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Exercises

Apple Watch home workout: three setups, every set logged on your wrist

Published November 3, 2026

A home workout on Apple Watch works best when the Watch runs the session itself: you start the routine on your wrist, log the weight, reps and reps in reserve of each set, and the rest timer counts down while the phone stays on the charger. RIRLift does this for free and saves the session to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training. Pick the setup below that matches your space: a pair of adjustable dumbbells, a doorway pull-up bar and the floor, or a garage rack.

  1. Goblet Squat Quads, Glutes
  2. Dumbbell Floor Press Chest, Triceps
  3. Pull-Up Lats
  4. Push-Up Chest
  5. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift Hamstrings, Glutes
  6. Barbell Back Squat Quads, Glutes, Adductors

A pair of adjustable dumbbells

Two dumbbells and the floor cover the whole body. The floor press stands in for a bench, and a chair seat holds you up for rows.

Quads and glutes, dumbbell squat

Goblet Squat

Quads, Glutes

One dumbbell at your chest gives you a loaded squat with no rack. It is the leg lift of the dumbbell days.

How to do it

  1. Hold a dumbbell or kettlebell vertically against your chest.
  2. Sit down between your knees, elbows inside them at the bottom.
  3. Stand up tall.

Cues

  • Elbows nudge the knees out at the bottom.
  • Chest stays up behind the weight.

Common mistakes

  • Letting the weight pull you forward.

Swap for: Bodyweight Squat, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Goblet Squat
Log it in RIRLift

Chest and triceps, press from the floor

Dumbbell Floor Press

Chest, Triceps

No bench needed: the floor stops your elbows at a safe depth, so you can press hard without a spotter.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the floor with a dumbbell on each thigh, then lie back with your knees bent and pull the weights in to your chest.
  2. Press both dumbbells straight up over your chest until your arms are straight.
  3. Lower them until your upper arms touch the floor, elbows angled about 45 degrees from your sides.
  4. Let the arms rest for a moment on the floor, then press again.

Cues

  • Elbows touch down softly
  • Weights over your chest at the top
  • Knees bent, feet flat

Common mistakes

  • Dropping the elbows hard into the floor: lower slowly and land them gently.
  • Elbows flared straight out to the sides: point them toward your hips a little.

Swap for: Single-Arm Dumbbell Floor Press, Push-Up, Decline Push-Up

Build a session with Dumbbell Floor Press
Log it in RIRLift

Hamstrings and glutes, dumbbell hinge

Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Hamstrings, Glutes

The hinge for home. A pair of dumbbells loads the back of your legs through a long stretch.

How to do it

  1. Stand hip-width apart with a dumbbell in each hand resting against the front of your thighs, palms facing you.
  2. Push your hips straight back and let your torso fold forward, knees softly bent, the dumbbells brushing your legs.
  3. Lower until the dumbbells pass your knees and you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, with your back still flat.
  4. Drive your hips forward to stand back up, squeezing your glutes at the top, and repeat.

Cues

  • Hips back, not down
  • Dumbbells slide down your legs
  • Flat back, chin tucked

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees into a squat so the dumbbells go lower: the depth comes from the hips, and most people stop just past the knees.
  • Rounding the lower back at the bottom: end the rep where your back stays flat, and lighten the load if that is high.

Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell Good Morning, Kettlebell Deadlift

Build a session with Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
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Shoulders, seated dumbbell press

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Shoulders

A chair with a solid back works as the bench. It covers the overhead pressing the floor press misses.

How to do it

  1. Set a bench upright or one notch back from vertical, sit with your feet flat, and rest a dumbbell on each thigh.
  2. Kick one knee up at a time to bring the dumbbells to shoulder height, then set your back against the pad.
  3. Turn your elbows slightly forward so they sit a little in front of your torso, palms facing forward or angled in.
  4. Drive both weights overhead on a slight inward arc until your elbows are straight, keeping your ribs down and your back on the pad.
  5. Lower slowly until the dumbbells are around ear height or a bit below, then press again.

Cues

  • Ribs down, back on the pad
  • Elbows a little forward
  • Press up and slightly in

Common mistakes

  • Arching your lower back off the pad to finish reps: that turns it into an incline press, so lighten the weight and keep your ribs stacked over your hips.
  • Flaring the elbows straight out at shoulder height: bring them a little forward so the shoulder joint stays comfortable at the bottom.
  • Stopping each rep well above your ears: lower to around ear height so the delts work through a full range.

Swap for: Machine Shoulder Press, Arnold Press, Landmine Press

Build a session with Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Log it in RIRLift

Lats and upper back, one-arm row

One-Arm Dumbbell Row

Lats, Upper Back

A chair seat is all the support it needs, and one heavy dumbbell trains your back one side at a time.

