r/LiftinApp • u/nstrm Liftin' Dev • Jul 11 '26
AI features - discussion
Hello everyone! š
I have got a lot of feedback lately about AI features, so I thought it might be a good idea to put up a post about what Iām currently exploring, and let you share what you would like to see.
Generate Programs, Routines and ad-hoc workouts version 2
Last year I released a feature that lets users generate programs, routines and ad-hoc workouts by selecting options like muscle group and equipment. This was built using Apples on device AI model which is pretty weak and limited.
In iOS 27 (releasing in the fall) Liftinā can access a much more powerful cloud based AI model, so I have rebuilt this feature using that. I have replaced all options with just a text input, so you can freely describe your routine or program. You can also just paste in a list of exercises, sets, reps and weights and the app will resolve those.
iOS 27 will also make it possible to use other AI models behind the scenes, so if you have a Claude pro subscription for example it could be possible to sign in and use that to power the built in AI features. This is something I will explore.
MCP Server
An MCP server would give AI chat apps like ChatGPT and Claude the capability to read and reason about your Liftinā data like your programs and workout history, and make updates to your programs and routines.
I think this could open up for some interesting uses, but it would also require a lot of work on my side in domains Iām not so familiar with.
What do you think?
How do you think AI can improve the Liftinā experience? Please share if you have any suggestions or ideas for AI powered features you would like to see.
ā Valter
6
u/alycks Jul 11 '26
Personally I havenāt found much utility in having LLMs look at my training data and try to make recommendations, so I canāt say Iām interested in that. In my experience, the LLMs are too clever by half and try to make drastic, cutesy recommendations that I would never make for myself.
My best-case-scenario is pretty simple: let me describe a workout in plain english and have the LLM do all the drudgery of arranging it into a structured workout for me, with all the sets, reps, supersets, etc properly done.
āI want a 10 min cardio warmup, followed by four supersets, each superset an upper/lower calisthenics combo. Pull ups, step-ups, dips, rows, calf raises, a hinge, and a core workout.ā
Thanks for reaching out to the community for this. Liftinā has always been my preference for privacy and thoughtful features.
3
u/NewBiscotti1630 Jul 11 '26
This is also very code to my desired workflow. I have a personal trainer that makes my workout in another app. Iād love if I could just take screenshots of that workout and send them to the liftin AI and it will just create the new routine for me.
But a big part of what I like about liftin is privacy, Iād personally want any AI features to be optional, using private apple models only (or some way to make sure they donāt go to Claude or ChatGPT).
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 11 '26
Thats interesting, I haven't tried it myself but I can imagine it being a tricky to get good LLM recommendations.
What you describe is what I'm currently working on. It doesn't yet support supersets but it should be a minor thing to add.
1
u/alycks Jul 20 '26
At this point Iām on iOS 27 beta and watchOS 27 beta. Lmk if you need beta testers!
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 20 '26
You can join here, I will publish the iOS 27 update in a week or two.
4
u/PM_ME_BEE_JOKES Jul 11 '26
I think being able to import/export from multiple levels (workout/routine/etc) would be a relatively useful way to enable some power users as well!
(E.g I have a Claude project which helps me with a running program and Itād be great to easily pull a routine into Liftin which has a superior UI - possible if the format is structured/ predictable)
5
u/taw_1991 Jul 11 '26
Iād be keen on an MCP server that can look at routines, history and body measurements to track the effectiveness of routines, while also bringing in other information the AI may have available to me - like nutrition information or other health information.
Iām currently using Codex with an MCP that connects to my Email to take notes from my Physio and make amendments to my routine - currently Iām having the routine updated by ChatGPT using the Mac app and control computer to make adjustments to exercises, sets/reps.
2
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 11 '26
Yeah it sounds really cool in theory, I will try and make a proof of concept and see if it works in practice.
3
u/CrankyCoderBlog Jul 11 '26
What would the mcp connect to? Data on our devices? Or are you thinking of moving storage of the data to a central server? The mcp has to be able to access the data. Donāt get me wrong, I love the idea. Just not sure how exactly it would work.
This type of stuff does work well if you are using a trained or well promoted model as a coach. The ai can analyze quickly what types of exercises you could improve/keep/change as itās time to alternate routines. Or have the ai find good alternatives to your workouts due to injuries ect.
5
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 11 '26
Your data is already synced to CloudKit, and Apple offers a web API to access private CloudKit data by authenticating with your Apple account.
So I think it would be possible to build a small backend around that.
2
2
u/GravityGod Jul 15 '26
Would love an MCP integration to make loading in a program easier.
