The RPE and RIR app where effort sets the weight

What an RPE or RIR app should do with your effort

• Effort on every set, in one tap

  After each working set, tap how many more reps you had: 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4+. Weight and reps are prefilled, so logging effort is the only new input.

  

• Your RPE program, translated

  RPE 10 is 0 reps left, RPE 9 is 1, RPE 8 is 2, RPE 7 is 3. Set each exercise's target RIR to match and run the program as written. RPE vs RIR explains the conversion.

• Effort that changes the next set

  Reps and RIR combine into reps to failure, and the next set is converted from it: next = load × (29 + logged) ÷ (29 + target). More left than planned goes up; reps below the range come down.

• Effort that sizes the next jump

  Between sessions, reps decide whether the weight goes up and RIR decides by how much. Clearly easier than your target, and the jump can be two steps instead of one.

• Consistency over precision

  Your RIR is compared with targets you judge the same way, so a habit of calling sets easy cancels out. The app shows how your logged RIR tracks against your targets, and reps always count first.

• Strength you can see without testing a max

  Progress charts each lift's estimated 1RM from your logged sets over time. You never test or enter a max.

  

Effort-based sessions, with the arithmetic

Your program says bench 3 × 5 @ RPE 8

A three-day squat, bench and deadlift plan. RPE 8 is entered as 2 reps in reserve, so the target is 5 reps with 2 left: 7 reps to failure.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Bench Press	Set 1: 215 lb × 5 @ RPE 7 (3 left)	Set 2: 220 lb × 5	8 reps to failure against 7: 215 × 37 ÷ 36 ≈ 221 lb, rounded to 220 lb.
Barbell Bench Press	Set 2: 220 lb × 5 @ RPE 8 (2 left)	Set 3: 220 lb × 5	Exactly on target, so it holds.
Barbell Bench Press	Set 3: 220 lb × 5 @ RPE 9 (1 left)	Holds at 220 lb	Harder than planned but you got the reps. Pushing never costs you weight.

The first set told the app what RPE 8 weighs today. The program stayed the same; the load matched it.

Push day: everything felt light

Six days of push, pull and legs. Most sets are meant to end with 1 left (RPE 9).

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Bench Press	Set 1: 185 lb × 10 @ RPE 7 (3 left)	Set 2: 195 lb × 10	3 left instead of 1: 185 × 42 ÷ 40 ≈ 194, rounded to 195 lb.
Incline Dumbbell Press	55 lb, 12 / 12 / 12 reps @ RPE 9	60 lb × 8	Top of the range at the target effort: one dumbbell step.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press	50 lb, 10 / 9 / 9 reps @ RPE 9	50 lb × 10	The weakest set hit its target of 9 but not the top of 8–12. Same weight, one more rep.

Same rep rule for every lift between sessions. Effort moved the bench before set 2.

Sets taken to failure: RPE 10, 0 left

On the same plan, lateral raises, pressdowns and hammer curls go to failure on purpose.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Dumbbell Lateral Raise	20 lb, 20 / 20 / 20 reps, 0 left	25 lb × 12	Every set at the top of 12–20 at the target effort: one dumbbell step, reps back to 12.
Cable Triceps Pressdown	60 lb, 15 / 13 / 12 reps, 0 left	60 lb × 13	The weakest set hit its target of 12. Same weight, one more rep.
Hammer Curl	35 lb, 13 / 12 / 11 reps, 0 left	35 lb × 12	The weakest set missed its target of 12, so weight and target both stay.

At 0 left there is no easier to read, so reps alone decide. That's why reps always come first.

Plans with an effort target on every exercise

• The best workout routine for men, for your week

  Stronger squat, bench press and deadlift

  The RPE 8 example's plan: heavy sets of 3 to 5 that stop 2 reps short.

  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 routine for the days you can train

  6 days a week: push/pull/legs

  The push day and to-failure examples: most sets at 1 left, a few taken to 0.

  6× a week · 102 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 plan for muscle gain, for where you are now

  Past a year of lifting, gains have stalled

  Heavy days at 2 left, volume days at 1 and some arm work to failure.

  4× a week · 76 sets a week · ~50 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Set a target RIR per exercise

  Heavy compounds at 2 left, isolation work at 1 or 0. Use the RPE conversion if your program is written that way.

• Calibrate on safe lifts

  Take a lateral raise or a machine curl to true failure now and then. It shows you what 0 left feels like, so your 2s mean 2. The RIR guide walks through 0 to 4.

• Log on your wrist

  The Apple Watch app asks the same RIR question after each set, and the next set adjusts there.

• Choose how hard it pushes

  Pace (Steady, Standard or Push) sets how quickly weights climb. Set Coach to Ask first and next session's weights wait on the recap until you confirm them.

When a different app fits better

• You're running a percentage-based meet prep with @ notation and a taper. A powerlifting app fits that block better.

Questions

Read next

• RPE vs RIR: what's the difference, and which should you log?

  The two scales side by side, with a conversion table.

• What is RIR (reps in reserve)?

  What 0 to 4 reps left feel like, and how to judge them.

• RPE calculator

  Work out a weight for any reps at any RPE.

• RIR calculator (reps in reserve)

  The same math from the RIR side.

• RIR vs going to failure

  How hard each set should be, and when failure is worth it.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The progressive overload app that decides your next weight

  Next weight and rep target set from your weakest set, corrected between sets, with stalls caught early.

• The powerlifting app for building your squat, bench and deadlift

  Heavy triples adjusted set by set, plate math on your wrist, and no max test to get started.

• The hypertrophy app that sets your load from reps in reserve

  RIR on every set, weekly sets per muscle, and deloads when a lift stalls instead of on a calendar.

Every lifter and goal