Build your engine. Every session adapts to your results.
An engine-building coach in Telegram for your Concept2, air bike or Wattbike. Reply with your numbers after each session. First session free.
Supported machines
Pick one machine at setup. Every result is scored on the number that matters for it, and the next session is set from that.
Concept2 Rower
Tracked by average 500m split
Concept2 SkiErg
Tracked by average 500m split
Concept2 BikeErg
Tracked by average watts
Assault Bike / Echo Bike
Tracked by total calories
Wattbike
Tracked by average watts
Who it's for
Engine work that fits around your main sport
MaxCals is an accessory programme for people whose main training is another sport. Each session is 6 to 30 minutes of work, and you do as many a week as fits around your life (we suggest 2 to 5).
Hyrox athletes
Build a bigger engine for race day on the SkiErg and rower you race on.
CrossFit and functional fitness
Stop gassing out in metcons, with air bike and rower formats you know.
Team, field and combat sports
Engine work that sits around your training and matches.
Runners, cyclists and triathletes
Low-impact engine work indoors, alongside your main training.
Home machine, limited time
Got a Concept2, air bike or Wattbike and not much time? Sessions start at 6 minutes of work.
MaxCals doesn't programme your running, sled, strength or skills work. It builds your engine on an indoor machine alongside it.
The loop
How it works
01
Message the bot
Message @MaxCalsBot on Telegram. It is free on iOS and Android, and there is no other app or account to set up.
02
Set up in two minutes
Tell it your name, your machine and your current level, read how your data is used, and reply YES. Then answer a short health check: seven yes/no questions from the PAR-Q+.
03
Do Workout 1, free
Your first session arrives in the chat: the structure, the effort and which numbers to send back. The one-off £29 Athlete Assessment unlocks the rest of your first block.
04
Reply with your numbers
Type what your monitor shows: time, distance, split, watts or calories, the way you'd tell a training partner. Or send a photo of the monitor and the bot reads the numbers for you.
05
The next session adapts
Your result is compared with your earlier sessions of the same type, and the next one adapts. If the main-set volume changes, the workout tells you by how much.
06
Test, then choose what's next
Your first block ends with four tests and a score card. Then you pick your next focus and block length, and each block ends by testing it, plus your 10- and 30-minute benchmarks.
Features
Coaching that reads your results
Every result you send is turned into numbers and compared with your earlier sessions of the same type. A run of clear gains nudges the next session up. One bad day and the prescription holds. Two bad days in a row and it steps back on purpose.
Compared like with like
Sprints and Tabatas are only compared with the same format. Air-bike sessions of different lengths are compared per minute, so a longer ride can't fake a gain.
Changes you can see
When the main-set volume changes, up or down, the workout tells you by how much. Nothing is adjusted silently.
Progression with limits
Weekly volume increases are capped, the week before testing is lighter, and test sessions are never adjusted. How hard it feels always outranks the number on the screen.
In the app you already use
Workouts arrive in Telegram, where you already message people. No new app, no dashboard, no login. You train, you reply with your numbers, and your next session arrives.
Delivered to Telegram
Free on iOS and Android. Message @MaxCalsBot on Telegram to start.
Reply in text or a photo
Type your result the way you'd tell a training partner, or send a photo of your monitor. If a number is missing, the bot asks for exactly what it needs.
A nudge if you go quiet
No reply after 48 hours gets one reminder. Come back after a longer gap and your next session is a lighter restart, not a backlog.
Built for your machine, tested at the end
Five machines: the Concept2 Rower, SkiErg and BikeErg, an Assault or Echo air bike, and a Wattbike. Each is judged on the number that matters for it. Your first block ends with four tests and a score card; later blocks test the focus you chose, plus your 10- and 30-minute benchmarks.
Judged on the right number
Average split on the rower and SkiErg, average watts on the bikes, calories on the air bike. Small day-to-day wobbles don't count as gains or losses.
Four tests to start
A 60-second sprint, a 10-minute max, a Tabata and a 30-minute time trial.
A score card at the end
All four results in your machine's units, how your 10-minute power compares with your 30-minute power, and how well you hold output across repeated sprints, and your biggest gain of the block.
Adaptive vs static
Training that keeps up with you
A static plan gives everyone the same next session, whatever happened in the last one. MaxCals sets yours from the results you post, so the load keeps matching what you can actually do.