How to do it

  1. Put one hand and the same-side knee on a bench, or your hand on a chair seat with both feet on the floor, so your back is flat.
  2. Hold a dumbbell in the other hand with your arm hanging straight.
  3. Pull your elbow back toward your hip until the dumbbell reaches your ribs.
  4. Lower it until your arm is straight again, finish all reps, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Elbow to your hip
  • Back flat as a table
  • Full stretch at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Twisting your chest open to lift the dumbbell higher: keep both shoulders level.
  • Shrugging the shoulder up toward your ear: pull the elbow back, not the shoulder up.

Swap for: Band Bent-Over Row, Dumbbell Bent-Over Row, Seated Cable Row

Build a session with One-Arm Dumbbell Row
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A pull-up bar in the doorway

A doorway bar is the one piece of kit that gives you a real vertical pull at home. A band looped over it gets you pulling before you can do a full pull-up.

Lats and upper back, pull-up

Pull-Up

Lats

The best back exercise you can do at home. Log every rep you get, even if the set is short.

How to do it

  1. Grab the bar overhand, hands a little wider than your shoulders, and hang from fully straight arms.
  2. Pull your shoulders down away from your ears before your elbows start to bend.
  3. Drive the elbows toward your ribs until your chin passes over the bar.
  4. Lower slowly to a dead hang and pull again.

Cues

  • Shoulders down, then pull
  • Legs still and together
  • Two seconds on the way down

Common mistakes

  • Swinging the legs to cheat reps: cross your ankles and brace the abs.
  • Half reps from a bent-arm start: finish each rep at a full hang.

Swap for: Chin-Up, Lat Pulldown, Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Build a session with Pull-Up
Log it in RIRLift

Lats, pull-up with a band

Band-Assisted Pull-Up

Lats

Takes some of your weight so you can do full sets of pull-ups before you can do one alone. Log it as its own exercise.

How to do it

  1. Loop a strong resistance band over the bar and pull it through itself so it hangs down tight.
  2. Grip the bar a little wider than your shoulders and step one knee or foot into the loop at the bottom.
  3. Pull your elbows down toward your hips until your chin clears the bar.
  4. Lower under control to straight arms, letting the band stretch back out, and repeat.

Cues

  • Thinnest band you can do 8 reps with
  • Full range every rep
  • Stay vertical, no swing

Common mistakes

  • Using a band so thick that the set never gets hard: move down a band once you pass 12 reps at the target reps in reserve.
  • Bouncing out of the bottom off the band: pause for a moment at the hang before each pull.

Swap for: Assisted Pull-Up, Inverted Row, Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Band-Assisted Pull-Up
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Abs and hip flexors, hanging raise

Hanging Leg Raise

Abs

Uses the same doorway bar for your trunk. Bend your knees if straight legs are too hard.

How to do it

  1. Hang from the bar, legs long and pressed together.
  2. Lift your legs, keeping your knees straight, until your feet reach at least hip height.
  3. Tilt your pelvis up at the top, then lower under control.

Cues

  • Legs locked
  • Pelvis tilts
  • No kip

Common mistakes

  • Bending the knees as you tire: switch to knee raises for the rest of the set.
  • Using a swing to get the legs up.

Swap for: Hanging Knee Raise, Lying Knee Raise

Build a session with Hanging Leg Raise
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The floor and a chair

No equipment, a few square feet and a sturdy chair. These fill out any session, or make one on their own.

Chest, shoulders and triceps

Push-Up

Chest

Needs nothing at all. Once you top out the range, put a loaded backpack on and log its weight.

How to do it

  1. Set your hands slightly wider than your shoulders with your body straight from head to heels.
  2. Lower until your chest nearly touches the floor, elbows at about 45 degrees.
  3. Press back up to straight arms.

Cues

  • One straight line
  • Elbows angled back

Common mistakes

  • Flaring the elbows straight out: tuck them toward your ribs.

Swap for: Kneeling Push-Up, Incline Push-Up, Push-Up Plus

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Quads and glutes, single leg

Reverse Lunge

Quads, Glutes

Stepping back keeps you on a small patch of floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand once bodyweight is easy.

How to do it

  1. Start tall with feet hip-width apart, hands on your hips or holding a kettlebell at your chest or a weight in each hand.
  2. Shift your weight onto one foot and step the other foot straight back about two feet, landing on the ball of the foot.
  3. Lower your back knee toward the floor until it nearly touches, with your front shin close to vertical and your chest up.
  4. Keep most of your weight in the front foot and push through its whole sole to stand and bring the back foot forward.
  5. Finish standing tall on both feet, then repeat on the same side for all reps or alternate legs.

