The workout app for seniors who want to stay strong

What a senior needs from a workout app

• Simple enough to use between sets

  Weight and reps are already filled in from last time. After a set you tap how many more reps you could have done, and that's the log. The rest timer fills the whole screen.

  

• A start that's deliberately light

  The starting plan uses two sets per exercise, stopped 3 reps short of your limit. New lifts begin with a light weight marked Estimate, and one set of as many comfortable reps as you can sets the real number.

• Weights that match what you own

  Tell the app which dumbbells you have, say 5, 10 and 15 lb, and every suggestion uses them. At a gym it rounds to the machine's own steps. Not sure which pair to buy? What weight dumbbells should I use?

• Demonstrations for every exercise

  Every exercise opens to an illustration, the muscles it works and your own history on it. They work offline.

  

• Free, with no account to set up

  Download it and start. Unlimited workouts, the suggested weights and up to 4 active routines are free, and there are no ads.

Real sessions, real weights

71, first week at the community center gym

Never lifted before. Running the starting-from-scratch plan: Workout A is leg press, chest press, cable row, step-ups and a carry, two sets each.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Leg Press	70 lb (Estimate), 16 reps, 3 left	80 lb × 10–15	19 reps to the limit at 70 lb converts to about 80 lb for 10 reps with 3 left.
Seated Cable Row	30 lb (Estimate), 18 reps, 2 left	35 lb × 10–15	One set measured you. The rest of the plan uses the real number.
Step-Up	Bodyweight, 10 / 9 reps, 3 left	Bodyweight × 9	Both sets reached today's target of 8. Bodyweight moves progress by reps until you add weight.

No guessing at the machines. Next week opens with these weights already filled in.

At home with a chair and three pairs of dumbbells

You own 5, 10 and 15 lb pairs and train in the living room twice a week, a few months in.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
One-Arm Dumbbell Row	10 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 2 left	15 lb × 10–15	Every set reached the top of 10–15: the step up is the next dumbbell you own.
Dumbbell Shoulder Press	5 lb pair, 13 / 12 reps, 2 left	5 lb pair × 13	The last set hit today's target of 12. Same weight, one more rep.
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift	15 lb pair, 11 / 10 / 10 reps, 2 left	15 lb pair × 11	The weakest set hit today's target of 10, so the target goes to 11.

Every suggestion stays inside what's on your floor. Nothing asks for a weight you don't have.

Already active: a power day at the gym

You walk daily and have lifted for a year. The power plan keeps 5 reps in reserve on the leg press so every rep can be fast.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Leg Press	180 lb, 8 / 8 / 8 reps, 5 left	190 lb × 6–8	5 left is the target for these quick sets. All three reached the top of 6–8, so it steps up.
Machine Chest Press	Three sessions at 60 lb, stuck at 8 / 7 / 7	Recap suggests 55 lb × 6–10	No new rep in three sessions. The recap offers about 10% lighter; you pick Deload or Not yet.

Even a stall gets a choice, not an order. Nothing changes unless you accept it.

Plans for seniors that open in RIRLift

• The best workout for seniors: strength, power and balance

  Starting from scratch at a gym

  Never lifted, or not in years, with a gym nearby. The first example above.

  2× a week · 22 sets a week · ~35 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

• The best workout for seniors: strength, power and balance

  At home with a chair and dumbbells

  A sturdy chair, a step and a pair or two of dumbbells at home.

  3× a week · 41 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 seniors: strength, power and balance

  Already active: more strength and power

  Already active and steady on stairs: more strength and faster legs.

  3× a week · 44 sets a week · ~45 min

  Add to RIRLift

  Add to RIRLift

  Scan with your iPhone camera to add this plan.

  See the plan

Make it fit you

• Choose the Steady pace

  Settings has three paces. Steady takes the smallest steps, which suits the first months.

• List your dumbbells once

  Pick your equipment, including the exact dumbbells you own. Plans and swaps stay inside it.

• Set training days and a reminder

  Choose your days. If two days pass with nothing planned, the Dashboard offers to pick a time and remind you.

• Add a daily step goal

  The Dashboard shows a daily step goal next to your training, so walking days count too.

• Save workouts to Apple Health

  Workouts you finish on iPhone save to Apple Health, with each exercise as its own segment.

Questions

Read next

• The best workout for seniors: strength, power and balance

  All three plans in full, with a demo for every exercise.

• Seniors warm up exercises: a gentle 10-minute routine

  Ten minutes to do before each session.

• What weight dumbbells should I use?

  Which pairs to buy for training at home.

• Machines vs free weights: which builds more muscle?

  Why the starting plan begins on machines.

• What is RIR (reps in reserve)?

  The one number you tap after each set.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• 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 men over 40 who still want to get stronger

  Back under the bar after years off? Light first weights, honest corrections on bad days, steady progress.

• 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.

Every lifter and goal