Average watts
Same session, repeated
Heart rate at a fixed output
How much lower, at the same watts
30-minute time trial
Distance covered
Illustrative curves, not individual data. In our offline alpha group, improvements on the adaptive programme were 13–26% larger than on a static programme. It was not a controlled trial and your results will vary. The biggest differences were in less-trained athletes. Published studies comparing individualised and fixed endurance training also find modestly larger gains and fewer people who don't respond (e.g. Nuuttila et al., 2022).
| Metric | Week | Static programme | MaxCals adaptive |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average watts | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Average watts | 2 | +2.0% | +2.1% |
| Average watts | 3 | +3.8% | +4.3% |
| Average watts | 4 | +5.4% | +6.3% |
| Average watts | 5 | +6.8% | +8.1% |
| Average watts | 6 | +8.0% | +9.6% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 2 | −1.2% | −1.3% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 3 | −2.2% | −2.4% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 4 | −3.0% | −3.4% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 5 | −3.6% | −4.1% |
| Heart rate at a fixed output | 6 | −4.0% | −4.5% |
| 30-minute time trial | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| 30-minute time trial | 2 | +1.4% | +1.6% |
| 30-minute time trial | 3 | +2.6% | +3.1% |
| 30-minute time trial | 4 | +3.6% | +4.5% |
| 30-minute time trial | 5 | +4.4% | +5.5% |
| 30-minute time trial | 6 | +5.0% | +6.3% |
Pricing
Workout 1 is free. The one-off £29 Athlete Assessment unlocks your first block. After that, pick a plan to keep going. Monthly gets cheaper the longer you stay.
Included in every plan
Every plan starts the same way. Workout 1 is free. After it you pay the one-off £29 Athlete Assessment, which unlocks workouts 2 to 21 and saves your card. Your plan then starts automatically when your first block ends, at the rate shown on the card you picked. We remind you by message and email 7 days before every payment. The £29 is non-refundable once delivered.
Pay monthly, cancel anytime. Loyalty discounts apply automatically from month 4 — no action, no code needed.
- Workout 1 free, then the £29 assessment
- First £24.99 charge when you reach session 22
- No commitment — cancel anytime
- Month 4: drops to £22.49/mo automatically
- Month 7: drops to £19.99/mo automatically
- Month 13+: £16.99/mo for as long as you stay subscribed
Six months of training, paid upfront. You get the 6-month rate immediately — no waiting for loyalty discounts to kick in.
- Workout 1 free, then the £29 assessment
- First £119.94 charge when you reach session 22
- Immediate 20% saving vs the full monthly rate
- Save £30 vs 6 months at the full £24.99 rate
- Renews at £119.94 every 6 months — cancel anytime
Full-year commitment, lowest monthly-equivalent rate at signup. Complete your first year and earn the renewal reward — the best rate we offer.
- Workout 1 free, then the £29 assessment
- First £199.92 charge when you reach session 22
- Immediate 33% saving vs the full monthly rate
- Save £99.96 vs 12 months at the full £24.99 rate
- Then £143.88 a year (£11.99/mo), billed yearly, after year one
- The £11.99/mo rate is earned, not available at signup
Monthly loyalty discounts — automatic, no action needed
Annual renewal reward
£11.99/mo
£143.88 a year (£11.99/mo equivalent), billed yearly from your second year. Earned by completing year one; not available at signup.
Founding athletes
MaxCals is in early beta. We'll publish real athlete quotes once the first blocks finish. Until then, your first session is free, so judge it yourself.
Beta athlete testimonials coming
"We're in early beta. Real athlete quotes will be added here as our first cohort completes their baseline programmes."
Early access athletes
"MaxCals is currently accepting UK beta athletes. Results and testimonials will be published as our first training blocks complete."
Want to be first?
"Start with a free session and be among the first to train with MaxCals. Your results shape the programme from day one."
FAQ'S
Frequently Asked Questions
England-level
Sessions written by an England Kettlebell Sport athlete with multiple coaching qualifications. Athlete-to-athlete, not corporate.
Your next block, your call
Your first 6-week block tests your engine four ways. After that you choose what to build (top-end power, threshold, repeat sprints or aerobic base) and for how long: 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks.
Every result
Read, compared with your earlier sessions of the same type, and used to set the next one. Not a template with your name on it.
Your first session is free
Message @MaxCalsBot on Telegram. Setup takes two minutes. Workout 1 is free; the one-off £29 Athlete Assessment unlocks your first block. Your plan starts after it, from £24.99 a month, and we remind you before every payment.