The dumbbell workout app that knows when to grab the next pair

What matters in a dumbbell workout app

• Jumps that match your dumbbells

  Dumbbells move in fixed steps, and on a light lift one step is a big change: 15 to 20 lb is a third more weight. RIRLift rounds every suggestion to a dumbbell you can pick up and only raises the next set when the next dumbbell is close enough to what your last set earned.

  

• A plan for what's on your rack

  One light pair and no bench, adjustable dumbbells and a bench, or 30 minutes and a flat bench: each has its own plan. Tell the app what you own and swaps stay inside it, so a missing bench turns a press into a floor press.

• A clear sign to go up

  When every set reaches the top of the rep range, the weight goes up one step and the rep target resets to the bottom. Otherwise it holds and you chase one more rep. That's double progression, and it's the rule behind every example below.

• Every move shown, offline

  Each exercise opens to an illustration, the muscles it trains and your history on it. The dumbbell exercise library has the full list by muscle.

  

• Short sessions that still count

  Supersets are built in, the rest timer fills the screen and shows on the Lock Screen, and Apple Watch can run the whole session from your wrist.

Dumbbell sessions, set by set

Adjustable dumbbells, 5 to 50 lb in 5 lb jumps

Upper 1 of the 4-day adjustable dumbbell plan below, in a spare room with an adjustable bench.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Flat Dumbbell Press	Set 1: 50 lb × 10, 4 left (target 8 with 2 left)	Set 2: 55 lb	10 reps with 4 left converts to about 55 lb for 8 with 2 left: 50 × 43 ÷ 39. Your dumbbells make 55, so the next set goes up.
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	15 lb, 20 / 20 / 20 reps, 0 left	20 lb × 12	Top of 12–20 on every set: one step up. The rep target drops to 12 so the bigger jump is something you can handle.
Incline Dumbbell Row	40 lb, 12 / 11 / 11 / 11 reps, 1 left	40 lb × 12	Your weakest sets hit today's target of 11. Same weight, aim for 12, the top of the range.

One lift went up mid-session, one goes up next week, one holds. Each followed its own sets.

Mid-session, when the next dumbbell is too far

Same plan, arms at the end of the session. The answer you need here is "stay", not "go up".

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Seated Dumbbell Overhead Triceps Extension	Set 1: 25 lb × 15, 2 left (target 12 with 1 left)	Set 2: 25 lb	That converts to about 27 lb, and your dumbbells go from 25 to 30. The weight holds and you bank the extra reps.
Hammer Curl	30 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 reps, 1 left	35 lb × 8	Every set reached 12, the top of 8–12. Next session: one step up, reps reset to 8.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press	40 lb, 9 / 8 / 8 reps, 1 left	40 lb × 9	Today's target was 9 and two sets got 8, so the target stays at 9.

A jump your dumbbells can't make never shows up. When the next step is earned, it's waiting next session.

One fixed pair of 20s, no bench

Running the one-pair plan below in an apartment. The dumbbells will never get heavier unless you buy more, so reps do the work.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Bulgarian Split Squat	20 lb, 16 / 15 / 14 reps per leg, 1 left	20 lb × 15	Your weakest set hit today's target of 14, so the next target is 15 on every set.
Dumbbell Floor Press	20 lb, 25 / 25 / 25 reps, 1 left	25 lb × 10	Top of 10–25 on every set, so the app calls for the next step. No 25s? Follow the plan's rule: slow the lowering to 3 seconds or add a pause, and work back up the range.

When a fixed pair runs out, the app says so plainly. That's the day to buy the next pair or switch to a harder move.

Dumbbell plans that open in RIRLift

• The best workout with dumbbells, for the dumbbells you actually have

  Adjustable dumbbells and a bench, 4 days

  The plan the first two examples use: adjustable dumbbells, a bench, four days.

  4× a week · 71 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 with dumbbells, for the dumbbells you actually have

  30 minutes, 3 days, supersets

  Dumbbells and a flat bench, three 30-minute sessions built from supersets.

  3× a week · 48 sets a week · ~25 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout with dumbbells, for the dumbbells you actually have

  One light pair at home, no bench

  The third example's plan: one fixed pair, a chair, no bench.

  3× a week · 45 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

• Tell it whether you have a bench

  Select dumbbells and, if you own one, a flat or adjustable bench. Plans and swaps use only what's on the list.

• Log the weight per dumbbell

  Enter what one dumbbell weighs, the number on the handle. Units are per exercise, so a kg set at the gym and an lb set at home can live side by side.

• Pick the pace

  Settings has three progression paces. Steady takes smaller, surer steps, which suits light lifts where one dumbbell jump is a lot. Push is for lifts you're recovering fast on.

• Let the next weight wait for you

  Set Coach to Ask first and the recap shows next session's weights for you to confirm, handy before you rearrange an adjustable set.

• Starting a new lift

  No history? The app picks a light starting weight marked Estimate and asks for one set of as many good reps as you can. The dumbbell weight calculator gives you a number before you start.

Questions

Read next

• The best workout with dumbbells, for the dumbbells you actually have

  All three dumbbell plans, with every exercise shown.

• Dumbbell exercises for every muscle, and how to put them together

  The full list of dumbbell moves by muscle.

• What weight dumbbells should I use?

  A starting weight for each dumbbell exercise.

• Double progression: how to run it and where it breaks

  The rule that decides when you grab the next pair.

• What is a superset? Types, benefits, and how to log one

  How the 30-minute plan fits a full session into half the time.

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 home gym app that loads your own plates

  A rack, a bar and your own plates: weights rounded to what you can load, and a plan that skips the machines.

• The kettlebell app that tells you when to buy the next bell

  One bell or a few: reps that climb every week and a clear signal when it's time for the next size.

Every lifter and goal