A 5x5 app that adds the weight when you earn it

What a 5x5 lifter needs from an app

• Today's weight on every lift, already loaded

  Each set opens prefilled with the weight and reps from last time, adjusted for what you earned. A 5x5 session is mostly squat, tap Log, rest, repeat.

  

• Weight goes up only when all five sets land

  Set a lift to 5 sets of exactly 5. When every set reaches 5, the next session adds one step on your plates, usually 5 lb on the bar. If one set comes up short, the weight stays and you try again. The rule is judged on your weakest set, which is how 5x5 is meant to run.

• A deload when a lift actually stalls

  Three sessions without a new rep and the workout recap suggests about 10% lighter. You tap Deload or Not yet. No deload arrives just because a calendar says so. Deload week covers when one helps.

• Plates per side, on the phone or the wrist

  The plate calculator shows what to load for 185 lb or 102.5 kg, on iPhone and on Apple Watch. With Pro you can enter your own plates and bar, fractional plates included.

  

• No max test before you start

  New to a lift? It starts light, marked Estimate, and asks for one set of max reps. Already have numbers? Import your history from Hevy, Strong or FitNotes and Coach starts from it on day one.

A 5x5 block, session by session

Week 2, Workout A: squat, bench, row

Five sets of exactly 5 on each lift, aiming to finish each set with 2 reps left. Plates go down to 2.5 lb, so the smallest jump is 5 lb.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Back Squat	185 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5, 2 left	190 lb × 5	Every set hit 5 at the planned effort. One step up.
Barbell Bench Press	135 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 / 4 / 4, 1 left	135 lb × 5	The weakest set stopped at 4, so the weight holds. Five sets of five at 135 is still the target.
Barbell Row	Set 1: 115 lb × 5, 4 left · sets 2–5: 120 lb × 5, 2 left	125 lb × 5	Set 1 had two more reps left than planned, so set 2 went up: 115 × 38 ÷ 36 ≈ 121, loaded as 120. Every set at 120 hit 5 on plan: one step up.

Three lifts, three different answers, all from the same five-sets-of-five rule. You never decide on the gym floor.

Workout B: adjusting between sets

Same block, Workout B. The first set of each lift tells the app whether today's weight was right.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Overhead Press	85 lb, 5 reps, 4 left (planned 2)	90 lb for set 2	You had two more reps than planned. 85 × 38 ÷ 36 ≈ 90 lb, a weight you can load.
Barbell Deadlift	225 lb, 4 reps, nothing left	205 lb for the next set	Below the 5 you were asked for. 225 × 33 ÷ 36 ≈ 206, rounded to 205 lb.
Barbell Back Squat	205 lb, 5 reps, 1 left (planned 2)	205 lb	You got all 5 reps, just closer to failure than planned. The weight holds; you aren't cut for pushing.

A bad first set doesn't cost you the session. The next set is corrected, and the change is marked as a correction.

Week 7: the bench press stops moving

Linear progress always runs out, upper-body lifts first. Here bench and overhead press have stopped adding reps for three sessions.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Bench Press	155 lb, 5 / 5 / 4 / 4 / 3, third session in a row	140 lb × 5 if you tap Deload	No new rep in three sessions. The recap offers about 10% lighter: 155 × 0.9 ≈ 140 lb.
Barbell Overhead Press	95 lb, 5 / 4 / 4 / 4 / 3, third session in a row	85 lb × 5 if you tap Deload	Same stall, same offer: 95 × 0.9 ≈ 85 lb. Tap Not yet to keep trying at 95.
Barbell Back Squat	245 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 / 5 / 5, 2 left	250 lb × 5	The squat is still moving, so it keeps climbing. Deloads are per lift.

The lift that stalled backs off; the ones still moving keep going. You decide, the app does the arithmetic.

Barbell plans for where your 5x5 goes next

• The best workout routine for men, for your week

  Stronger squat, bench press and deadlift

  Squat, bench and deadlift at 3 to 5 reps, three days a week, with accessories. The natural next step once 5x5 stops adding weight every session.

  3× a week · 49 sets a week · ~55 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for full body, for your week

  Full gym, 3 days: heavy, moderate, light

  Still three full-body barbell days, but one heavy, one moderate and one light, so each lift gets more total work without grinding fives every time.

  3× a week · 50 sets a week · ~45 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Build Workout A and B once

  Make two routines: squat, bench, row; and squat, overhead press, deadlift. Set each lift to 5 sets of exactly 5, or deadlift to 1 set of 5. The web planner on a computer is the quickest way, then import it. Or ask Coach to build it.

• Set the effort target

  A target of 2 reps left keeps early sessions honest and leaves room to grow. The app compares what you logged with that target to pick the next set and the next session.

• Choose how fast it climbs

  Settings has three paces. Standard adds one step when every set lands. Push takes bigger jumps and waits longer before suggesting a deload. Steady takes smaller steps.

• Confirm weights before they're saved

  Set Coach to Ask first and next session's weights appear on the recap. Nothing is saved until you confirm, so you can keep a lift where it is.

• Warm up without doing the math

  Warm-up sets are planned per lift and never count toward progress. The warm-up sets guide explains how many a heavy five needs.

When a different app fits better

• You want every weight set as a percentage of a tested max, on a fixed schedule. RIRLift sets weights from your logged sets, not from a max table. A spreadsheet or a percentage-based program fits better.

Questions

Read next

• Greyskull LP: how the last set tells you what to do next

  A linear barbell program close to 5x5, with an AMRAP last set.

• GZCLP program: how the stall ladder shows a drop coming

  A common next step once straight 5x5 runs out.

• Beginner Strength Program: 8 Weeks, 3 Days a Week

  How a first barbell program is built and progressed.

• Squat: how to do the barbell back squat, what it works and what to swap in

  Form for the lift you'll do every 5x5 session.

• Barbell calculator

  Plates per side for any weight, before you open the app.

• How RIRLift picks your next weight

  The full rules behind the examples on this page.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The strength training app that turns heavy sets into your next weight

  Heavy sets of 3 to 5, a weight for every one, and a clear answer when a lift stops moving.

• The powerlifting app for building your squat, bench and deadlift

  Heavy triples adjusted set by set, plate math on your wrist, and no max test to get started.

• The progressive overload app that decides your next weight

  Next weight and rep target set from your weakest set, corrected between sets, with stalls caught early.

Every lifter and goal