The workout app for skinny guys who want to put on size

What a skinny guy needs from a workout app

• A plan built around the big lifts

  Squat, bench, row, Romanian deadlift and overhead press, three days a week, every set stopping 2 reps short of failure. That's the first six months plan below, and it opens in the app with one tap.

  

• Starting weights that fit your frame

  No chart that assumes you bench 135. On a new lift you get a light weight marked Estimate and one set of as many good reps as you can. That set becomes your real starting point.

• Weight on the bar as fast as you earn it

  Early on, lifts climb quickly. When every set reaches the top of the rep range, the weight goes up next session. If your sets were clearly easier than planned, the jump can be two steps instead of one.

• Learn every lift before you load it

  Each exercise opens to an illustration, the muscles it works and your history on it. The squat guide has the full walkthrough for the lift most beginners worry about.

  

• Proof the scale is moving the right way

  Log bodyweight, body fat and 13 body measurements, including arms and chest. Each lift charts its estimated 1RM, so you can see strength and size go up together.

  

Gaining from scratch, session by session

Session 1: six feet tall, 145 lb, new to the barbell

Running the three-day muscle gain plan. Each lift starts as an estimate and the first set is as many good reps as you can.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Back Squat	65 lb (Estimate), 15 reps, nothing left	75 lb × 6–10	15 reps to failure at 65 lb converts to about 77 lb for 6 reps with 2 left, rounded to 75 on the bar.
Barbell Bench Press	65 lb (Estimate), 12 reps, nothing left	70 lb × 6–10	65 × 41 ÷ 37 is about 72 lb, rounded to the 70 your plates can make.
Barbell Row	65 lb, 10 / 10 / 10 reps, 2 left	70 lb × 8–10	Every set at the top of 8–10. One 5 lb step, reps back to 8.

Starting light isn't a problem. It's a measurement, and every session after it builds on the real number.

Week 6: eating more, up 4 lb

Same plan, workout B. The lifts are moving almost every session.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Romanian Deadlift	Set 1: 135 lb × 10, 4 left (target 10, 2 left)	Set 2: 140 lb	Two more left than planned: 135 × 43 ÷ 41 ≈ 142, rounded to 140 on the bar.
Barbell Overhead Press	75 lb, 8 / 7 / 7 reps, 2 left (target 7)	75 lb × 8	The weakest sets hit 7. Same weight, aim for 8 on all three.
Leg Press	200 lb, 15 / 15 / 15 reps, 2 left	205 lb × 10–15	Every set at the top of 10–15. One step on your plates, 2.5 lb a side.

Big jumps happen when the sets say they're due, not because a week went by.

Month 5: the bench stops climbing

Up 12 lb of bodyweight. The easy gains are slowing on the upper-body lifts.

Exercise	You logged	Next session	Why
Barbell Bench Press	115 lb × 8 / 7 / 7, third session with no new rep	105 lb × 6–10, if you choose Deload	Three sessions without a rep gained. The recap offers about 10% lighter and you build back up from 6 reps.
Barbell Row	95 lb, 10 / 10 / 10 reps, 2 left	100 lb × 8–10	The row is still climbing. A stall on one lift doesn't hold back the rest.

When stalls start showing up on several lifts, your newbie gains are tapering. That's the time for a four-day plan.

Plans for skinny guys that open in RIRLift

• The best workout plan for muscle gain, for where you are now

  New to lifting, 3 gym days a week

  The plan in the examples: two barbell workouts alternated over three days, built for hardgainers in their first six months.

  3× a week · 44 sets a week · ~50 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

  3 days a week: full body

  Three full-body days with more machines and dumbbells, if the barbell lifts aren't your thing yet.

  3× a week · 51 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

• Weigh in a few mornings a week

  Log bodyweight first thing, a few times a week. If it hasn't moved in two or three weeks, eat more.

• Measure your arms and chest

  Add arm, chest and waist measurements every few weeks. Growing arms with a steady waist means the weight you're gaining is the right kind.

• Pick the Push pace

  Settings has three paces. Push takes bigger jumps, which suits the fast early months. Switch to Standard when stalls start.

• Put training days on a reminder

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

• Bring a friend

  Invite a training partner, even one without the app. You'll see when each other trains and can cheer each workout.

When a different app fits better

• You want your calorie surplus tracked. RIRLift tracks training, bodyweight and measurements, not food. Pair it with a nutrition app.

Questions

Read next

• The best workout plan for muscle gain, for where you are now

  The first six months plan in full, with every exercise demonstrated.

• Newbie gains: how to tell when yours have actually ended

  How long the fast early progress lasts.

• Muscle gain calculator

  A realistic rate of gain for your bodyweight and training age.

• Squat: how to do the barbell back squat, what it works and what to swap in

  The first lift in the plan, step by step.

• Strength calculator: how strong am I?

  See how your lifts compare as they climb.

More ways lifters use RIRLift

• The workout app for muscle gain that tells you what to lift next

  A plan for your days, weights that climb when your sets earn it, and measurements beyond the scale.

• The workout app for beginners that tells you what to lift

  Never lifted before? A plan with starting weights, demos for every move, and weights that rise on their own.

• The free workout app for college students who lift

  Free, no ads, no account. A plan for the rec center that survives finals week and winter break.

Every lifter and goal