
You can write rules directly, confirm rules drafted from your coaching interview, or import your own documents and review the extracted text privately before anything is used. When two sources disagree, you decide which wins. Every rule keeps its source, so you can see why the Brain did what it did.
Your first ten rules
- Progression on your main lifts or sessions.
- Missed and moved sessions.
- Deloads and easy weeks.
- Exercise swaps you allow.
- Limits for the equipment a subscriber has.
- Where rest days go.
- How beginners and experienced subscribers start.
- Travel weeks.
- How to respond to weekly check-ins.
- What should always come to you.
Test with held-out scenarios
Write situations you did not use while writing the rules, with the answer you expect, including cases that should come to you. trainsyou requires at least 20 before a Brain can be published.
A good set covers your most common decisions, the edges where an exception applies, and situations outside what you taught, where the right answer is to hand the decision to you.
Corrections become teaching
Once live, the Brain hands you anything below your confidence threshold. When you approve or correct it, the correction is recorded with its reason and becomes teaching; the next release is evaluated against your scenarios before it goes live, and you can roll back to an earlier release at any time.
Frequently asked questions
How many rules do I need?
Start with the decisions you make most often. Anything not covered is handed to you, and your answers become new teaching.
What does the Brain do with a situation I never taught?
It hands it to you with a draft instead of acting. Your answer becomes teaching for the next release.
Do rules replace my programmes?
No. You can still write programme templates yourself; rules decide how each subscriber’s plan adapts.
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