What You'll Learn
What Activities are and how they give you visibility into your clients' movement beyond structured workouts
How to view, prescribe, and track client activities from your Gymkee dashboard
How to use activity templates to save time when building training programs
How to read the weekly activity summary and understand calorie data from different sources
Overview
The Activities feature on Gymkee lets you see everything your clients do physically, not only the workouts you program for them. Clients can log cardio, sports, outdoor activities, and more, either manually or by syncing from wearables like Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Garmin. You can also prescribe specific activities with targets (duration, intensity, distance, pace, heart rate zone) and add them directly into training programs.
With over 100 activity types across 12 categories, Activities bridges the gap between what you program and what your clients actually do.
Who It's For
This feature is for personal trainers and coaches who want to:
See the full picture of a client's physical activity, not only the workouts they assign
Prescribe cardio, sports, or outdoor activities with specific targets alongside structured training
Track whether clients are doing the activities you recommend
Understand how much total movement each client gets per week, across all sources
What Problem It Solves
Without Activities, you only see the workouts you program. You have no way of knowing if a client went for a 5K run, played a soccer match, or did a yoga class on their own. This blind spot makes it harder to adjust training load, avoid overtraining, and give accurate coaching advice.
Activities solves this by collecting all physical activity data in one place. Whether a client logged a swim manually or their Garmin synced a trail run, you see it all in the client's Activities tab. You can also prescribe activities with targets and track completion, so your coaching extends beyond the weight room.
Core Workflows
1. View Client Activities
Navigate to a client's profile and open the Activities tab. You see a weekly summary at the top (total activities, total duration, total calories, and a breakdown by source) followed by a detailed activity table.
Each activity row shows the activity type, duration, calories, intensity level, date, and a source badge (Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, manual, etc.). Click any row to open a detail modal with full metrics: distance, pace, heart rate zone, laps, and more, depending on the activity type.
2. Prescribe Activities in Programs
From the Program Builder, add an Activity Day to your training program. Select from over 100 activity types, set targets (duration, intensity, distance, pace, heart rate zone), and write rich-text instructions for your client.
When the client logs an activity that matches your prescription (same type, same date, matching intensity), it auto-completes the prescribed activity. You can track completion rates alongside your regular workouts.
3. Use Activity Templates
Save any activity prescription as a reusable template. Templates appear in the Program Builder sidebar under Activity Templates, ready to drag and drop into any program. This is especially useful for recurring activities like weekly runs, yoga sessions, or warm-up cardio.
4. Read the Weekly Summary
The weekly summary at the top of each client's Activities tab gives you a quick snapshot: how many activities they performed, total duration, total calories burned, and where those activities came from (Gymkee workouts vs. external activities from wearables or manual logs). Use this to gauge overall training load and make adjustments.
Quick Start
Get started with Activities in under 2 minutes:
Open a client's profile from your client list
Click the Activities tab
Review the weekly summary at the top to see total activity and calories
Scroll down to see individual activities, including source badges
To prescribe an activity, go to the Program Builder for that client
Click Add Activity Day
Select an activity type (e.g. "Running"), set a duration target (e.g. 30 minutes), choose intensity (Moderate)
Write any instructions for the client (optional)
Save the program and send it to your client
Your client now sees the prescribed activity in their program. When they log a matching run, it auto-completes.
Best Practices
Check the Activities tab weekly. Look at the source breakdown to understand how much movement comes from your programs vs. what clients do on their own. This helps you calibrate training load.
Prescribe activities with clear targets. Instead of telling a client "go for a run," prescribe a specific activity: Running, 30 minutes, moderate intensity. Clear targets lead to better compliance and easier tracking.
Use templates for recurring activities. If you prescribe a 20-minute warm-up jog before every training day, save it as a template. Drag it into programs instead of recreating it each time.
Pay attention to source badges. A client who logs everything manually may be estimating. A client syncing from a wearable gives you more accurate data. Adjust your coaching accordingly.
Combine with workout data for full load management. Activities plus workout data gives you the complete picture. If a client did a 2-hour hike on Saturday, you may want to lighten their Monday session.
Use intensity levels thoughtfully. Prescribe low intensity for recovery days, moderate for steady-state cardio, and high for interval sessions. Intensity affects both calorie estimation and how the activity is auto-matched.
Write instructions for complex activities. A prescribed "Swimming" activity with no instructions leaves the client guessing. Add details like "4x200m freestyle, 30s rest between sets" using the rich-text editor.
Common Mistakes
Ignoring the Activities tab entirely. Many coaches only look at workout completion. The Activities tab shows you the full picture, including activities that might be causing fatigue or overtraining.
