Workout Templates — Creating & Using Templates
Workout templates are the backbone of consistent training in Motra. Instead of building your workout from scratch every session, you can save a structured plan — complete with exercises, sets, reps, and weights — and reuse it whenever you want. This guide covers everything from creating your first template to managing and updating them over time.
What Are Workout Templates?
A template is a reusable workout blueprint. It stores:
Exercises — the specific movements in your workout
Sets, reps, and weights — the structure and load for each exercise
Metadata — a title, optional caption, cover image, tags, and visibility setting (public or private)
Muscle group information — automatically detected from the exercises you include
Templates save you time by letting you start a workout with one tap instead of adding exercises manually each session. They also enable Motra's Auto-Progression feature, which can intelligently suggest weight increases based on your training history.
How to Create a Template
There are three ways to create a template in Motra: from scratch, by saving a completed workout, or by generating one with AI.
Method 1: Create a Template from Scratch
Go to the Workout tab
Tap the + button in the top-right corner of the screen
Select "Add Template" from the menu
The New Template screen appears with the following fields:
Template Title — give your template a descriptive name (e.g., "Upper Body Push Day")
Caption — add an optional description of the workout
Exercises — tap the Exercises row to open the exercise log editor, where you can add exercises, configure sets, reps, and weights
Tags — add color-coded tags to help organize your templates (e.g., "Push", "Pull", "Legs")
Template Visibility — choose Public (other Motra users can find it) or Private (only you can see it)
Cover Image — optionally add a photo from your camera roll or take a new one
Once you're happy with your template, tap Done in the top-right corner to save it
Your new template will appear in the My Templates section on the Workout tab.
Method 2: Save a Completed Workout as a Template
After finishing a workout, you can save it as a template so you can repeat it later:
Complete and save your workout
On the workout summary screen, tap the menu button (three dots) in the top-right corner
Select "Save as Template"
The Create Template screen opens, pre-filled with the exercises, sets, reps, and weights from your workout
Edit the title, caption, tags, visibility, or exercises as needed
Tap Done to save
This is a great way to capture a workout you enjoyed and want to repeat.
Method 3: Generate a Template with AI
Motra can build a personalized workout template for you using AI:
Go to the Workout tab
Tap the Generate button (the purple button with a sparkle icon), or tap the + menu and select "Generate Workout"
The Generate Workout screen lets you customize your preferences:
Target muscle groups
Workout duration
Equipment available
Advanced settings (excluded exercises, auto-progression level, and more)
Tap the Generate button at the bottom of the screen
Motra generates a full workout template based on your preferences and training history
Review the generated template — you can tap Start to begin a workout immediately, or use the menu to save it to your templates
Note: AI-generated templates are a Motra Pro feature. Free users will see an upgrade prompt when attempting to generate.
How to Start a Workout from a Template
Go to the Workout tab
Scroll down to the My Templates section
Tap the template you want to use — this opens the template detail view
Tap the Start button at the bottom of the screen (the large button with a play icon)
Your workout begins immediately, pre-loaded with all the exercises, sets, reps, and weights from your template.
Tip: If you already have an active workout in progress, Motra will show a "Workout in Progress" alert. You'll need to finish or discard the current workout before starting a new one.
Starting a Workout from Another User's Template
If you find a public template from another user, you can start a workout directly from it. The template detail view shows a Start button alongside a Copy button (square-on-square icon) that lets you duplicate it into your own templates.
