The strength training app for runners that fits around your miles

What runners need from a strength training app

• Short sessions, one or two a week

  The runner plans below are two sessions a week of four exercises, or one session in a race build. They fit on an easy day without crowding your key runs.

• Single-leg and calf work that progresses

  Split squats, single-leg RDLs and calf raises go up when every set reaches the top of the rep range. On dumbbells, a 5 lb jump is a big step, so reps come first until the next pair is due.

• A plan for each phase of your season

  Group routines into programs and switch the active one: a new-to-lifting block, a heavier off-season build, then one session a week through a marathon build. Give a block a finish line and Journey shows where your main lift is headed.

  

• Weights that respect tired legs

  Legs still heavy from yesterday's long run? Log the set as it went. Hit the reps closer to failure than planned and the weight holds. Fall below the rep range and the next set comes down.

  

• On your wrist, and in Apple Health

  Run the whole session from your Apple Watch, rest timer and plate math included. Workouts finished on iPhone save to Apple Health, each exercise as its own segment, next to your runs.

  

A runner's strength season, set by set

Base phase, new to lifting, dumbbells at home

Running 25 miles a week, lifting twice. Every set stops 3 reps short of failure while the movements are new.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Bulgarian Split Squat	15 lb pair (Estimate), 16 reps per leg, nothing left	20 lb × 6–10	One max-reps set measures you. 16 to failure at 15 lb converts to about 18 lb for 6 reps with 3 left, rounded to your 20s.
Single-Leg RDL	25 lb, 10 / 10 / 10 reps, 3 left	30 lb × 6–10	Every set at the top of 6–10 at the planned effort. Next dumbbell, reps back to 6.
Dumbbell Seated Calf Raise	45 lb, 13 / 12 / 12 reps, 2 left (target 12)	45 lb × 13	The weakest sets hit 12. Same weight, aim for 13.

Two short sessions, and every exercise knows its next weight before you lace up for the next run.

Off-season build, the day after a long run

Gym access, lifting heavier between race blocks. Legs are still heavy from yesterday.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Trap Bar Deadlift	Set 1: 225 lb, 5 reps, 1 left (target 5, 2 left)	Set 2: 225 lb	You got the reps, just closer to failure. The weight holds; you don't get cut for pushing.
Bulgarian Split Squat	Set 1: 40 lb pair, 4 reps, 1 left (target 6, 2 left)	Set 2: 35 lb pair	Four is below the 5–8 range. 40 × 34 ÷ 37 is about 37 lb, rounded to your 35s.
Standing Calf Raise	160 lb, 10 / 10 / 10 reps, 1 left	170 lb × 6–10	Calves had a good day anyway. Top of 6–10 on every set: one step up.

Log what actually happened. A tired day adjusts that session and leaves the rest of your progress alone.

Marathon build, once a week, then three weeks off after the race

Peak mileage, long runs and a weekly workout. The goal is to keep strength, not set records.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Trap Bar Deadlift	245 lb, 5 / 5 / 5 reps, 2 left	255 lb × 3–5	Top of 3–5 at the planned effort, so one step is suggested. With Coach on Ask first, you confirm it or keep 245 on the recap.
Seated Calf Raise	90 lb, 12 / 10 reps, 2 left (target 10)	90 lb × 11	The weaker set hit 10. Same weight, one more rep.
Bulgarian Split Squat	Last session before the race: 45 lb pair × 8	40 lb pair × 5–8	Three weeks off triggers Ease back in: one week about 10% lighter. Or choose Pick up where I left off.

In a race build you keep the final say on every jump. After the race, the first week back is easier on its own.

Runner plans that open in RIRLift

• The best strength workout for runners, built around your training

  New to lifting, dumbbells at home or gym

  Two sessions with dumbbells, at home or in a gym. The plan in the first example.

  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 strength workout for runners, built around your training

  Off-season or base phase, full gym

  Heavier trap bar and hip thrust work between race blocks, twice a week.

  2× a week · 24 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 strength workout for runners, built around your training

  Marathon or race build, once a week

  One session a week through a race build, to keep the strength you built.

  1× a week · 9 sets a week · ~30 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Set Coach to Ask first for race season

  Set Coach to Ask first and next session's weights show on the recap. Confirm the jump or keep the load you had.

• Choose the Steady pace

  Steady takes smaller, surer steps, which suits lifting on top of high mileage. Switch to Standard in the off-season.

• Put lifting days around your key runs

  Choose your training days when you set up the plan, and leave the day before a long run or a workout free.

• Swap what your gym doesn't have

  No trap bar? The swap picker shows replacements with the weight they'd start at, worked out from your strength on the original.

• Log from your wrist

  With an Apple Watch you can log sets, run rest timers and swap exercises without taking out your phone.

When a different app fits better

• You want one calendar that plans your runs and lifts together. RIRLift plans the lifting; your running plan stays in your running app. An app that schedules both fits better.

Questions

Read next

• The best strength workout for runners, built around your training

  All three runner plans in full, with every exercise demonstrated.

• Bulgarian split squat: form, foot position and alternatives

  The single-leg lift in every runner plan.

• Single-leg RDL: how to do it without losing balance

  Hamstrings and hip stability on one leg.

• Trap bar deadlift: how to do it, which handles to use, and how it compares

  The heavy lift in the off-season and race plans.

• Calf raises: how to do them, what they work and what to swap in

  Straight-knee and bent-knee calf work for the mileage.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The strength training app that turns heavy sets into your next weight

  Heavy sets of 3 to 5, a weight for every one, and a clear answer when a lift stops moving.

• 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 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.

Every lifter and goal