RIRLift app icon RIRLift

Exercises

Traditional strength training on Apple Watch: the lifts, and sessions to log from your wrist

Published November 3, 2026

Traditional Strength Training is the Apple Watch workout type for lifting weights: barbell, dumbbell, machine, cable and bodyweight lifts done in sets with rest between them. Log the session in RIRLift on the Watch and every set gets its weight, reps and reps in reserve, the rest timer runs on your wrist, and the workout lands in Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training, each exercise as its own segment.

  1. Barbell Deadlift Glutes, Lower Back
  2. Barbell Overhead Press Shoulders
  3. Incline Dumbbell Press Chest
  4. Lat Pulldown Lats
  5. Leg Press Quads, Glutes
  6. Pull-Up Lats

Barbell lifts

The heaviest loads you will log, with the longest rests. On the Watch you set the weight with the crown and log each set with a tap; with Pro it also shows the plates for each side of the bar.

Back, glutes and hamstrings, hinge

Barbell Deadlift

Glutes, Lower Back

The heaviest lift most people log. Few reps, long rests, and the clearest number to beat.

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

Shoulders, vertical press

Barbell Overhead Press

Shoulders

Standing press with a barbell. Small jumps matter here, so log every set to see the reps climb.

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, Seated Barbell Overhead Press

Build a session with Barbell Overhead Press
Log it in RIRLift

Dumbbells and bodyweight

Dumbbells move in fixed jumps, so the next weight is the next pair on the rack. Bodyweight lifts like the pull-up progress by reps until you add a plate.

Upper chest, press

Incline Dumbbell Press

Chest

Pressing with two dumbbells on a low incline. Each hand works alone, so both sides get the same work.

How to do it

  1. Set the backrest to about 30 to 45 degrees and sit with the dumbbells on your thighs.
  2. Lean back and bring the weights to the outside of your shoulders as your back meets the pad.
  3. Squeeze your shoulder blades back and keep your hips on the seat.
  4. Press up and slightly in until your arms are straight over your upper chest.
  5. Lower under control until your elbows are just below the bench line.

Cues

  • Low incline, not a shoulder press
  • Wrists stacked over elbows
  • Touch the stretch, then press

Common mistakes

  • Setting the bench steeper than about 45 degrees: the front delts take over. Drop it a notch if you mostly feel your shoulders.
  • Lifting your hips off the seat to finish a rep: that turns it back into a flat press.

Swap for: Single-Arm Incline Dumbbell Press, Incline Dumbbell Squeeze Press, Incline Barbell Bench Press

Build a session with Incline Dumbbell Press
Log it in RIRLift

Lats and upper back, vertical pull

Pull-Up

Lats

A bodyweight lift that progresses by reps first. Add a plate once every set reaches the top of the range.

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

Machines and cables

Easy to load, quick to change, and ideal for logging from the wrist: one pin, one number. Save your gym's machines in RIRLift and each one keeps its own history.

Quads and glutes, machine squat

Leg Press

Quads, Glutes

Heavy leg work without a bar on your back. Quick to load between sets.

How to do it

  1. Sit in the machine with your whole back against the pad and your feet hip-width on the platform.
  2. Release the safety handles and bend your knees, bringing the platform toward you under control.
  3. Lower until your knees are bent to about 90 degrees or a little deeper, without your lower back curling off the pad.
  4. Press the platform away until your legs are nearly straight, and repeat.

Cues

  • Lower back stays on the pad
  • Whole foot pushes
  • Stop just short of locking out

Common mistakes

  • Going so deep that your hips roll up off the seat: stop where your back stays flat.
  • Snapping the knees straight at the top: keep a soft bend.

Swap for: 45-Degree Leg Press, Hack Squat, Barbell Back Squat

Build a session with Leg Press
Log it in RIRLift

Lats, vertical pull

Lat Pulldown

Lats

The pull-up's machine version: pick the weight that lets you hit the range, and add a plate on the stack when you top it.

How to do it

  1. Set the thigh pad so your legs are locked under it, then stand up and take the bar a little wider than your shoulders, palms forward.
  2. Sit down with your arms fully stretched overhead and lean back only slightly.
  3. Pull the bar to your upper chest by driving your elbows down toward your hips.
  4. Let the bar rise until your arms are straight and your shoulders lift toward your ears, then pull again.

Cues

  • Elbows to your back pockets
  • Bar to the top of the chest
  • Let the stack lift you at the top

Common mistakes

  • Leaning far back and rowing the bar to your stomach: stay nearly upright so it remains a vertical pull.
  • Stopping with the arms still bent at the top: the stretch overhead is half of what makes the pulldown work.

Swap for: Pull-Up, Neutral-Grip Lat Pulldown, Single-Arm Lat Pulldown

Build a session with Lat Pulldown
Log it in RIRLift

Upper back, horizontal pull

Seated Cable Row

Upper Back, Lats

A steady pull with constant tension from the cable. Easy to adjust a step at a time.

How to do it

  1. Sit at the cable row with your feet on the platform and knees slightly bent, holding a close-grip handle with your arms straight.
  2. Sit tall with your chest up and let the cable pull your shoulder blades forward a little.
  3. Row the handle to your lower ribs, driving your elbows back past your torso.
  4. Return it under control until your arms are straight and your shoulders reach forward, then repeat.

Cues

  • Sit tall, no rocking
  • Handle to the belly button
  • Shoulders reach at the front

Common mistakes

  • Rocking back and forth to move the stack: your torso should stay close to upright throughout.
  • Shrugging the handle up toward your neck: pull your shoulders down before the elbows bend.

