Swap exercises in Boostcamp
Replace an exercise mid-program with a coach-recommended alternative or your own, for one workout or all future weeks.
What is Swap Exercise?
Swap Exercise lets you replace any exercise in a Boostcamp program, for one workout or for every future week. You can pick a coach's recommended alternative, a similar exercise or any exercise in the library. The program's prescription stays in place on the new exercise. Swapping is free.
- Options
- Coach's recommended alternatives, similar exercises, or your own choice
- Scope
- Just this workout, or this and future workouts
- % of 1RM sets
- Recalculated from the new exercise's own 1RM
- Price
- Free
How to swap an exercise
- 1
Open Swap Exercise
From the exercise's menu, choose Swap Exercise. You'll see the coach's recommended alternatives when the program has them, otherwise similar exercises, plus a search of the whole library. The exercise the program originally prescribed is marked Original.
- 2
Choose how long the swap lasts
Inside a program, Boostcamp asks whether to save the swap for future weeks. Pick Just This Workout, or This and Future Workouts, then apply it to every workout day or only the same day each week.
- 3
Keep training to the same plan
The new exercise keeps the program's prescription. For sets written as a percentage of 1RM, Boostcamp asks for your 1RM on the new exercise if it doesn't have one and recalculates the weights from it.
When should you swap an exercise?
You should swap an exercise when you can't do it as written, when it causes pain, or when a close alternative suits you better. The three most common reasons are equipment availability, such as a busy rack or a missing machine; pain or an injury that a movement aggravates; and personal preference or a better fit for your body.
A good substitute trains the same movement pattern, such as a squat, hip hinge, horizontal press or vertical pull. It should work similar muscles and allow similar loading, so a heavy barbell lift is best replaced by another lift you can load heavily, not by a light isolation exercise.
Swapping occasionally doesn't undo a program, but changing lifts every week makes progress hard to track. Once you choose a substitute, many coaches suggest keeping it for the rest of the training block so you can see whether it's going up. Persistent pain is a reason to see a qualified professional, not only to change the exercise.
In Boostcamp, Swap Exercise replaces a lift while keeping the program's sets, reps and intensity targets.
Common exercise substitutions
General training suggestions grouped by movement pattern. These are not the alternatives any particular Boostcamp coach recommends.
| Original exercise | Movement pattern | Common substitutes | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbell back squat | Squat | Front squat, hack squat, leg press | Knee-dominant lower-body work that can be loaded heavily |
| Barbell bench press | Horizontal press | Dumbbell bench press, machine chest press | Trains the chest, front delts and triceps in the same pressing direction |
| Overhead press | Vertical press | Seated dumbbell shoulder press, landmine press | Presses overhead or at a steep angle, working the shoulders and triceps |
| Pull-up | Vertical pull | Lat pulldown, assisted pull-up | Pulls from overhead to train the lats, with adjustable load |
| Barbell row | Horizontal pull | Chest-supported row, seated cable row, one-arm dumbbell row | Trains the upper back and lats with less demand on the lower back in the supported versions |
| Conventional deadlift | Hip hinge | Trap bar deadlift, Romanian deadlift | Hinges at the hips to train the glutes, hamstrings and back |
Tips for using Swap Exercise
- Match the movement pattern first Replace a press with a press and a pull with a pull. Matching the pattern keeps the program's balance between muscle groups intact.
- Expect a different working weight Most lifters use less weight on a front squat than a back squat, so start conservatively on a new exercise and build up over a few sessions.
- Use Just This Workout for one-off problems If a machine is taken for one day, swap only that workout and keep the original exercise in later weeks.
- Keep a long-term swap for the whole block When the change is permanent, choose This and Future Workouts so your history on the substitute builds up in one place.
What lifters say
★★★★★“Love the new auto recommendation for similar exercises when swapping”
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. Boostcamp's Swap Exercise works in coach programs and your own programs, for one workout or all future weeks.
In Boostcamp, the prescription carries over, not the logged weight. For percentage-based sets, Boostcamp recalculates from the new exercise's own one-rep max and asks for it if needed.
Yes. Swap Exercise is free in Boostcamp.
Front squats, hack squats and leg presses are common back squat substitutes because they train the same knee-dominant squat pattern and can be loaded heavily.
An occasional swap to a similar exercise has little effect on progress. Changing exercises every week makes progress harder to measure, so many coaches suggest keeping a substitute for the rest of the training block.
The exercise the program originally prescribed stays marked Original in the Swap Exercise list, so you can swap back to it.