Public Preview Latest Update - No Weekly Workout plans

[Bezadee]

I was beyond frustrated this morning to wake up to a new public preview update!  Gone are the weekly workout plans which I have been using for the last 3/4 months and have literally transformed how I exercise and have been helping me build towards walking the Camino in August.  It was great to look at the fitness tab and see what was planned for the week with the flexibility to adjust based on readiness scores and life happening around you.  Now it seems the fitness plans are weekly goals that give you the flexibility to maybe do something today, or maybe not.  For me the big win about the old version was I didn't have to think, I just followed the plan and that built consistency.  When I shared my frustrations in the coach app chat it suggested a plan for the week, but told me to screenshot it so I could access it later because it wouldn't be visible in the fitness tab.  Also, the chat said I should be able to click on the readiness tile and see workouts recommended for me depending on my readiness score.  I can see nothing! Just generic suggestions under the fitness tab.  In addition, today's insight said I was ready to tackle a strength workout today, but the coach chat said no, I should prioritise recovery!!!  The mixed messaging is confusing and frustrating.  If recovery should be prioritised then surely that should be very clear in the fitness tab and the today dashboard. And as for having to screenshot suggested plans, that's beyond ridiculous! Am I alone in thinking the previous version was better and more targeted? 

[mmcincy]

It's a horrible change. The plan is completely vague and impossible to follow a structure now. I have a separate thread on this as well. When I click in suggestions, it hallucinates on days now. I thought it had them behind the scenes somehow, but the coach told me things were tomorrow (Wednesday) while clicking welcomed me to Saturday. Then it hallucinated an entire workout today that didn't exist, even though I had logged something else. 

Super disappointing and unusable. I'm glad I don't pay for this. I am very frustrated that I invested in Pixel phone and watch though. The basic app is average and they just decimated the AI preview.

[MariLuFitbit]

Hi @mmcincy It’s nice to see you here! and @Bezadee Welcome to our community forums!

I completely understand how frustrating it’s been to miss your weekly plans, and I want to assure you that our team hears you loud and clear. We are working hard to improve the Public Preview experience!

I have some good news: The issue is expected to be resolved in the new Fitbit app version 4.68, which features an improved Plan experience. 

• iOS users: You may need to manually update via the App Store.
• Android users: This will roll out over the course of this week, so keep an eye out! 

Not sure which version you have? Just tap your profile picture > Fitbit settings > Help, and you’ll see the version at the bottom. 

As a moderator, I promise that your feedback is going straight to our development team. They are working hard to make sure the Public Preview runs smoothly for you.

[Romain2826]

Hello, I have the same problem. The training program has been empty since Monday morning, and the coach can no longer populate it at all. Even with the latest version, 4.68.

[Bezadee]

Thanks for responding Marilu.

I'm already on version on 4.68.1 - will there be another update that will bring back the weekly structured plans? 

That is literally the best feature of the whole AI coach preview.  It helps to build consistency and structure and is very motivating - for me anyway!  I get that it might not suit everyone, but wouldn't it be better to give people the choice of whether they want a weekly structured plan or more relaxed weekly goals?  Since yesterday I'm using the Coach Chat to develop a weekly plan - suggesting what I should do on each day, but that is not easily accessible when I want to check what the plan is for the rest of the week.

I am very frustrated with this change, particularly as I bought a FitBit for my husband's 50th purely because I thought it would help him develop structured weeky plans!

Having said all this, I did one of my suggested weekly goal workouts this morning and must say that the updates to this feature are excellent. It now times everything in the workout and walks you through each exercise with timed rests.  Much more directed and structured and very easy to use.

[Jynnx18]

I'm having the exact same experience on 4.68.1, even went to the extent of clearing the app data and reinstalling which brought back my structured plan briefly before the new experience took over and hid everything again.

When querying the AI coach it seems to know that a suggested workout exists, but there is no way to view them and the new suggestions aren't the same and for the majority of the time give you inaccurate workouts or get the weights completely wrong on different exercises. I usually follow a 4 day week plan, but the new update even has my Friday workout already completed with no way to view what has been completed or clear it. Very frustrating experience and surely can't be by design.

I found the previous suggested workouts highly motivating however with this new update its incredibly frustrating and demotivating and almost to the point where I will need to find another way of tracking my workouts and just use fitbit for the health data.