Swap for: Chest-Supported Row, Single-Arm Cable Row, Barbell Row

Build a session with Seated Cable Row
Log it in RIRLift

Triceps, isolation

Cable Triceps Pressdown

Triceps

A short, simple finisher for the arms at the end of an upper day.

How to do it

  1. Attach a bar or rope to a high pulley and grip it with your elbows at your sides.
  2. Push down until your elbows are straight.
  3. Let the handle rise until your forearms are just past parallel, then push again.

Cues

  • Elbows stay pinned
  • Lock out at the bottom

Common mistakes

  • Letting the elbows rise and flare: keep them glued to your sides.

Swap for: Cable Cross Pushdown, Overhead Cable Triceps Extension, Close-Grip Push-Up

Build a session with Cable Triceps Pressdown
Log it in RIRLift

Cardio after the lifts

A rower at the end of a lifting session does not change its type. RIRLift saves the whole workout as Traditional Strength Training and keeps the row as its own segment.

Legs and back, cardio machine

Rowing Machine

Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Lats

Eight minutes on the rower after leg day. Logged as time and effort, saved as part of the lifting session.

How to do it

  1. Strap in with your shins vertical and arms reaching forward.
  2. Drive with your legs, lean back slightly, then pull the handle to your lower ribs.
  3. Return arms, then torso, then knees.
  4. Keep the recovery about twice as long as the drive.

Cues

  • Legs, body, arms
  • Patient recovery
  • Handle stays level

Common mistakes

  • Pulling with the arms too early: legs finish first.
  • Short, choppy strokes when tired: lengthen them and slow down.

Swap for: Ski Erg, Air Bike, Running

Build a session with Rowing Machine
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

Apartment gym: cables and dumbbells, no barbell

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets24 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentLat Pulldown, Dumbbells, Incline Bench, Cable Row +1

Your building gym has a cable tower, a pulldown and a dumbbell rack, but no rack or barbell, and you want a real upper-body day there.

Two pulls, a press and a triceps finisher, 12 working sets. Machines and dumbbells let you start right away and change weights in seconds.

Upper day
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Lat Pulldown 3 × 8–12 2 90 s
Incline Dumbbell Press 3 × 8–12 2 2 min
Seated Cable Row 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
Cable Triceps Pressdown 3 × 10–15 1 1 min
How to run it
Start the routine on the Watch. Each set comes prefilled, so most sets are one tap. Use +15 s on the rest timer when the cable needs re-pinning between exercises.
How to progress
Incline press with 50 lb dumbbells for 12 / 12 / 12 at 2 left tops the 8 to 12 range: next session it is the 55s for 8. Lat pulldown 140 lb for 11 / 10 / 9 against a target of 9: the weakest set hit it, so the weight holds and the target goes to 10.
Open in the session builder

Session 2

Barbell day: deadlift and overhead press

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts2× a week
  • Working sets18 a week
  • Per workout~30 min
  • EquipmentBarbells, Pull-Up Bar

You lift with a barbell in a rack, two or three times a week, and today is the heavy pull and the standing press.

One heavy hinge, one heavy press and pull-ups to balance the press. Long rests keep each barbell set heavy, which is what drives the weight up over the weeks.

Deadlift and press
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Barbell Deadlift 3 × 3–5 2 3 min
Barbell Overhead Press 3 × 5–8 2 2:30 min
Pull-Up 3 × 5–8 2 2 min
How to run it
Warm up with lighter sets marked as warm-ups, then log the three working sets. With Pro, the Watch shows the plates for each side, so you load the bar without the phone.
How to progress
Deadlift 275 lb for 5 / 5 / 5 at 2 left tops the 3 to 5 range: next time 280 lb for 3. Press 115 lb for 7 / 6 / 5 against a target of 6: the last set fell short, so the weight and the target both hold until every set reaches it.
Open in the session builder

Session 3

Leg press day with a rower finisher

Open in the session builder
  • Workouts1× a week
  • Working sets14 a week
  • Per workout~25 min
  • EquipmentLeg Press, Cable Row, Rowing Machine

You want a leg day you can do on machines, and you like to finish with a few minutes of cardio before you leave.

Heavy leg presses and a back exercise, then eight hard minutes on the rower. The lifts drive strength; the row adds conditioning without a separate trip.

Legs and row
ExerciseSets × repsRIRRest
Leg Press 3 × 10–15 2 2 min
Seated Cable Row 3 × 10–12 2 90 s
Rowing MachineEight minutes, rated Hard. 8 × 1 min 2 0 s
How to run it
Log the lifts as usual. On the rower, rate each minute on the Watch with an effort level; type the distance from the screen on your iPhone afterwards if you want it kept.
How to progress
Leg press 360 lb for 15 / 14 / 12 against a target of 12: the weakest set hit it, so the load holds and the target goes to 13. The session is saved as Traditional Strength Training, with the row as its own segment inside it.
Open in the session builder

Make it fit you

Questions

What is traditional strength training on Apple Watch?

The workout type for lifting weights in sets with rest: barbell, dumbbell, machine, cable and bodyweight lifts. It is the type RIRLift saves any session with a lift in it as.

Can an Apple Watch track weight training?

Yes, with a lifting app. RIRLift logs the weight, reps and reps in reserve of every set on the Watch, times your rest, and sets the next weight from what you logged.

Should I pick traditional or functional strength training for weights?

Traditional. Functional Strength Training is for sleds, battle ropes, tire flips and sandbag cleans. If you log in RIRLift, the type is chosen from what you logged.

What if I finish with cardio?

The workout stays Traditional Strength Training as long as it has a lift in it. The cardio is kept as its own segment. If you want the cardio saved as a separate run or row, finish the lifting session first and start the cardio as its own session.