Backoff Set

Overview

After returning to strength training following a long break, I found myself relying on an Excel spreadsheet to plan my workouts and track my progress. It worked well enough at home, but not particularly well in the gym. I ended up taking screenshots of the spreadsheet for my phone and using a separate timer on my Apple Watch to manage rest periods.

Initially, I tried improving the spreadsheet. As I added more functionality, however, it became increasingly clear that I was trying to turn Excel into something it wasn't. The problem wasn't really the spreadsheet anymore. I needed a workout companion designed around what happens during an actual training session.

Backoff Set grew out of that problem. I used publicly available information about established strength training methods as the basis for the application's training logic, starting with my own adaptation of Madcow 5×5 strength training program. I then designed the experience around it as a Progressive Web App and a native app for iOS.

The project has since developed into an ongoing exercise in product design and development: designing the experience, building it with the help of AI, using it in my own training, finding problems and improving the product based on what happens in actual use.

Challenge

The original goal was simple: remove unnecessary friction from my workouts. I wanted one place where I could follow my training program, record sets and repetitions, automatically keep track of progression and manage rest periods without moving between a spreadsheet, screenshots and separate devices.

The difficult part was keeping that experience simple while supporting the structure and progression behind a strength training program. During a workout, Backoff Set needs to require as little attention as possible. The user should always understand what to do next without having to think about how the application works.

Outside the workout, the requirements are different. The same training data needs to provide a useful record of progress and eventually help the user understand their training over longer periods of time.

This became the central design challenge for Backoff Set: make the product deliberately simple while training, without making the underlying product itself simplistic.

Solution

Backoff Set is an offline-first strength training companion built around structured training programs rather than individual, disconnected workouts.

The application manages the training program in the background. It knows which workout comes next, calculates progression, presents the prescribed exercises and sets, records completed training and manages rest periods. The goal is that once a workout starts, the athlete can concentrate on training rather than operating the application.

The MVP currently supports six established strength training methodologies. Together they cover training from novice through intermediate to advanced levels. For those that do not want to use ready-made programs, I've provided a program builder that can give the users exactly the program that they wish.

Each methodology has been adapted into Backoff Set's program model while retaining its underlying progression and workout structure. This means the application isn't simply a workout logger with different templates. The program itself determines what the athlete should do next.

The product works offline and stores training data in the cloud only as a backup, which is particularly important for something intended to be dependable in the gym. Connectivity shouldn't determine whether you can access your workout or record your training.

Results

• Built and deployed a working MVP rather than a conceptual prototype.
• Implemented six structured strength training methodologies covering novice, intermediate and advanced training.
• Created automatic workout progression, workout recording and integrated rest management.
• Developed Backoff Set as an offline-first Progressive Web App that can be used reliably during training. The cloud is only used for backups and restore.
• Use the product during my own training sessions, turning real workouts into continuous usability testing.
• Established an iterative design and development workflow where product decisions can move directly into a functioning application with AI-assisted development.
• Tested the product informally with other lifters, with early feedback indicating that both the workout experience and underlying training structure feel credible and useful.
• Continue to design and develop the product, with the longer-term possibility of making Backoff Set publicly available to other lifters.

Team

• Kimmo Alaraudanjoki — Lead Product Designer