Hopefully there is an update or some feedback that you are aware of these issues.

[ReporterBabu]

I'm also so disappointed this had gone, thought it was a great 'Runna' like feature.

Yet to see a 'suggested workout' and can only find the library of workout activities.

[HMM089]

I share the same frustration. I had really hoped that I was experiencing a glitch and it wasn't an actual change. Because of what planet is this update a good idea? 

I have had the most unproductive week so far since I started in January because I was relying so heavily on the plan and the little motivational cues after workouts and at the end of the day. 

[MariLuFitbit]

Hi everybody! A warm welcome to the new members!

I appreciate your comments and feedback. If you have successfully on-boarded the personal health coach and still do not see your weekly workout plan:

• Tap your profile picture in the app and tap "Settings."
• Under Preferences, tap "Activity."
• Scroll to the bottom, tap "Regenerate weekly plan," and wait 10 minutes for your workout plan to show in the app.

Note: Please make sure you are using app version 4.68 

Let me know if it works!

[mmcincy]

I am on version 4.68.1, but I don't see that option anywhere. This is everything available on the Activity section. 

 

 

[Bezadee]

I can't see the regenerate weekly plan option on version 4.68.1 either!

[Romain2826]

No changes with version 4.68 : no programm, no objective, and nothing visible in the app. I've tried several times to redo the programm with the coach, without any changes.... 😤

[chpaton]

100% agree with the OPs message. Honestly, I was really impressed with the weekly plans since using them over the last 2 months - it worked really well IMHO. Coach had got really good at learning my usual work/life routine and scheduling workouts to appropriate days, factoring in a sensible rest and alternation. But the plan screen made it easy to drag workouts between days for quick tweaks, and for bigger changes I could always prompt coach. Likewise coach would proactively suggest a revision on the day based on both good and bad readiness.

Exactly as the OP says "for me the big win about the old version was I didn't have to think". With the new approach I'm left to think about what suggested workout from the week I should put on each day and how to manage rest, which is a clear regression in the experience. And I no longer have a single place I can view to see what's lined up over the week. (This all on version 4.68.)

I can understand that some folks maybe didn't like the fixed days approach. But maybe the Fitness tab could still show a suggested day for each workout, similar to before, which the user is free to ignore. Or indeed it could just be an option to turn off the suggested days if that's not your thing. With some thought I  do think you can satisfy both types of user.

As an aside, I appreciate this is a preview and not finished product, but it wasn't a good customer experience that this rolled out mid-week and surprised me when I opened the app in the gym only to find my expected workout had disappeared. At least align changes like this with end of the week.

But on a cheerier note, I think the new context and guidance in gym workouts is a real improvement - really like what I see there!

[Ka-G]

Yea I was forced to update to 4.68 for the second time.

I need the weekly rigid preset plan that was weeks and hundreds of discussions to get perfect for me (and approved by my dr) and my health needs.  

Now I get a generic weekly guidelines that required 2 hours of discussion as to why it was wrong for me just to get it (the inappropriate 4.68 "flexible" plan) removed since my proper and dr approved plan is no longer allowed by Fitbit. 

[DevinFraze]

I've come to share my disappointment as well. To be super clear, we all loved being told exactly what to do. We don't want to have to think and plan our workouts each day. And if we want a change then talking with the ai coach was a simple and easy way to do that.

In case Google/fitbit isn't sure what we are talking about, we are referencing these two screens, the weekly plans with detailed breakdowns.

Now it sounds like the new view for the individual workouts is drastically improved in the new version. However, there was no clear guidance for what workouts I should do today. That was my favorite part of the app! (As others have said as well).

Luckily I cleared my app storage in the settings on my phone and was able to revert, but I assume it will eventually force update again one day (I've now turned off automatic updates on the app store). And in case some staff is wondering I am on android v4.68.1 (1104028138)

 

 

[193574268]

I'm having the same issues as everyone above, and I also don't have the "regenerate weekly plan" option. I'm super frustrated because I tried to contact support about this instead of posting in a forum to be ignored, but every time I try to start a support chat it just hangs on "Creating chat" forever and never opens. I can't believe I spent a single dime with this incompetent shoddy organization. 

[mmcincy]

Are we going to get an update? You said there was a fix in this version, but clearly not. That was days ago with multiple replies from others confirming the same.