Viewing and Managing Templates
Viewing All Your Templates
Go to the Workout tab
In the My Templates section, tap "View All" (appears when you have templates saved)
The Saved Templates screen shows all your templates in a searchable, filterable list
From this screen you can:
Search — use the search bar at the top to find templates by name
Filter by Tag — tap the Filter by Tag button to narrow results to templates with specific tags
Filter by Muscle Group — use the muscle group filter dropdown to show only templates targeting specific muscles
Pull to refresh — swipe down to reload your template list
Template Detail View
Tap any template to open its detail view. Here you'll see:
Template name and caption
Creator profile — for your own templates, a Public/Private badge; for other users' templates, their profile picture and follow button
Template information — estimated duration, experience level, target muscle groups, equipment needed, recovery match score (if available), and tags
Volume Progression chart — tracks your max volume over time for this template (appears once you've completed workouts from it)
Workout Log — the full list of exercises with sets, reps, and weights
Muscle group mannequin — a visual breakdown of primary and secondary muscles targeted
Editing a Template
There are two ways to edit a template from the template detail view. Tap the menu button (three dots icon) in the top-right corner:
Edit Template Details — opens a sheet where you can update the template name and visibility (Public/Private)
Edit Template Log — opens the exercise log editor where you can add, remove, or reorder exercises, and modify sets, reps, and weights
From the Saved Templates list, you can also long-press any template to access a context menu with these options:
Edit Template Details — modify the name and visibility
Edit Template Log — modify the exercises and log structure
Add Tags / Edit Tags — add or change the color-coded tags on the template
Copy Template — create a duplicate of the template
Delete Template — permanently remove the template
Copying (Duplicating) a Template
To make a copy of any template:
Open the template detail view
Tap the menu button (three dots) and select "Copy Template"
A new template editor opens, pre-filled with the original template's exercises and a title like "Copy of [Original Name]"
Make any changes you'd like, then tap Done to save the copy
This works for your own templates as well as public templates from other users.
Deleting a Template
Open the template you want to remove
Tap the menu button (three dots) and select "Delete"
Confirm by tapping "Delete Template" in the alert that appears
Alternatively, long-press a template in the Saved Templates list and select "Delete Template" from the context menu.
Sharing a Template
Public templates can be shared with other Motra users:
Open the template detail view
Tap the share button (square with arrow icon) in the top-right toolbar
A share sheet appears with a link to your template that you can send via Messages, social media, or any other app
Note: Private templates cannot be shared via link. Change the template visibility to Public first if you want to share it.
Template Updates After Finishing a Workout
One of Motra's most useful features is the ability to update your template based on what you actually did during a workout. When you finish a workout that was started from a template and your performance differs from the template, Motra detects the changes and asks how you'd like to update the template.
How It Works
Tap Finish during your workout
If Motra detects changes between what you did and what the template originally had, you'll see: "Changes detected to "[Template Name]". Do you want to update this template?"
Choose one of the four update options below
Tap Finish to save your workout and apply the update
Update Options Explained
Option | What It Updates |
Do not Update | Your template stays exactly as it was. Your workout is saved, but the template is not modified. |
Weights Only | Only the weight values in your template are updated to match what you lifted in this session. Set and rep counts remain unchanged. |
Weights & Reps | Both the weights and the rep counts in your template are updated to reflect this workout. The exercise structure (which exercises, how many sets) stays the same. |
Weight, Reps, & Structure | Everything is updated — weights, reps, and the full exercise structure. If you added or removed exercises or sets during the workout, those changes are reflected in the template. |
Tip: If you're following a progressive overload program and regularly increase weights, the Weights Only option is a great way to keep your template current without altering your planned set and rep scheme. If you frequently adjust your entire workout on the fly, Weight, Reps, & Structure ensures your template always matches your latest session.
These update preferences are also available on the Apple Watch when finishing a workout there.
Organizing Templates with Tags
Adding Tags to a Template
When creating or editing a template, scroll to the Tags section
Tap the add tag button
Select from your existing tags or create new ones — tags have customizable names and colors
Tags appear as colored badges on your template
Filtering by Tags
Go to Saved Templates (tap "View All" on the Workout tab)
Tap the Filter by Tag button at the top
Select one or more tags to narrow the list to only matching templates
Tags are useful for organizing templates by workout type (e.g., "Push", "Pull", "Legs"), training phase (e.g., "Hypertrophy", "Strength"), or any other system that works for you.
Auto-Progression (Smart Weights)
When viewing a template you own, you may see an Auto-Progression button alongside the Start button. This is a Motra Pro feature that uses your training history to suggest optimized weights for your next session.
Auto-Progression requires at least 5 completed workouts from the template before it can generate suggestions
While in the learning phase, a progress indicator shows how many workouts you've completed toward the 5-workout threshold
Once ready, tap Auto-Progression to generate and review suggested weights before starting your workout
Apple Watch Sync
Templates can be synced to your Apple Watch for starting workouts directly from your wrist. From the template detail view, use the menu to transfer a template to or remove it from your Watch.
Still Need Help?
If you have questions about workout templates or run into any issues, tap your profile picture in the app, scroll to Help & Support, and send us a message. Our team is happy to assist.