Adherence
Also known as: Compliance, Completion Rate
The percentage of planned sessions that were actually completed. The simplest measure of whether you're following the plan.
Formula
Adherence = (completed sessions / total planned sessions) x 100Example
4 sessions planned, 3 completed = 75% adherence.
How Afitpilot Uses This
Weekly adherence is shown in your summary and feeds into the AI's weekly evaluation. Consistently low adherence may trigger plan adjustments — reducing session frequency to match your actual availability rather than prescribing sessions you won't complete.
Adherence benchmarks — where do you stand?
| Who / Context | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Industry average (12-month) | 40-60% | Most people skip ~half their planned sessions |
| Good (sustainable progress) | 75-85% | Enough stimulus for consistent gains |
| Excellent | 85%+ | Ahead of most people regardless of program |
| Active aging (60+) | 2x/wk at 90% > 4x/wk at 50% | Fewer planned sessions = less guilt, more consistency |
| Hybrid athlete | 60-75% (lifting only) | Cardio crowds gym time — plan for what you'll do |
Known Limitations
- •Adherence is binary — a session is either completed or not. A session where you did 80% of the exercises counts the same as one where you completed everything. Partial completion is not currently captured in this metric.
- •Skipped sessions are distinguished from incomplete sessions in our accountability metric, but the adherence number alone doesn't capture this nuance.
What We're Improving
Science Context
Adherence is consistently identified as the strongest predictor of training outcomes in the literature. The best program is the one you actually follow. Research by Gentil & Bottaro (2013) found that training frequency within a feasible range matters less than consistency over time.