The calisthenics app for getting stronger one rep at a time

What a calisthenics app should do for you

• Progress counted in reps

  Bodyweight moves progress by reps. When your weakest set hits today's target, the next target is one rep higher. After each set you tap how many more you could have done, which is how the app knows the set was hard enough to count.

• Weight when reps run out

  Pull-ups, chin-ups and dips are logged as bodyweight plus whatever you add. Put on a belt or a backpack, log the added pounds, and from then on the added weight moves in steps like any load.

• Holds with a target and a stopwatch

  L-sits, planks and handstand holds run against the hold your routine sets, with a stopwatch for the actual time. Raise the target yourself when every hold gets easy.

• Harder versions in the library

  Archer push-ups, pike push-ups, skater and pistol squats, muscle-ups: 500+ exercises with offline illustrations, and you can create your own variation when yours isn't listed. The calisthenics exercises page lays out the progressions.

  

• Log from the bar

  With Apple Watch, log the set and start rest from your wrist. Sets logged on the Watch show rep pace and time under tension while you rest.

  

Bodyweight sessions, set by set

A doorway bar and a floor

Upper 2 of the bar-and-bands plan below. Chin-ups are coming along, pike push-ups are the hard part.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Chin-Up	Bodyweight, 11 / 10 / 9 / 9 reps, 1 left	Chin-Up × 10	Today's target was 9 and every set made it. Next time, aim for 10.
Pike Push-Up	10 / 9 / 8 / 8 reps, 1 left	Pike Push-Up × 9	The target was 9 and the last two sets got 8, so it stays at 9.
Push-Up	30 / 26 reps, 0 left	Push-Up × 26	Your weaker set beat today's target of 25, so the next target is 26.

Three moves, three different answers. Each target follows that exercise's own sets.

Chin-ups top out, so you add weight

A few weeks on, chin-ups have reached the top of 5–12. You have a backpack and a 10 lb plate.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Chin-Up	Bodyweight, 12 / 12 / 12 / 12 reps, 1 left	Add weight and log it	Every set hit 12, the top of the range. Bodyweight moves progress by reps until you add weight. Now's the time.
Chin-Up	+10 lb backpack, 8 / 7 / 7 / 6 reps, 1 left	+10 lb × 7	Today's target was 6 and your weakest set made it, so the next target is 7 with the same backpack.
L-Sit Hold	Target 20 s: held 22 / 20 / 14 s	20 s × 3	Timed holds keep the duration your routine sets. Raise it to 25 s once all three holds are comfortable.

Adding weight turns a finished rep range into a fresh one, and the log keeps both.

Legs with no weights at all

Bodyweight B from the no-equipment plan below, with a chair for balance and the bottom stair for calves.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Skater Squat	11 / 10 / 10 reps per leg, 2 left	Skater Squat × 11	Your weakest sets hit today's target of 10, so the next one is 11.
Single-Leg Calf Raise	22 / 20 reps per leg, 1 left	Single-Leg Calf Raise × 21	The target was 20 and both sets reached it. Aim for 21.

One-leg moves give bodyweight legs enough resistance to keep progressing for months.

Bodyweight plans that open in RIRLift

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

  Pull-up bar and bands, 4 days

  The first two examples' plan: pull-ups, chin-ups, pike and decline push-ups, plus bands, four days a week.

  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 home, with little or no equipment

  No equipment, 3 days a week

  The third example's plan: floor, a doorway, a couch and a step, three days a week.

  3× a week · 44 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

• Add your bar to the list

  Select a pull-up bar and dip bars in your equipment. Plans and swaps use them, and drop anything that needs gear you don't have.

• Make your own variation

  Doing push-ups with a 3-second lowering? Create it as a variation of the push-up so its history stays separate from regular push-ups.

• Log added weight from day one

  When you strap on a belt or a backpack, enter just the added pounds. Bodyweight stays out of the number, so the log shows what changed.

• Set your holds

  Give each timed hold a target in the routine. During the session a stopwatch runs against it, and you log the time you actually held.

• Train at the park

  Leave the phone in the bag and log from Apple Watch, rest timer included. It's optional; the iPhone app does everything on its own.

When a different app fits better

• Your goal is a planche, front lever or first muscle-up. RIRLift builds strength and muscle with reps and load. A skill-progression calisthenics app fits better.

Questions

Read next

• Calisthenics exercises: the pulls, pushes, holds and skills worth training

  The moves, grouped by pattern, with how to make each harder.

• Pull-up bar exercises for back, arms, grip and abs, with plans for your first rep to your first muscle-up

  Everything a bar can train.

• Pull ups: form, your first rep and the best alternatives

  From your first rep to weighted pull-ups.

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

  Both bodyweight plans in full.

• Progressive overload: a practical guide

  Reps, harder versions and added weight, and when to use each.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The workout app for home that plans around what you own

  Bare floor, a pull-up bar, bands or one kettlebell: a plan for your gear that gets harder as you do.

• 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 workout app for muscle gain that tells you what to lift next

  A plan for your days, weights that climb when your sets earn it, and measurements beyond the scale.

Every lifter and goal