The Apple Watch rep counter that leaves the last word to you

What a rep counter on the Watch should get right

• Off until you turn it on

  Automatic rep counting lives in the iPhone app under Settings › Labs and needs Motion access. Leave it off and every set logs the usual way: one confirm, then the rest countdown on your wrist.

  

• A suggestion, never a log

  When the Watch has a confident count that differs from what's entered, it shows Use ~N reps. Tap it to fill the reps, change them if you counted differently, then press Log.

• Counted where the wrist moves

  Curls, overhead presses, rows, pulldowns, pull-ups, dips, raises and push-ups can be counted. Loaded chest work like bench presses and flyes isn't counted, and neither are squats, hinges, leg machines or timed holds.

• The number no counter can see

  After the reps, you rate how many you had left. That reps-in-reserve number is what moves the next set's weight, and only you know it.

• How the set moved

  With Set Replay, in Labs and on by default, each set you log on the Watch shows up on your iPhone while you rest: its motion trace, rep pace, cadence and time under tension. It's analyzed on your devices and nothing is uploaded.

Three sessions with counting turned on

Pull day: the wrist does the counting

Beta on, in a commercial gym. Every exercise today moves your wrist with the weight, so a count can appear on each set.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Dumbbell Curl	30 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 reps, 2 left (range 8–12). The Watch offered ~12 each time	35 lb × 8	Every set at the top of the range at the planned effort. One 5 lb step, reps back to 8.
Pull-Up	Bodyweight, 8 / 7 / 7 reps, 2 left (target 7). Set 3 offered ~6; you entered 7	Pull-Up × 8	The count you logged is the one that counts. The weakest set made 7, so the target moves to 8.
Lat Pulldown	120 lb, 12 / 11 / 10 reps, 1 left (target 10, range 8–12)	120 lb × 11	The weakest set hit today's target. Same weight, one more rep.

One tap filled the reps; the reps in reserve and the Log press were still yours.

Leg day: nothing to count

Same week, lower body. The bar sits on your back and the dumbbells hang still, so your wrist barely moves.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Back Squat	225 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 reps, 2 left (range 3–5)	230 lb × 3	No suggestion appears on squats. Every set reached 5 at the planned effort: one 5 lb step, reps back to 3.
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	50 lb, 10 / 10 / 9 reps, 2 left (target 9, range 8–12)	50 lb × 10	Hinges aren't counted either. The weakest set made 9, so the target moves to 10.

On leg days the beta stays out of the way. The prefilled sets do the work.

Push-ups at home, presses at the gym

Chest and shoulders twice a week: once on the living-room floor, once at the gym with dumbbells and a barbell.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Push-Up	Bodyweight, 22 / 20 / 18 reps, 1 left (target 18)	Push-Up × 19	Push-ups can be counted: your wrist travels with you. The weakest set made 18.
Flat Dumbbell Press	50 lb, 10 / 10 / 9 reps, 2 left (target 9, range 8–12)	50 lb × 10	Loaded chest presses aren't counted, so you enter these reps. The weakest set made its target.
Barbell Overhead Press	95 lb, 8 / 8 / 8 reps, 2 left (range 6–8)	100 lb × 6	Overhead presses can be counted. Top of the range on every set: one 5 lb step, reps back to 6.

Same muscles, different answers: what matters is whether your wrist moves with the weight.

Plans with plenty for the wrist to count

• The best workout for arms: biceps, triceps and forearms together

  Full gym, one arm day a week

  Curls and pressdowns, the movements the wrist follows best.

  1× a week · 18 sets a week · ~45 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for upper body, for the week you actually train

  Full gym, two upper days a week

  Two upper days of rows, pulldowns and presses.

  2× a week · 38 sets a week · ~45 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for home, with little or no equipment

  Pull-up bar and bands, 4 days

  Pull-ups and push-ups at home, both countable.

  4× a week · 58 sets a week · ~40 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Turn it on in Labs

  On iPhone, open Settings › Labs and switch on Automatic rep counting, then allow Motion access when asked.

• Correct a wrong count

  If the suggestion is off, change the reps before you log. A suggestion never overrides what you enter.

• Keep rating reps in reserve

  A count tells the app what you did. Reps in reserve tells it how hard it was, which is what sizes the next weight. How to use RIR covers it.

When a different app fits better

• You want every rep counted with no taps, leg day included. Nothing on the wrist can see a squat or a deadlift, since the wrist barely moves. RIRLift prefills those sets from last time so each is one confirm.

Questions

Read next

• Why logging on your wrist beats your phone between sets

  What a tap-to-log Watch session looks like start to finish.

• Time under tension

  What the pace numbers Set Replay shows on your iPhone mean.

• How to use RIR

  The number you still rate after every counted set.

• RIR calculator

  Check how many reps you had left on a set, from your max.

• Best workout app for Apple Watch

  How Watch lifting apps differ on what they log.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The Apple Watch weightlifting app that runs the whole session

  Log sets, rest, load plates and swap machines from your wrist, with the next weight set on the Watch.

• The Apple Watch workout tracker that remembers every set

  Weight, reps and reps in reserve for every set, tracked on your wrist and turned into next week's numbers.

• The calisthenics app for getting stronger one rep at a time

  Pull-ups, push-ups and holds: rep targets that climb each week, and weighted work when reps run out.

Every lifter and goal