Cues

  • Weight stays in the front foot
  • Back knee straight down
  • Push the floor away to stand

Common mistakes

  • Stepping back too short: if your front knee shoots far past your toes and your heel lifts, take a longer step.
  • Pushing off the back foot: the back leg only balances you; drive up through the front heel and mid-foot.
  • Front knee caving in: keep it tracking over your middle toes; slow the descent or reduce the weight until it does.
Build a session with Reverse Lunge
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Triceps, dip off a chair

Bench Dip

Triceps

Push the chair against a wall so it cannot slide, and bend your knees to make it easier.

How to do it

  1. Sit on the front of a stable chair, hands gripping the edge next to your hips.
  2. Move your hips off the seat and set your heels out in front.
  3. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are level with the floor.
  4. Straighten your arms to come back up.

Cues

  • Hips close to the chair
  • Elbows point back
  • Stop at level

Common mistakes

  • Going so deep that your shoulders pinch: shorten the range.
  • Pushing with your legs: keep them relaxed and let your arms lift you.

Swap for: Floor Triceps Dip, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Bench Dip
Log it in RIRLift

Abs, plank

Plank

Abs

A timed hold to finish the session. Start it from the Watch and the hold time is logged for you.

How to do it

  1. Set your forearms under your shoulders and your feet behind you, body in a straight line.
  2. Squeeze your glutes and pull your ribs down toward your hips.
  3. Hold, breathing normally, without letting your hips sag or rise.
  4. For the harder version, reach one arm forward and lift the opposite foot, hold, then switch sides.

Cues

  • Ribs down
  • Glutes tight
  • Straight line

Common mistakes

  • Hips sagging toward the floor: that hangs on your lower back.
  • Holding for minutes at an easy level: make it harder instead.

Swap for: Long Lever Plank, Plank Shoulder Tap

Build a session with Plank
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A rack in the garage

With a rack, a bar and plates, you can train the heavy barbell lifts at home. With Pro, the Watch shows the plates for each side of the bar.

Quads and glutes, barbell squat

Barbell Back Squat

Quads, Glutes, Adductors

The heaviest leg lift you can do at home. Set the safety arms of the rack just below your lowest squat depth.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar across your upper back below the neck, hands just outside your shoulders, and unrack it.
  2. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned out a little.
  3. Breathe in, tighten your stomach as if bracing for a punch, and sit down between your heels.
  4. Stand back up keeping your chest and hips rising together.

Cues

  • Breathe and brace
  • Chest and hips rise together
  • Whole-foot pressure

Common mistakes

  • Hips shooting up first out of the bottom: lighten the bar and keep your chest rising with them.
  • Letting the stomach go soft between reps: re-brace at the top of each one.

Swap for: Front Squat, Box Squat

Build a session with Barbell Back Squat
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Shoulders and triceps, barbell press

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

The standing barbell press. It needs only the rack and some ceiling height above your head.

How to do it

  1. Set the bar in a rack at collarbone height and grip it just outside your shoulders, wrists stacked over your elbows.
  2. Unrack it onto your upper chest, take one step back and set your feet about hip width apart.
  3. Squeeze your glutes, brace your abs so your ribs stay down, and take a big breath.
  4. Press straight up, pulling your chin back so the bar clears your face.
  5. Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head through until the bar sits over the middle of your foot with your arms locked.
  6. Lower it along the same line to your upper chest and re-brace before the next rep.

Cues

  • Glutes tight, ribs down
  • Chin back, bar straight up
  • Head through at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning back to finish reps, which turns the lift into an incline press: lower the weight until your torso stays vertical for the whole set.
  • Pressing the bar forward around your face: pull your chin back and keep the bar close enough to brush your nose.
  • Stopping short of lockout: finish every rep with the bar over your mid-foot and your arms straight, or the rep doesn't count in your log.

Swap for: Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Landmine Press, Dumbbell Push Press

Build a session with Barbell Overhead Press
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Whole back and legs, barbell pull

Barbell Deadlift

Glutes, Lower Back

Pulled from the floor, so the bar needs full-size plates or blocks to start at the right height.

How to do it

  1. Stand with the bar over your mid-foot and grip it just outside your legs.
  2. Drop your hips until your shins touch the bar, flatten your back, and pull the slack out.
  3. Push the floor away and stand up tall, then lower the bar the same way.

Cues

  • Bar against the legs
  • Push the floor away

Common mistakes

  • Jerking the bar off the floor: take the slack out first on every set.

Swap for: Trap Bar Deadlift, Romanian Deadlift, Rack Pull

Build a session with Barbell Deadlift
Log it in RIRLift

Put them together: example sessions

Each session below picks from the exercises above for one situation, with the sets, reps, rest and RIR filled in.

