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The coaching in detail

How MaxCals works

Your session arrives in the chat, you reply with your numbers, and the next session adapts. Your first block ends with four tests and a score card.

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Supported machines

Pick one machine at setup. Every result is scored on the number that matters for it, and the next session is set from that.

Concept2 Rower

Tracked by average 500m split

Concept2 SkiErg

Tracked by average 500m split

Concept2 BikeErg

Tracked by average watts

Assault Bike / Echo Bike

Tracked by total calories

Wattbike

Tracked by average watts

From your first session to your score card

  1. Step 1 of 3

    In the app you already use

    Workouts arrive in WhatsApp or Telegram, where you already message people. No new app, no dashboard, no login. You train, you reply with your numbers, and your next session arrives.

    Delivered to WhatsApp or Telegram

    Free on iOS and Android. Message MaxCals on WhatsApp, or message @MaxCalsBot on Telegram, to start.

    Reply in text or a photo

    Type your result the way you'd tell a training partner, or send a photo of your monitor. If a number is missing, the bot asks for exactly what it needs.

    A nudge if you go quiet

    No reply after 48 hours gets one reminder. Come back after a longer gap and your next session is a lighter restart, not a backlog.

    9:41MMaxCalsonline🔁 Intervals today. Ten seconds offisn’t enough rest. That’s the point.10:02📋 Week 3 · Session 9🔥 10 min warm-up with 2 × 10s sprints⚡ 4 × [20s ON / 10s OFF]🍃 4 min easy recovery🧊 3 min cool-down🎯 Effort: RPE 10 in the 20s work⏸️ Rest: 10 seconds, do not extend📨 Send back: metres, split, HR, RPE10:02Done. 412m, 1:49, HR 171, RPE 1011:58LOGGED↗ Round 4 was your hardest. Right.11:58Message MaxCals...↑

  2. Step 2 of 3

    Coaching that reads your results

    Every result you send is turned into numbers and compared with your earlier sessions of the same type. A run of clear gains nudges the next session up. One bad day and the prescription holds. Two bad days in a row and it steps back on purpose.

    Compared like with like

    Sprints and Tabatas are only compared with the same format. Air-bike sessions of different lengths are compared per minute, so a longer ride can't fake a gain.

    Changes you can see

    When the main-set volume changes, up or down, the workout tells you by how much. Nothing is adjusted silently.

    Progression with limits

    Weekly volume increases are capped, the week before testing is lighter, and test sessions are never adjusted. How hard it feels always outranks the number on the screen.

    WORKOUT 11 COMPLETECONCEPT2 ROWER · THRESHOLDWKT AVG SPLIT WATTSW5 1:58.0/500m 213WW8 2:01.4/500m 196WW11 2:04.0/500m 184WLATESTNoise band ±2.0s · both drops cleared it↘ Two harder days in a rowStepping back on purpose. Not a failure.🔁 WORKOUT 12 · TABATA — ADJUSTED📈 This session: main set volume −15%🎯 Ease the target ~2s/500mSESSIONSWEEKTESTS11 / 214 / 6Week 66-WEEK, 21-SESSION PROGRAMME

  3. Step 3 of 3

    Built for your machine, tested at the end

    Five machines: the Concept2 Rower, SkiErg and BikeErg, an Assault or Echo air bike, and a Wattbike. Each is judged on the number that matters for it. Your first block ends with four tests and a score card; later blocks test the focus you chose, plus your 10- and 30-minute benchmarks.

    Judged on the right number

    Average split on the rower and SkiErg, average watts on the bikes, calories on the air bike. Small day-to-day wobbles don't count as gains or losses.

    Four tests to start

    A 60-second sprint, a 10-minute max, a Tabata and a 30-minute time trial.

    A score card at the end

    All four results in your machine's units, how your 10-minute power compares with your 30-minute power, and how well you hold output across repeated sprints, and your biggest gain of the block.

    9:41MMaxCalsonlineDone. 7,602m, 1:58.4, rate 24, RPE 909:14Block 1 done — your score card(Concept2 Rower)P1 60s sprint: 1:38.2 /500mP2 30-min time trial: 1:58.4 /500mP3 10-min max: 1:51.0 /500mP4 Tabata: 1:45.5 /500m average,decay index 82(round 8 as a share of round 1;higher means you held your output)Aerobic profile ratio (P3 vs P2): 1.07,your 10-min pace against your 30-minpace. A big gap: your top end isahead of your aerobic base.Biggest gain: threshold sessions,+4% (2:05.1 to 2:02.3)Phase 2 starts from these numbers —it’s on its way.09:14Message MaxCals...↑

01Adaptive vs static

Training that keeps up with you

A static plan gives everyone the same next session, whatever happened in the last one. MaxCals sets yours from the results you post, so the load keeps matching what you can actually do.

