A full body workout on Apple Watch is one lifting session that trains your legs, a press, a pull and a hinge, logged set by set from your wrist. Pick the plan below that matches your gym and your week, add it to RIRLift, switch to it in My Programs and start it on the Watch: each set shows its weight, reps and rest, you confirm what you did, and the next session's weights are set from it. Two or three of these a week cover every major muscle.
You train in a gym with racks and machines, three days a week, and you want the barbell lifts to go up without carrying your phone between stations.
Two workouts alternate: A starts with the squat and bench press, B with the leg press and overhead press, so every muscle is trained three times across two weeks without repeating a heavy day back to back. The barbell lifts get two warm-up sets and long rests; the smaller lifts finish closer to failure on short rests. That is about 6 to 9 hard sets a week for the legs, chest and back on the A/B/A weeks.
Train A, B, A one week and B, A, B the next. You don't have to track the order: the Watch lists the workout that's next at the top. Load the bar from the weight on your wrist; with Pro the Watch also shows the plates per side.
How to progress
Double progression on your weakest set: when every set of a lift reaches the top of its range, the next session adds the smallest step your plates allow and the reps start again at the bottom. Short of that, the weight holds and the target goes up a rep. If a lift goes three sessions without a new rep, the recap offers a lighter week; you choose.
You train at home with adjustable dumbbells and a flat bench, twice a week, and you want each session to cover everything.
Two sessions, with no lift repeated heavy on both days except the row. Rep ranges run higher than in the gym plan because home dumbbells top out sooner: when you can't go heavier, more reps at the same weight still count. Each muscle gets 3 to 6 hard sets a week, the most for the back and legs; the tips below show how to add a third day.
Leave at least two days between sessions, such as Monday and Thursday. Set your dumbbells to the weight on your wrist before each exercise; the rest timer starts as soon as you log the set.
How to progress
When every set of a lift reaches the top of its range, the next session moves you to the next dumbbell and the reps start again at the bottom. If you're on your heaviest pair, keep the weight, use a slower lowering and change the weight yourself on the Watch when you get heavier dumbbells; RIRLift carries on from what you log.
EquipmentLeg Press, Cable Row, Chest Press, Seated Leg Curl +2
You have about 30 minutes, three times a week, and a gym with a leg press, cable stack and chest press close together.
One workout, run three times a week, built as three pairs: two put a leg exercise with an upper-body one, and the third pairs a pulldown with a press, so one muscle rests while the other works. You rest after each pair, not after each exercise, which fits 18 working sets into about half an hour.
On the Watch each pair shows as Superset 1 of 2 or 2 of 2 with the round you're on, and the rest timer starts after the second exercise. If a machine in a pair is taken, swap it from the Watch; the new one starts at a weight worked out from the one you swapped out.
How to progress
Double progression on each machine: when all three sets reach the top of the range, the next session adds one plate on the stack and the reps reset. Machines with big plate jumps may need a few sessions at the top of the range before the next step comes up.
It trains the shoulders overhead with a fixed path, quick to set up between pulldown sets.
How to do it
Set the seat so the handles start at about shoulder height.
Sit with your back flat against the pad, feet planted, and grip the handles.
Press up until your arms are nearly straight overhead.
Lower the handles back to shoulder height under control and press again.
Cues
Back stays on the pad
Press up, not forward
Control the way down
Common mistakes
Arching hard off the backrest to finish a rep: lighten the stack and keep your ribs down.
Cutting the rep short at the top: finish each press with your arms almost fully straight.
Letting the stack rest between reps: stop the handles just above it so your shoulders stay loaded.
Make it fit you
Swap a station from the Watch
If the rack or a machine is busy, swap the exercise on your wrist from the suggested swaps. The replacement starts at a weight worked out from your strength on the lift you swapped out.
Tell the Watch what your gym has
Before you start, the Watch can review the plan against your gym's equipment and offer replacements for anything missing. Turn on Remember at this gym and it uses the same swap next time.
Add a third weekly session at home
Running the dumbbell plan twice a week? Repeat Home A on a third day with the same weights. More sessions count only if you recover from them, so drop it again if your numbers stop climbing.
Shorten the rests on the small lifts
On a busy day, tap −15 s on the rest timer for curls, raises and leg curls. Keep the full rest on the squat, bench press and overhead press so their weights keep moving.
Questions
Can Apple Watch track a full body workout?
The Watch's own Workout app records the time and your heart rate, not what you lifted. With RIRLift on the Watch you log the weight, reps and reps in reserve for every set, and the next weights come from those sets.
Which Apple Watch workout type should I pick for lifting?
You don't have to pick one. RIRLift saves the session to Apple Health for you, and any session with lifting in it is saved as Traditional Strength Training.
How many full body workouts a week?
Two or three. Three sessions train each muscle about three times a week on lighter days; two longer sessions get the same weekly sets with fewer trips to the gym. Pick the plan that fits the days you can keep.
How long should a full body workout take?
Each plan above shows an estimate that counts its sets and rests: about 25 to 35 minutes. The rests take most of the time; supersets cut it by resting after each pair instead of after each exercise.
Can I leave my iPhone in the locker?
Yes. Every set is saved on the Watch the moment you log it, and the rest timer, swaps and next weights all run there. The session syncs back to your iPhone afterwards. You do need an iPhone to install RIRLift and set up your plan.
