What Your Imported Workout History Tells Kenso in the First 60 Seconds
When you import your workout history into Kenso, the app immediately reads your set-by-set log to surface three things: where your training volume has actually been going across muscle groups, how your best lifts compare to population strength standards, and what program structure you've already been running — so progression suggestions can start from your real numbers, not a blank template. This happens before you log a single new session, and it requires no manual entry.
If you've been logging in Strong or Hevy for months or years, you already own a detailed record of your training. The question is whether your current app is doing anything meaningful with it. Here's exactly what Kenso reads from that history, and what it builds from it.
How the Import Actually Works
Kenso's import lives at Settings → Import Workouts and is free on every plan. It accepts a Strong CSV export, a Hevy workout_data.csv, or a previous Kenso CSV or JSON export — format is auto-detected, so you don't need to label anything.
Before a single record is written, Kenso shows you a preview: the total number of workouts and exercises found, the first three sessions so you can sanity-check dates and names, and a list of any exercises it couldn't match to its library. Unmatched exercises are skipped; everything else imports. Strong and Hevy use different naming conventions for common movements, so Kenso runs those names through an alias table rather than requiring exact matches — "Barbell Back Squat" and "Squat (Barbell)" resolve to the same exercise.
What transfers: date and time, workout name, each set's weight, reps, and RPE where your source app recorded it. Hevy cardio rows map to Kenso activity types. What doesn't transfer: routines and templates, photos, and superset groupings (though the sets themselves import in order). For a full breakdown of what each format carries, the Kenso workout data export and backup guide covers the column structure of both Strong and Hevy exports in detail.
One practical note: if you want to keep logging in your old app while you evaluate Kenso, you can. Re-importing a newer export later only adds sessions that aren't already present — there's no duplicate problem, and you don't lose continuity.
The Post-Import Diagnosis: What Kenso Actually Reads
Once your history is in, Kenso runs a post-import diagnosis — free, and available as soon as you have at least six imported sessions from the last three months. The output covers two areas.
Muscle Balance: Where Your Sets Actually Went
Kenso maps every imported set to one of ten muscle groups: Chest, Back, Shoulders, Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Biceps, Triceps, Calves, and Core. It then calculates your completed-set distribution across those groups and flags any muscle that received under half the median volume as a blind spot.
This matters because most lifters have a mental model of their training that doesn't match the actual distribution. You might think of yourself as running a push/pull/legs split, but if your log shows three times as many chest sets as rear-delt or hamstring sets, the imbalance is in the data — not in your intentions. Kenso surfaces that gap directly, without requiring you to audit your own history manually.
It's worth being clear about what this analysis doesn't do: because almost no imported sets carry RPE data, Kenso deliberately avoids hard-set landmarks or MEV/MAV/MRV volume targets. The diagnosis is about distribution and relative balance, not absolute prescriptions. That's an honest constraint, and it's the right call.
Strength Standing: How Your Best Lifts Rank
For anchor lifts — the major compound movements in your history — Kenso calculates your best estimated 1RM from your imported sets and tiers it against population strength standards, provided you've entered your sex, bodyweight, and age. The result tells you roughly where you stand: not as a judgment, but as a calibration point for setting realistic progression targets.
This is genuinely useful context that most logging apps don't surface. Knowing that your estimated squat 1RM puts you in the intermediate range for your bodyweight gives you a meaningful starting point for choosing a progression strategy — rather than defaulting to beginner-style linear progression after four years of training.
"Bring This Into a Program": Building From Your Actual Routine
The third thing Kenso reads from your history is structure. If you have at least six sessions in the last three months, Kenso detects the routine embedded in that history — which days you trained, which exercises appeared together, how frequently each muscle group showed up — and builds a Kenso program from it.
The practical effect: when you start logging in Kenso, progression suggestions begin from your real numbers. The app isn't guessing at where to start based on a template; it's working from what you've actually been doing. One program extraction is free; the auto-progression layer and corrective-program suggestions (which can address the muscle balance gaps flagged in the diagnosis) are part of Kenso Pro.
Pro is $5.99/month or $49.99/year, and the code EARLY gets you one month free. Pro also unlocks 12 progression strategies, the Claude-powered AI Coach with access to your full training history, and readiness signals drawn from Apple Health — sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, and steps. Apple Health is the only external data source Kenso connects to.
How This Fits Into Your Training Log
Once your history is imported, Kenso's muscle coverage view shows where your sets have been going — review your muscle coverage in Kenso to see which groups are under half your median and where to add volume in your next program.
What to Do After Importing: A Practical Sequence
Once the import is complete and the diagnosis has run, the most useful next steps are straightforward:
- Review the muscle balance output. Note which groups are flagged as under-served. This is where your next program should add volume — not by overhauling everything, but by adding one or two targeted exercises.
- Check your strength standings on anchor lifts. If your estimated 1RM on a primary movement is lower than you expected, that's worth investigating — either the data is incomplete (sets logged without weight, for example) or there's a real gap to address.
- Accept or adjust the extracted program. Kenso's program extraction is a starting point, not a prescription. If the detected routine doesn't match what you want to run going forward, adjust it before you start logging new sessions.
- Set your progression strategy. With your history imported and a program in place, the rule-based engine can start making specific suggestions — adding weight, adjusting reps, or cycling intensity — based on how you've actually been responding.
For a deeper look at how to read the charts that update as you log new sessions, Kenso's analytics guide covers how to interpret your progress data across volume, frequency, and estimated 1RM trends.
A Note on What You're Actually Switching
It's worth being direct: if you've been logging in Strong or Hevy for years, those are perfectly capable loggers. The case for importing into Kenso isn't that your old app failed you — it's that you already have a detailed training record, and Kenso is built to read that record analytically in ways that most loggers aren't.
The import is free. The diagnosis is free. You don't lose your history, and because Kenso exports your data as CSV or JSON, you're not locked in. The value is in what Kenso does with the data you already own.
Conclusion
Your workout history is a more complete picture of your training than most apps give you credit for. The set-by-set log you've built over months or years contains real information about muscle balance, strength development, and training structure — information that can directly inform what you do next.
Kenso's import process is designed to surface that information immediately: a muscle balance diagnosis, strength standings on your key lifts, and a program built from your actual routine. Whether you've been logging in Strong, Hevy, or a previous Kenso export, the process takes a few minutes and requires no manual re-entry.
Train with the data you already have.
FAQ
What workout apps can I import history from into Kenso?
Kenso currently accepts CSV exports from Strong and Hevy, as well as previous Kenso CSV or JSON exports. The format is auto-detected on upload. Importing from other apps is not currently supported.
Does Kenso import my routines and templates from Strong or Hevy?
No. Routines and templates, photos, and superset groupings do not transfer. Your sets import in order with their date, weight, reps, and RPE (where recorded), and Kenso builds a program from the routine it detects in your history rather than carrying over the template directly.
How many sessions do I need before Kenso's post-import diagnosis runs?
You need at least six imported sessions from the last three months. Below that threshold, there isn't enough recent data to produce a reliable muscle balance or strength standing analysis.
Will re-importing a newer export create duplicate sessions?
No. Kenso's top-up dedupe only adds sessions that aren't already present in your log. You can keep logging in your old app and re-import a newer export later without any duplication.
Does Kenso connect to Garmin, WHOOP, or Oura for readiness data?
No. Apple Health is the only external data source Kenso connects to. Readiness signals — sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, and steps — are drawn from Apple Health when you grant access.