Session 1

Adjustable dumbbells, 30 minutes

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentDumbbells

You have a pair of adjustable dumbbells, a chair and half an hour, three times a week.

Two full-body days alternate: a squat and press day, and a hinge and overhead day. Each has 11 working sets, enough to keep progressing without a bench or a rack.

Day 1: Squat and press
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Goblet Squat 3 × 8–15 2 90 s
Dumbbell Floor Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. Hand on a chair seat. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Plank 2 × 30–45 s 0 1 min

Open Day 1: Squat and press in the session builder

Day 2: Hinge and overhead
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Dumbbell Shoulder PressA chair with a solid back works as the bench. 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Reverse LungePer leg. A dumbbell in each hand. 3 × 8–12 2 1 min
Push-Up 2 × 8–15 2 1 min

Open Day 2: Hinge and overhead in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate Day 1 and Day 2, three times a week. Set the dumbbells for the first exercise before you start the routine on the Watch, and change them during the rest.
How to progress
Log the weight of one dumbbell. Floor press at 40 lb with a target of 10: you log 12, 11, 10, the weakest set hit 10, so the weight holds and the next target is 11. Goblet squat at 50 lb for 15, 15, 15 is the top of 8 to 15 on every set, so the next Day 1 opens at 55 lb for 8.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

A doorway bar and the floor

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets45 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentPull-Up Bar, Resistance Bands

No weights yet: a pull-up bar in the bedroom door, a chair and a bit of floor.

The bar adds the pulling the floor cannot give you. Strict pull-ups come first while you are fresh, then the band-assisted sets add volume, for 15 working sets in about 35 minutes.

Bar and floor
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Pull-Up 3 × 1–5 1 2:30 min
Band-Assisted Pull-Up 3 × 5–8 2 90 s
Push-Up 3 × 8–15 2 90 s
Reverse LungePer leg. 3 × 10–15 2 1 min
Hanging Leg RaiseKnees bent if straight legs are too hard. 3 × 6–12 2 1 min
How to run it
Three times a week with a day between. If you cannot do a strict pull-up yet, log a single attempt or a slow lowering as your rep and let the band sets carry the session.
How to progress
Bodyweight lifts progress by reps. Pull-ups 3, 2, 2 against a target of 2: the weakest set hit it, so the next target is 3. When band-assisted pull-ups reach 8, 8, 8, move to a thinner band. Push-ups that top out at 15 on every set are ready for a backpack: log its weight as the load.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Garage rack, three days a week

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts3× a week
  • Working sets33 a week
  • Per workout~35 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Pull-Up Bar, Dumbbells

You have a power rack, a barbell and plates in the garage, and the phone stays inside on the charger.

Squat and press on one day, deadlift on the other, with dumbbell and pull-up work filling in. Long rests on the barbell lifts keep the heavy sets heavy, at 11 working sets a session.

Day 1: Squat and press
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Back Squat2 warm-up sets first 3 × 4–6 2 3 min
Barbell Overhead Press1 warm-up set first 3 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Pull-Up 3 × 5–10 2 2 min
Plank 2 × 30–60 s 0 1 min

Open Day 1: Squat and press in the session builder

Day 2: Deadlift
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Deadlift2 warm-up sets first 3 × 3–5 2 3 min
Dumbbell Floor Press 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
One-Arm Dumbbell RowPer arm. 3 × 8–12 2 75 s
Hanging Leg Raise 2 × 6–12 2 1 min

Open Day 2: Deadlift in the session builder

How to run it
Alternate the two days, three times a week. Load the bar from the plate line on the Watch (Pro) or the breakdown on the iPhone before you walk out to the garage.
How to progress
Deadlift at 245 lb for 5, 5, 5 is the top of 3 to 5 on every set, so next time it is 250 lb for 3. Overhead press at 95 lb for 7, 6, 6 against a target of 6: the weakest set hit it, so the bar stays at 95 lb and the target becomes 7.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

Can I work out with my Apple Watch without my phone?

Yes. The session runs on the Watch and each set is saved there as you log it, so the phone can stay on the charger in another room. Everything syncs to the iPhone afterward.

What workout should I pick on Apple Watch for a home workout?

For strength work, Traditional Strength Training. RIRLift picks for you: a session with lifts or push-ups and pull-ups in it is saved that way, and a session of only jumps, like burpees and jumping jacks, is saved as Cross Training.

Do I need a bench at home?

No. The dumbbell floor press replaces the bench press, a chair seat supports one-arm rows, and a chair with a solid back works for seated pressing.

Is the Apple Watch app free?

Yes. Logging, the rest timer and the next weight on the Watch are free on iPhone and Apple Watch. Pro adds the plates per side on the Watch, which matters most with a garage rack.