Building workouts in Coach Catalyst is easy — this article is about being fast, and making the builder fit how you run your business.
Here is what you can find in this article:
The Breakdown: Program → Workouts → Blocks → Exercises
A program holds workouts; a workout is split into blocks (Warm Up, Strength, MetCon, Cooldown - any sections that fit your style); a block holds exercises, each with sets, reps, and details. If you deliver something like a 12-week program, build it under Programs and assign it; for one-off days, build directly on the client's journey. Full tour: Workout Overview.
Program like a spreadsheet
The builder's table is built for typing: click a cell, type, Tab to the next. Sets, reps, and a free-form Details column for RPE, rest, load, and tempo (@RPE 7 · rest 90s · 80% 1RM). A full training day should take minutes.
Click and type - Tab moves you through the row.
Supersets, Tri-Sets & Giant Sets
Hover between two exercises and click Link. Letters update automatically - A and B become A1 and A2, link a third for A3. Unlink by hovering the letter badge and clicking the ×.
One click to group; the lettering takes care of itself.
Full guide, including circuits, AMRAPs, and 21-15-9: Building Workout Structures.
Adding your own exercises (or editing ours)
Type a name into + Add exercise… and if it doesn't exist, create it on the spot. To edit an exercise everywhere it's used (name, demo video, description, alternatives), open it and choose Edit exercise - edits to the library apply to all future workouts. See Create a New Exercise.
Edit exercise: description, video, and client-swappable alternatives.
Templates: build once, reuse forever
Save whole workouts and individual blocks as templates, drop them onto client journeys, and customize per client without touching the original. Pair a template with a repeat schedule (e.g. Weekly · MWF · 4×) and a month of programming takes one save. See Workout & Block Templates.
Using workouts for in-person sessions
1:1 or semi-private (web): keep the workout open in tabs on your computer and edit live while the client runs it from their phone or a gym tablet — your changes show up on their device.
Large groups: each client logs on their own phone in the app during the session; you review everything afterward from the completed view.
Tablet: one shared device works well for 1:1 — log weights and notes together as you go.
The client view
You never have to guess what the client sees: the Mobile Preview panel on the right side of the builder is a live copy of their app view, updating as you type. Click any exercise and the same panel shows that client's History and Comments for it.
The live Mobile Preview.
For the client's side of the experience, see How to Log a Workout (as a client).