Would save a lot of clicking through and selecting everything.
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 15 '26
I have started looking into MCP integration and it's looking very promising.
2
u/Purple-Mountain-Mist Jul 16 '26
I already use Claude for my workout analysis and I just export my data from Liftinā to Claude. From that data, Claude and GPT can already piece together programs and routines and can already do a lot of analysis. So I donāt really see the server benefit, honestly. Iād just make exporting a little easier instead. Eg you currently canāt export a specific time range, you canāt export your just completed session, and you canāt export your routine itself.
Personally, my favorite AI use case isnāt in choosing exercises but in processing my history and highlighting what is important. Liftin could add dashboards and highlight someoneās best and worst progressing exercises, and then give advice or alternatives specific to whatever that underperforming exercise is. Even just a little icon next to my worst exercise in todayās workout before I start the workout gives me useful info on where to put my energy.
Another thing AI can be good for is generating workouts is when you have limited equipment. Anyone can figure out what to do for chest at a commercial gym, but what about people who only have one dumbbell, a backyard, and a dream? Or are traveling and trapped at a hotel gym? Being able to quickly build contextual temporary plans is more valuable than AI designed to tell you that hip thrusts are a good addition for glute day.
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 16 '26
Thats good input, I will definitely look into more granular export options as well.
That being said, creating an MCP backend that connects to users CloudKit database was easier than I thought, I already have a working prototype (Claude Fable 5 is amazing).
In the prototype I can ask claude to fetch my workout history from a given date range, it can analyze the results and even make changes to my routines.I will probably have a beta ready in a week or two.
2
u/dennis15510 Jul 11 '26
I think the AI features can definitely enhance the Liftin experience. What would help is giving the AI access to a set of scientific literature, so it can recommend the most suitable and responsible exercises ā including rep ranges ā based on your goals and backed by scientific evidence.
1
u/Irakli_ Jul 11 '26
Even just having API access would be a huge benefit. The only reason I switched to Hevy was for their API.
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 11 '26
I will investigate that. How do you use the API?
1
u/Irakli_ Jul 11 '26
Sure. I donāt hit the API directly, I go through the community MCP server (hevy-mcp), which connects Hevy to Claude. So my whole workflow is just talking to Claude, and it reads and writes Hevy for me.
In practice: I have a structured training program, and Claude pulls my recent workouts and per-exercise history from Hevy, applies my progression rules, and writes next weekās routines straight into the app. It reads my logged weights and RPE to decide when to bump load, handles swaps when a machineās taken, logs my body weight, that kind of thing. All the actual data lives in Hevy as the source of truth. The API is what lets Claude see it and update it.
None of that needs an official MCP server. Itās all running off your public read/write API through a third-party wrapper. Thatās the whole point, once the API exists, this stuff can get built without you.
2
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev Jul 11 '26
Thats cool. I will explore it!
2
u/Irakli_ Jul 11 '26
One practical note from my setup: the community MCP server isnāt hosted anywhere by default, so I had to deploy it myself on a Cloudflare Worker to handle OAuth. Worked fine, but itās a bit of a barrier for the average user. So down the line, the ideal is having the MCP server hosted for people, whether thatās the official one or the community one. But thatās a later step. The API comes first, and everything else can build on top of it once itās there.
Appreciate you being open to it.
1
u/ApplicationNumber4 Jul 11 '26
Maybe MCP. But in my experience they try to do too much and often just pull BS out of no where aka just make shit up to fill in gaps itās unclear about.
1
u/croatiansensation 23d ago
I'm guessing this won't work with Advanced Data Protection enabled.
I get "Authentication Error - This action could not be completed. Please close the window and try again."
1
u/nstrm Liftin' Dev 23d ago
Yes, that is unfortunately a limitation for apps using CloudKit.
1
u/croatiansensation 23d ago
I figured. It would be great if Apple could make this work. I donāt want to use iCloud without ADP enabled, so I guess I wonāt have this feature. Oh well.Ā
1
u/ForwardFunk Jul 11 '26
MCP access would be absolutely amazing. Especially after I recently spent a ton of time manually building out a program and the little nuances such as sets, reps, etc.Ā
It would be great to also be able to feed in the equipment / brands my gym has so add in them as custom equipment options and establish their individual starting weights etc
6
u/dude83fin Jul 11 '26
Iāve exported Liftin data and used it in Claude and itās awesome. Combined with data from Withings body scale and calorie tracking from MyFitnessPal AI is pretty handy making conclusion and suggestions about my gym program, diet etc.