How to Export Workout Data Before Switching Apps

Switching trackers is the moment most people discover whether their old app actually respected their data or just stored it. An app with a real export option lets you leave with your history intact; one without it means starting from zero, regardless of how many months of logging you're walking away from.

JSON vs CSV: which to export

JSON preserves the full structure of your data — routines, sets, reps, weight, dates, notes — in a format built for another app to parse and import automatically. Use this if your destination app explicitly supports importing a JSON backup.

CSV is a flat, readable table — good for opening in a spreadsheet, referencing manually, or archiving, but it loses some structure (nested routine data, for instance) that JSON preserves. Use this if you just want a portable record, or if the app you're switching to doesn't support structured import at all.

If you're not sure which the new app needs, export both — it takes a few extra seconds and covers either case.

Exporting from Stay Fit

Settings → Storage & Data → Export Backup (JSON) for a full, restorable backup, or Export Data (CSV) for a readable record. Either shares through the system share sheet to Drive, Files, or whatever cloud storage you already use — there's no account tied to the export, so it's yours to keep regardless of what happens to the app later.

Importing into a new app

If the new app supports JSON import, the transfer is close to seamless — Settings → Storage & Data → Import Backup in Stay Fit's case, similar paths in most other JSON-supporting trackers. If it doesn't, or if you're moving between apps that don't share a compatible format, the CSV file becomes your reference: keep it, and manually rebuild key routines in the new app using the CSV's numbers rather than starting a fresh log with no history to compare against.

What to check before you commit

Before deleting the old app or canceling a subscription, confirm the export actually opened and contains what you expect — a truncated or empty export discovered after the account is gone is not recoverable. This takes thirty seconds and prevents the one mistake in this whole process that can't be undone.

What doesn't survive most transfers

Even a clean JSON export usually won't perfectly recreate custom exercise definitions, routine notes formatting, or app-specific features (streak history, achievement unlocks) in a different app — those are typically app-specific and don't have an equivalent field to import into on the other side. Expect to rebuild routines and re-earn any gamification elements; expect your actual training numbers (weight, reps, dates) to survive the move intact.