The workout app for men over 40 who still want to get stronger

What a man over 40 needs from a workout app

• No weights picked from memory

  The bench you did at 30 isn't today's starting point. Every new lift opens with a light weight marked Estimate and one set of as many good reps as you can. That set becomes the real number.

• Bad days handled in the session

  Log what happened. If a set falls below the rep range, the next one comes down, worked out from the set you just did. A short night shows up in your reps, and the next set follows them.

  

• Stalls answered with a choice

  When a lift goes three sessions without a new rep, the recap suggests about 10% lighter. You pick Deload or Not yet. Nothing is scheduled because it's week 4. More on when a deload makes sense.

• Recovery per muscle

  Each muscle group shows how recovered it is, and the weekly muscle map shows where your sets went. Useful when legs from Monday still feel like Monday.

  

• Progress you can trust

  Each lift gets an estimated-max trend over the weeks, so slow progress is still visible progress.

  

Three sessions, worked out

47, back under the bar after ten years

Running the starting-or-returning plan: two full-body workouts, two sets each, 3 reps left. Workout B, every weight an estimate.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Goblet Squat	35 lb (Estimate), 18 reps, 2 left	40 lb × 10–15	20 reps to failure converts to about 41 lb for 10 reps with 3 left, rounded to your dumbbells.
Chest-Supported Row	25 lb pair (Estimate), 22 reps, 1 left	30 lb pair × 10–15	Converted to the 10-rep target with 3 left: 25 × 52 ÷ 42 ≈ 31 lb.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press	20 lb pair (Estimate), 16 reps, nothing left	20 lb pair × 10–15	16 reps to failure is close to the target of 13. The converted weight rounds back to the same pair.

Not every estimate moves. When it was already right, the number stays.

Push/pull/legs, with Coach on *Ask first*

You lifted through your 30s and want to see next week's weights before they're saved. Pull day: pulldowns, chest-supported rows, rear delts.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Lat Pulldown	130 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 1 left	On the recap: 140 lb × 10–15	Top of the range on every set: one plate up the stack. Saved when you confirm.
Chest-Supported Row	50 lb pair, 12 / 11 / 10 reps, 1 left	On the recap: 50 lb × 11	The weakest set hit today's target of 10. Same weight, one more rep.
Reverse Pec Deck	Three sessions at 70 lb, stuck at 16 / 15 / 14	Recap suggests 65 lb × 12–20	A stall. You can take the step back with Deload or wait with Not yet.

Every change is shown before it's saved. You stay in charge of the numbers.

Bone-and-muscle plan, after a short night

Over 50, years of lifting behind you. Day 1 opens with trap bar deadlifts, 5–8 reps, 2 left.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Trap Bar Deadlift	Set 1: 275 lb × 4, nothing left	Set 2: 250 lb × 5	Below the 5-rep floor, so the next set comes down: 275 × 33 ÷ 36 ≈ 252, rounded to 250 lb.
Trap Bar Deadlift	Set 2: 250 lb × 5, 2 left	Set 3: 250 lb × 5	Exactly on plan, so it holds.
Step-Up	35 lb pair, 10 / 10 / 10 reps, 2 left	40 lb pair × 8–10	Top of the range on every set: one dumbbell step up next time.

One bad set doesn't wreck the session or next week. The log shows what happened, and the plan adjusts.

Plans for men over 40 that open in RIRLift

• The best workout for women over 50 (and anyone over 40)

  New to lifting or back after years off

  New to lifting or back after years off. The first example above.

  2× a week · 20 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 workout routine for men, for your week

  Busy: 3 gym days, push/pull/legs

  Already lifting and want three focused gym days.

  3× a week · 48 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 women over 50 (and anyone over 40)

  Women in menopause, already lifting: bone and muscle

  Heavier sets for men over 50 with lifting experience, run as written.

  3× a week · 41 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

• Pick the Steady pace

  Settings has three paces. Steady takes smaller, surer steps, a good fit for your first months back.

• Set Coach to Ask first

  Next session's weights appear on the recap and are saved only when you confirm them.

• Swap what your joints won't do

  Swap any exercise mid-session. The picker shows each replacement with the weight it would start at, based on what you already lift.

• Warm up the same way every time

  Plans set warm-up sets for the heavy lifts, and they don't count toward your working sets. The warm-up sets guide explains how many you need.

• Log from your wrist

  With an Apple Watch you can run the whole session from your wrist, rest timer and plate math included. The phone app works on its own.

Questions

Read next

• The best workout for women over 50 (and anyone over 40)

  The over-40 plans in full, with a demo for every exercise.

• Muscle recovery time: why 48 hours is only a default

  How long muscles really need between sessions.

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

  The lift that opens the heavy day above.

• Deload week: the signs you need one and how to run it

  What the step back after a stall is for.

• How RIRLift picks your next weight

  The full rule behind the numbers above.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The workout app for men who want bigger lifts and more muscle

  Upper/lower, PPL or big-three plans, with the next weight for every set worked out from your last one.

• The workout app for women over 40 and 50 who want to lift

  Strength plans for your 40s and 50s that start light, respect cranky joints and add weight when you're ready.

• The workout app for seniors who want to stay strong

  Strength plans for 65 and up, at a gym or at home with a chair, that add weight only when you're ready.

Every lifter and goal