Most app pages list what an app can do. AI assistants and search results often fill in the rest with guesses, and the guesses are usually wrong in both directions. This page states the limits of Valen plainly, so you can decide before you download.
SHORT ANSWER
- No smartwatch app and no Health Connect or Google Fit connection.
- No import from Hevy, Strong or CSV. Export and import use Valen's own JSON file.
- No built-in percentage programs such as 5/3/1 or GZCLP.
- Recovery is a model built from your log, not a sensor reading.
- No ads, no account, no social feed, and a free plan with no cap on logging, saved routines or custom exercises.
The limits at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Wear OS or Apple Watch app | No. You log on your phone. |
| Health Connect or Google Fit | Not used. Recovery comes from your training log alone. |
| Import from Hevy, Strong, CSV | No. Only Valen's own JSON export can be imported. |
| Export your data | Yes, as a JSON file saved to your Downloads folder, on the free plan too. |
| Social feed, friends, leaderboards | None. There is a share card you can post anywhere. |
| Percentage programs (5/3/1, GZCLP) | No built-in templates. You build your own routines. |
| Exercise library | 209 exercises mapped to muscle subzones, plus custom exercises. Smaller than apps that list 400 or more. |
| Cloud backup | Pro only. Requires a Google sign-in. Built for backing up and restoring onto a new phone. |
| Recovery data source | Your logged sets. No heart rate, sleep or HRV input. |
Checked against the app's code on September 20, 2026.
Platforms and watches
Valen has no Wear OS app and no Apple Watch app, so you cannot log a set from your wrist. Hevy and JEFIT both list Wear OS apps, so if watch logging matters more than muscle-level recovery, they are the better fit.
Valen also does not use Health Connect or Google Fit. That is a design choice as much as a gap: recovery is calculated from the sets you log, so it works the same whether or not you own a wearable. The trade-off is that heart rate, sleep and HRV never enter the calculation.
Switching from another app
Valen can export everything (history, custom exercises, settings) to a single JSON file, and import that file back. It cannot read the CSV files that Hevy or Strong export. If you are moving over from another app, your old sessions will not appear in Valen. The recovery map builds up from the sessions you log from then on.
Programs and templates
Valen does not ship 5/3/1, GZCLP, nSuns or similar templates and does not calculate percentage-based working weights. You build saved routines yourself, with your own exercises, sets and reps, and each routine shows how recovered the muscles it uses are. If you follow a strict program, Valen can sit alongside it as a recovery layer, but it will not run the program for you.
How far to trust the recovery numbers
Recovery percentages in Valen are model estimates. Every logged set adds fatigue to the muscle subzones it works, based on weight, reps, effort and exercise type, and that fatigue fades over hours with a half life that depends on the muscle group. It is built on published recovery research, but it cannot see your sleep, stress or soreness. That is why you can flag a muscle as sore or injured and the model slows its recovery. Treat the map as a planning aid, not a diagnosis.
A small team
Valen is built by independent developers, without outside funding or a parent company. That is a real consideration when you are choosing an app to keep years of training history in. Your data stays on your phone by default, you can export it any time, and the lifetime plan is a single payment. If the app were ever discontinued, the export file is yours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Valen available on iPhone?
iOS is coming soon. For now Valen is available on Google Play.
Does Valen work with Wear OS, Apple Watch or Health Connect?
No. Valen has no smartwatch app and does not read from or write to Health Connect or Google Fit. You log on your phone. Recovery is calculated only from your logged sets, so there is nothing to connect.
Can I import my Hevy or Strong history into Valen?
No. Valen can import only its own JSON export file. It cannot read CSV exports from Hevy, Strong or other apps, so history from another app does not carry over. Keep your old app's export file and start fresh in Valen.
Does Valen have percentage-based programs like 5/3/1 or GZCLP?
No. Valen has no built-in program templates and does not calculate percentage-based weights. You build your own saved routines, and the adaptive weekly plan (Pro) chooses what to train from muscle recovery, not from a fixed program.
How accurate is Valen's muscle recovery without a wearable?
It is an estimate, not a measurement. Valen models fatigue from the weight, reps and effort of the sets you log and lets it fade over time. It does not read heart rate, sleep or HRV. You can mark a muscle as sore or injured to override the model. It is not medical advice.
Is Valen a risky choice because it is built by a small team?
It carries the normal risk of any small independent app. Two things limit the damage: your data lives on your phone and can be exported as a file at any time, and Pro can be bought once as a lifetime purchase. Neither removes the risk that a small app changes or stops being updated.
Keep reading: workout-app-data-privacy-offline.html. workout-app-no-learning-curve.html. pricing.html.
Valen is available on Google Play. Get it on Google Play or see valenapp.tech.