MaxCals adaptiveStatic programme

Average watts

Illustration

Same session, repeated

W1W2W3W4W5W6Static programme, week 1 (illustrative)Static programme, week 2 (illustrative)Static programme, week 3 (illustrative)Static programme, week 4 (illustrative)Static programme, week 5 (illustrative)Static programme, week 6 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 1 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 2 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 3 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 4 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 5 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 6 (illustrative)

SourceAlpha and beta cohorts, n = 27. Not a controlled trial.

Heart rate at a fixed output

Illustration

How much lower, at the same watts

W1W2W3W4W5W6Static programme, week 1 (illustrative)Static programme, week 2 (illustrative)Static programme, week 3 (illustrative)Static programme, week 4 (illustrative)Static programme, week 5 (illustrative)Static programme, week 6 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 1 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 2 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 3 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 4 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 5 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 6 (illustrative)

SourceAlpha and beta cohorts, n = 27. Not a controlled trial.

30-minute time trial

Illustration

Distance covered

W1W2W3W4W5W6Static programme, week 1 (illustrative)Static programme, week 2 (illustrative)Static programme, week 3 (illustrative)Static programme, week 4 (illustrative)Static programme, week 5 (illustrative)Static programme, week 6 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 1 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 2 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 3 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 4 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 5 (illustrative)MaxCals adaptive, week 6 (illustrative)

SourceAlpha and beta cohorts, n = 27. Not a controlled trial.

Illustrative curves, not individual data. In the programme's alpha and beta cohorts (n = 27), athletes on the adaptive programme improved more than those on a static programme. It was not a controlled trial and your results will vary. Published studies comparing individualised and fixed endurance training also find modestly larger gains and fewer people who don't respond (e.g. Nuuttila et al., 2022).

Training that keeps up with you: illustrative improvement from week 1, no measured values
MetricWeekStatic programmeMaxCals adaptive
Average watts1Starting pointStarting point
Average watts2Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Average watts3Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Average watts4Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Average watts5Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Average watts6Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Heart rate at a fixed output1Starting pointStarting point
Heart rate at a fixed output2Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Heart rate at a fixed output3Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Heart rate at a fixed output4Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Heart rate at a fixed output5Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
Heart rate at a fixed output6Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
30-minute time trial1Starting pointStarting point
30-minute time trial2Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
30-minute time trial3Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
30-minute time trial4Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
30-minute time trial5Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)
30-minute time trial6Smaller gain (illustrative)Larger gain (illustrative)

Score card

What you get at the end of block one

Your first block ends with four tests: a 60-second sprint, a 10-minute max, a Tabata and a 30-minute time trial. When you finish, the bot sends a score card with all four results, your aerobic profile ratio, your Tabata decay index where it was recorded, and your biggest gain of the block.

Example score card. Placeholder numbers, not a real athlete's results.

Concept2 Rower

  1. 60-second sprint

    480 watts average

    Split 1:30.0 /500m

  2. 10-minute max

    1:55.0 per 500 m average

    2,609 m in 10 minutes

  3. Tabata

    Round 8: 84 metres

    Round 1: 98 metres

  4. 30-minute time trial

    2:00.0 per 500 m average

    7,500 m in 30 minutes

Aerobic profile ratio

Ratio 1.14

Big gap. 10-minute output against 30-minute output: (120 ÷ 115)³ = 1.14.

Tabata decay index

Decay index 86

Round 8 as a share of round 1. Higher means you held your output.

Biggest gain of the block

EXAMPLE10-minute max, from 1:58.0 to 1:55.0 /500m.

See the four tests →

02The numbers

Sessions

21

In your first 6-week block. Workout 1 is free.

SourceMaxCals programme

Tests

4

A 60-second sprint, a 10-minute max, a Tabata and a 30-minute time trial end the block.

SourceMaxCals programme

One-off

£29

The Athlete Assessment unlocks workouts 2 to 21. Not a subscription.

SourceMaxCals pricing

International-level

Sessions written by an international-level Kettlebell Sport athlete with multiple coaching qualifications. Athlete-to-athlete, not corporate.

Your next block, your call

Your first 6-week block tests your engine four ways. After that you choose what to build (top-end power, threshold, repeat sprints or aerobic base) and for how long: 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks.

Every result

Read, compared with your earlier sessions of the same type, and used to set the next one. Not a template with your name on it.

Your first session is free

Message MaxCals on WhatsApp, or @MaxCalsBot on Telegram. Setup takes two minutes. Workout 1 is free. Then £29 once for your first 6-week block. After that your plan starts, from £24.99 a month. We remind you before every payment.

Start free on WhatsAppOr start on Telegram