The Apple Watch weightlifting app that runs the whole session

What a lifter needs from an Apple Watch app

• The whole session on your wrist

  Start a routine, log weight, reps and reps in reserve, rest, swap an exercise and finish, all on the Watch. Sets are prefilled from last time, so most sets are one confirm.

• Plate math without a phone

  Type the weight and the plate calculator shows what goes on each side of the bar, on the Watch or the iPhone.

  

• The next weight, decided on the Watch

  Log a set on your wrist and the next one adjusts there: up if you had more left than planned, down if you fell below the range. Phone and Watch stay in sync, and the rules are in how RIRLift picks your next weight.

• A rest timer you can nudge

  The countdown starts on your wrist with buttons to add or take off 15 seconds. On the iPhone it also shows on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.

  

• Swaps when the rack is taken

  Swap an exercise from the Watch and the replacement starts at a weight worked out from the lift you swapped out, adjusted for the equipment.

• How the set moved

  After a set logged on the Watch, the rest screen shows your rep pace, cadence and time under tension. Why logging on your wrist beats your phone covers the rest.

Barbell sessions run from the wrist

Deadlift day, phone in the locker

Day 3 of a three-day squat, bench and deadlift plan: heavy deadlifts, then lighter squats. You load the bar from what the Watch shows.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Deadlift	315 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 reps, 2 left	320 lb × 3	Every set at the top of 3–5: one step up, reps back to 3. The Watch shows three 45s and a 2.5 per side.
Barbell Back Squat	205 lb, 8 / 8 / 8 reps, 3 left	210 lb × 5	Every set at the top of 5–8 at the planned 3 left: one step up. The Watch shows a 45, a 35 and a 2.5 per side.

You never took the phone out. Next session's numbers were on the Watch before you left the gym.

Squat day: the first set moved fast

Squat is set at 245 lb for 5 reps with 2 left. You log each set with a tap and check the rest screen between sets.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Back Squat	Set 1: 245 lb × 5, 3 left	Set 2: 250 lb × 5	8 reps to failure against a target of 7: 245 × 37 ÷ 36 ≈ 252 lb, rounded to 250 lb.
Barbell Back Squat	Set 2: 250 lb × 5, 2 left	Set 3: 250 lb × 5	On plan, so it holds. Rep pace and time under tension showed on the rest screen.
Pull-Up	Bodyweight, 8 / 7 / 7 reps, 2 left	Bodyweight × 8	Bodyweight lifts progress by reps until you add weight. The weakest set hit its target of 7.

The correction happened on your wrist between sets, not after the session on your phone.

Every rack is taken

Same plan, a busy Monday. You swap the squat for the hack squat from the Watch, a machine you've never logged.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Hack Squat	Swapped in: 180 lb × 10 / 9 / 9, 2 left	180 lb × 10	Its first weight came from your squat strength, adjusted for the machine. The weakest set hit its target of 9.
Standing Calf Raise	150 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 1 left	160 lb × 10	Every set at the top of 10–15: one step up on the stack.

The swap cost you no guesswork. Save the machine and it remembers its own loads next time.

Plans that run well from the Watch

• The best workout routine for men, for your week

  Stronger squat, bench press and deadlift

  The plan the examples use: squat, bench and deadlift, where plate math on the wrist saves the most time.

  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

  Barbell, dumbbell and machine days, three times a week.

  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

• The best workout routine for the days you can train

  4 days a week: upper/lower

  Four days, every muscle twice a week, with short rests on the arm work.

  4× a week · 68 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

• Start from the Watch

  Open RIRLift on your wrist and start today's routine. The session syncs with your iPhone, so you can pick up on either.

• Set up your bar and plates

  With Pro, set custom plates and bar so the plate calculator on your wrist only shows loads your gym can make.

• Save your gym's machines

  Each saved machine remembers its own loads and records, so a swap on the Watch starts from the right number.

• Keep your rests honest

  Rest is set per exercise in the routine. Use the +15 s button on a busy day instead of guessing.

Questions

Read next

• Best workout app for Apple Watch

  Choose by what you need to log on your wrist.

• Why logging on your wrist beats your phone between sets

  What changes when the phone stays in your bag.

• Barbell calculator

  Plates per side for any weight, the same math the Watch shows.

• The best workout routine for men, for your week

  The strength plan the examples follow, in full.

• Time under tension

  What the number on your rest screen means for muscle.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The workout app that puts your lifting in Apple Health

  Lifting sessions saved to Apple Health exercise by exercise, next to your runs, with your next weights set.

• The gym timer app that knows what you lift next

  Rest timers set per exercise, on your Lock Screen and Apple Watch, with the next set's weight ready.

• The workout app for iPhone, built for lifting

  Rest timer on the Lock Screen, widgets, Apple Health, and every weight set. Free, no account.

Every lifter and goal