The resistance band app for your Apple Watch

What a band session needs from your wrist

• A band logged like a weight

  Enter the resistance printed on the band as the weight. Stacking a 30 and a 10? Log 40 lb. Keep the anchor and stance the same, so last week's 40 means the same thing this week.

• Reps first, then the next band

  When your weakest set hits today's target, the next target is one rep higher. When every set reaches the top of the range, it's time for the next band and the target resets to the bottom.

• Rest and supersets on the wrist

  The rest timer starts when you log a set, with +15 s and -15 s on the Watch. Pair a band pull with a push and the Watch counts the rounds for you.

  

• No workout type to choose

  Any session with band or weight work in it is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training, in the same history as your other workouts. You never pick Functional or Traditional yourself.

• Free, with no account

  Unlimited workouts, progression, the Apple Watch app and up to 4 active routines are free, with no ads.

Band sessions logged from the Watch

Doorway bar and handle bands, phone on the charger

Upper day at home with bands rated 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 lb and a pull-up bar in the doorway. Everything is logged on the Watch.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Band Bent-Over Row	40 lb (30 + 10 stacked), 14 / 13 / 12 reps, 1 left	40 lb × 13	The range is 12–20 and the weakest set hit today's target of 12. Same stack, one more rep.
Pull-Up	Bodyweight, 7 / 6 / 6 reps, 1 left	Pull-Up × 7	Bodyweight lifts progress by reps. The weakest set hit its target of 6.
Band Overhead Press	Set 1: 20 lb × 15, 4 left (planned 2)	Set 2: 20 lb × 15	Easier than planned works out to about 21 lb (20 × 48 ÷ 46), which rounds back to 20: the band stays and the reps do the climbing.

The phone never left the charger. Each target was on the Watch before the next set.

Pull and push supersets, 30 minutes

A short evening session: face pulls paired with push-ups, then pull-aparts on their own. The Watch shows the superset round you're on.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Band Face Pull	20 lb, 20 / 20 / 20 reps, 2 left	Next band up × 12	Every set at 20, the top of 12–20: move to the 30 lb band, target back to 12.
Push-Up	Bodyweight, 18 / 16 / 15 reps, 1 left	Push-Up × 16	Today's target was 15 and the weakest set made it, so aim for 16.
Band Pull-Apart	10 lb, 22 / 20 / 18 reps, nothing left (target 20)	10 lb × 20	The weakest set fell short of 20, so the band and the target both stay.

One exercise moved up a band, one climbed a rep, one held. Each was decided by its own sets.

Hotel room, one 30 lb loop band, travel-tired

A lower-body day squeezed in after a flight. One loop band in the suitcase, the Watch on your wrist.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Band Squat	30 lb, 16 / 15 / 14 reps, nothing left (target 18)	30 lb × 18	The weakest set fell short of 18, so band and target stay. One rough session isn't read as your new normal.
Band Reverse Lunge	30 lb, 12 / 12 / 11 reps per leg, 1 left (target 11)	30 lb × 12	The weakest set hit 11, so the next target is one rep higher.
Band Good Morning	30 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 3 left	Next band up × 10	Every set at 15, the top of 10–15: the next band is due, for when you're home with the 40.

A bad day moved nothing backwards, and the session still landed in Apple Health as strength training.

Band plans that run well from the Watch

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

  Pull-up bar and bands, 4 days

  The plan behind the first example: bands for rows and presses, a doorway bar for the pulling bands do poorly.

  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

• The best workout for your glutes and butt

  Home with dumbbells and a band

  Hip thrusts, abductions and walks on bands, with dumbbells where a band runs out.

  2× a week · 22 sets a week · ~30 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for thighs, inner thighs included

  Home with dumbbells and a band

  A lower-body plan with one band and a pair of dumbbells, suitcase-sized.

  2× a week · 24 sets a week · ~35 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Mark the rating on each band

  Write the pounds on the handle or loop with a marker. The Watch only needs the number.

• Log stacks as their sum

  A 30 and a 10 together is 40 lb. Use the same combination, anchor and stance each week so the numbers compare.

• Keep one band per exercise for a block

  Let the reps climb to the top of the range before changing band. When the app raises the weight, the next band is due.

• Superset pulls and pushes

  Group a band pull and a push as a superset in the routine. The Watch shows which round you're on, so you never lose count.

Questions

Read next

• The resistance band workout app that tracks every band

  Band plans and progression on iPhone.

• Full body exercises with resistance bands

  What bands train well, and how to set each one up.

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

  The bar-and-bands plan in full.

• Why logging on your wrist beats your phone

  What changes when the phone stays out of reach.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The resistance band workout app that tracks every band

  Log each band by its rating, stack them, and move up when every set tops the range.

• 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 travel workout app that keeps your lifts moving on the road

  Save the hotel gym, lift with the dumbbells it has, and come home to your program where you left it.

Every lifter and goal