Prescribing activities without targets. An activity day with no duration or intensity target gives the client no guidance and makes auto-matching unreliable.
Not explaining the source of calorie data. Clients may ask why their Apple Watch calories differ from what Gymkee shows. Gymkee uses MET-based estimation from the activity type, intensity, and duration. Wearable data may differ because it uses heart rate sensors. Set expectations early.
Overloading programs with prescribed activities. Prescribe only the activities you want to track completion for. Let clients log their spontaneous activities on their own without cluttering the program.
Forgetting to save templates for recurring activities. If you prescribe the same warm-up run every week, save it as a template once. Do not recreate it from scratch each time.
Troubleshooting
Problem: Client activities from a wearable are not showing up
Why it happens: The client has not connected their wearable to Gymkee, or the sync is delayed.
How to fix it: Ask the client to open Gymkee on their phone and check their connected devices in Settings. They need to authorize the wearable connection. Some wearables (Garmin, Fitbit) sync with a short delay, so wait up to 30 minutes before troubleshooting further.
Problem: Prescribed activity did not auto-complete when the client logged a matching activity
Why it happens: Auto-matching requires the same activity type, the same date, and a compatible intensity level. If any of these do not match, the prescription stays open.
How to fix it: Check that the logged activity matches the prescribed one: same type (e.g. "Running," not "Trail Running"), same day, and same or higher intensity. If the client logged a different activity type, the match will not trigger. You can manually mark the prescription as done if needed.
Problem: Calorie data looks too high or too low
Why it happens: Gymkee estimates calories using MET values (metabolic equivalent) based on the activity type, intensity, duration, and the client's body weight. If the client's weight is not up to date, or if the intensity level is inaccurate, the estimate will be off.
How to fix it: Verify that the client's weight is current in their profile. Also check the intensity level of the activity. Low, Moderate, and High intensity use different MET multipliers, so a mislabeled intensity will skew calories significantly.
Problem: Cannot find a specific activity type when prescribing
Why it happens: With over 100 activity types across 12 categories, it is easy to miss one if you browse manually.
How to fix it: Use the search field when selecting an activity type. Type a keyword (e.g. "padel," "yoga," "boxing") and the list filters in real time. If the exact type does not exist, choose the closest match from the same category or use the "Other" category.
Problem: Activity template is not appearing in the Program Builder sidebar
Why it happens: The template may not have been saved correctly, or you may be looking in the wrong section of the sidebar.
How to fix it: In the Program Builder, look for the Activity Templates section in the sidebar. Templates are listed separately from workout templates. If the template is missing, go back to the prescription form and re-save it as a template using the save toggle.
FAQ
Q: What activity types are available? A: Gymkee includes over 100 activity types across 12 categories: Running, Cycling, Swimming, Strength, Racquet Sports, Team Sports, Combat, Outdoor Adventure, Water Sports, Flexibility, Dance, and Other. Each category contains multiple specific types (e.g. Running includes road running, trail running, treadmill, etc.).
Q: How does auto-matching work for prescribed activities? A: When a client logs an activity, Gymkee checks if it matches any open prescribed activity for the same day. The match is based on activity type, date, and intensity level. If all three match, the prescribed activity is automatically marked as done.
Q: What wearables are supported? A: Clients can sync activities from Apple Watch, Fitbit, Garmin, and other wearables that integrate with Apple Health or Google Fit. The source badge on each activity shows where it came from.
Q: How are calories calculated? A: Gymkee uses MET-based estimation. Each activity type has a metabolic equivalent value that varies by intensity (Low, Moderate, High). This value is multiplied by the client's body weight and the activity duration to estimate calories burned.
Q: Can clients log activities manually? A: Yes. Clients can log any activity manually from the Gymkee mobile app, even if it was not prescribed. These manual logs appear in your Activities tab alongside wearable data.
Q: What are the statuses for prescribed activities? A: Prescribed activities have four statuses: Draft (created but program not yet sent), Scheduled (program sent, activity upcoming), Done (completed by the client or auto-matched), and Missed (the scheduled date has passed without completion).
Q: Can I see which activities come from wearables vs. manual logging? A: Yes. Each activity in the Activities tab displays a source badge showing where it came from: Apple Watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Gymkee (for completed workouts), or Manual (for hand-logged activities).
Sub-Articles Index
View Client Activities on Gymkee: How to navigate the Activities tab, read the weekly summary, understand source badges, and interpret calorie data
Prescribe Activities to Your Clients on Gymkee: How to add prescribed activities to training programs with targets, instructions, and auto-matching
Create Activity Templates on Gymkee: How to save, manage, and reuse activity prescriptions as templates in the Program Builder