How to Switch From Hevy to Kenso and Keep Every Workout
To switch from Hevy to Kenso and keep your workout history, export your data as a CSV from Hevy's settings, then import that file into Kenso at Settings → Import Workouts — format is auto-detected, and your sessions appear immediately. The whole process takes just a few minutes, and Kenso uses your imported history right away for PR tracking, muscle balance analysis, and building a program from your actual training routine.
Before You Do Anything: Export First
This is the single most important step. Hevy lets you export your workout history as a CSV file. Do this before you cancel a subscription, delete the app, or change anything.
In Hevy, tap Profile, then the settings gear, then Export & Import Data → Export Data → Export Workouts. Hevy emails you a file called workout_data.csv with your full training history; body measurements export separately. Export is free on both the free and Pro plans, per Taper's Hevy export guide. Menu wording can shift between Hevy releases, so check Hevy's help pages if the path looks different.
Save that file somewhere you can find it — your Files app, iCloud Drive, or email. That CSV is what Kenso needs.
For a broader look at why owning your training data matters, the Kenso workout data export and backup guide covers the full landscape of export formats and what each one actually contains.
What Transfers When You Import Into Kenso
Before committing, it's worth knowing how the import works. Kenso matches the exercises in your file to its own exercise library. If it can't match an exercise, it flags that in the preview before anything is written — those unmatched exercises are listed and skipped, and everything else imports.
Once imported, your sessions count toward PRs, progress charts, and muscle coverage analytics — the same as sessions you log directly in Kenso.
A few practical expectations: things like photos, superset groupings, or routine/template structures generally aren't the point of a CSV history import — what comes across is the session record (dates, exercises, sets, weights, reps, and any RPE values present in the file). The actual training record is what Kenso works from, and routines can be rebuilt in Kenso in a few minutes, or let the import tool build one for you automatically (more on that below).
Importing Into Kenso: Step by Step
Kenso's import is free and lives at Settings → Import Workouts. There's no Pro subscription required to bring your history across.
- Open Kenso and go to Settings
- Tap Import Workouts
- Drop your CSV file or browse to it (files up to 10 MB are accepted)
- Kenso auto-detects the format (Strong CSV, Hevy CSV, or a Kenso CSV/JSON export)
- Review the preview: total workouts found, total exercises, and any exercises that couldn't be matched
- Confirm the import
Your sessions appear immediately. PRs update, exercise progress charts populate, and muscle coverage analytics reflect your full history — nothing needs to be re-logged by hand.
If you keep logging in Hevy for a few more weeks while you settle into Kenso, you can re-import a newer export later. Kenso's deduplication logic only adds sessions that aren't already there, so you won't end up with duplicates.
What Kenso Does With Your History That Hevy Doesn't
This is where the switch pays off. Kenso treats your imported history as a dataset, not just a log.
Muscle Balance Diagnosis
With six or more imported sessions from the last three months, Kenso runs a free muscle balance analysis showing where your set volume went across your training. It flags any muscle that received less than half the median set volume as a blind spot — something you may not have noticed because no single session looked obviously wrong.
Strength Standing
Kenso estimates your 1RM (best e1RM) on anchor lifts from your logged sets and, if you've entered your sex, bodyweight, and age, tiers those numbers against strength standards. It's a useful calibration point — particularly if you've been training consistently but never formally tested.
Program Extraction
Kenso detects the routine pattern in your imported history and builds a Kenso program from it, so progression suggestions start from your real numbers rather than a generic template. One program extraction is free. The auto-progression layer — a rule-based double-progression engine with auto weight/rep recommendations and deload triggers — and corrective program adjustments are part of the Pro plan ($5.99/month or $49.99/year; use code EARLY for one month of Pro free).
AI Coach With Full Context
Kenso's Claude-powered AI Coach (Kenso Pro) has tool access to your training history — including everything you just imported. You can ask it specific questions about your programming, and it answers with your actual data in context, not generic advice. It can also create and adjust programs on request.
How This Fits Into Your Training Log
Once your Hevy history is in, set up your first Kenso program using the extracted routine so Kenso's double-progression engine starts applying the right recommendations to the lifts you've actually been training.
A Note on Hevy's Pricing (and Why the Switch Is Low-Risk)
Hevy has a free tier, and Hevy Pro is $2.99/month, $23.99/year, or $74.99 lifetime as of 2026, per Sensai's Hevy review. If Hevy is working for you, there's no urgency to leave. The case for switching isn't that Hevy is a poor logger; it's that Kenso reads your history and does something with it.
Kenso also exports your data as CSV or JSON at any time, so importing isn't a lock-in. You own your training record either way.
What to Do If the Import Preview Shows Skipped Exercises
Kenso flags unmatched exercises before the import completes. A few skipped sets from unusual exercise names won't meaningfully affect your muscle balance or PR data. But if a core lift — squat, deadlift, bench — shows as unmatched, check the exercise name in your Hevy CSV against Kenso's library before confirming.
The most common cause is a naming variation (e.g., "Barbell Back Squat" vs. "Back Squat"), and Kenso's alias table handles most of those. Custom exercises with unusual names are the ones that get skipped; the preview tells you which before you confirm.
The Complete Switching Checklist
- Export your workout CSV from Hevy (free: Profile → settings gear → Export & Import Data → Export Workouts)
- Save the file to iCloud Drive or your Files app
- Open Kenso → Settings → Import Workouts
- Drop the file, review the preview, confirm
- Check the muscle balance diagnosis (requires ≥6 sessions in the last 3 months)
- Review your strength standing on anchor lifts
- Run the program extraction to build a Kenso program from your existing routine
- Start your next session with Kenso's progression recommendations
The whole process — export through first session in Kenso — is quick, and most of the time is spent reading the analysis rather than doing any technical work.
Conclusion
Switching apps is only worth the friction if the new tool does more with your data than the old one did. Kenso's import process is designed to make that test easy: your Hevy history comes across in minutes, and within the same session you have a muscle balance diagnosis, a strength baseline, and a program built from your actual training pattern. The logging itself is straightforward. What's different is what happens after the log.
If you've been tracking consistently in Hevy, you've already done the hard work. Kenso is built to make that work legible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does switching from Hevy to Kenso cost anything?
The import itself is completely free — no Pro subscription required. You'll need a free Kenso account to access Settings → Import Workouts. Pro features like the rule-based double-progression engine, additional program extractions, and the AI Coach are $5.99/month or $49.99/year; use code EARLY for one free month of Pro.
What file do I need to export from Hevy?
Export your workout history from Hevy as a CSV: Profile → settings gear → Export & Import Data → Export Data → Export Workouts. Hevy emails you workout_data.csv, and Kenso auto-detects the Hevy format on import.
Will Kenso import all my exercises, or will some be skipped?
Kenso matches Hevy exercise names to its own library. Before the import completes, Kenso shows a preview listing any exercises it couldn't match — those are skipped, but everything else imports. You can review and address unmatched exercises before confirming.
Can I keep logging in Hevy while I try Kenso?
Yes. If you export again later with newer sessions included, Kenso's deduplication logic adds only sessions that aren't already in your history. You won't end up with duplicates, and nothing already imported is overwritten.
What happens to my Hevy routines and templates after import?
A CSV history import brings across your session record — dates, exercises, sets, weights, reps, and any RPE values present in the file — which count toward PRs, charts, and muscle coverage. If you had a consistent routine in the last three months, Kenso can detect it from your session history and build a Kenso program from it automatically (one extraction is free).