Strength training workouts to run on your Apple Watch
Published November 3, 2026
A strength training workout on Apple Watch needs an app that runs the lifting itself: the weight, reps and effort of every set, the rest between them and the next weight to use. Add one of the plans below to RIRLift, switch to it in My Programs and start it on your wrist; you confirm each set as you rack the weight, and the next set and next session are set from what you did. The session is saved to Apple Health as Traditional Strength Training.
You train in a gym with a rack and plates, and you want your squat, bench press and deadlift to go up, with the phone left in your bag.
Each day opens with one main lift for 3 to 6 reps, then a second barbell lift in a slightly higher range and a pull. The main lifts get three warm-up sets and three-minute rests, because heavy sets need the recovery. Squat and bench press come twice a week, the deadlift once, which is enough for a lift that heavy.
Run the days in order, Monday, Wednesday and Friday or any three days with a rest between. Load the bar from the Watch; with Pro it shows the plates per side under the weight, so you don't have to work out the math between sets.
How to progress
When every working set reaches the top of its range, the next session adds the smallest step your plates make, such as 5 lb with 2.5 lb plates, and the reps start again at the bottom. If a lift stalls for three sessions, the recap suggests about 10% lighter and you build back up; nothing changes unless you accept it.
Your gym is busy at the hours you train, the racks are rarely free, and you lift twice a week.
Machines take seconds to set up and don't need a spotter, so you can push sets close to failure and still keep moving when the floor is full. Two different days cover every major muscle, with the legs and back trained on both, using 6 to 10 reps on the big movements and 10 to 15 on the rest.
Machines A
Exercise
Sets × reps
RIR
Rest
Hack Squat2 warm-up sets firstLower until your thighs pass parallel
Before you start, let the Watch review the plan against the machines your gym has and keep or replace each one. When something is taken mid-session, swap it from the Watch and carry on; the replacement's first weight is worked out from the one you swapped out.
How to progress
When all sets of a machine reach the top of the range, the next session moves up one plate on the stack and the reps reset. Save each machine to your gym in RIRLift so it keeps its own loads; two leg presses rarely weigh the same.
You lifted before, then stopped for a month or more, and you want to get back to your old numbers without a sore first week.
A short two-day plan with dumbbells and machines, so nothing depends on getting your barbell technique back first. The ranges start at 8 to 12 with 3 reps in reserve, which keeps the first weeks easy enough to come back to.
If you logged in RIRLift before your break, it offers Ease back in after three weeks or more without training: one easier week that opens about 10% lighter, then normal progression. Choose it, then start Day 1 on your wrist. Lifts you logged before start from your history; any you haven't start at a light Estimate.
How to progress
After the easier week, double progression takes over: every set at the top of its range earns the next weight up. Once a lift is back near your old numbers, lower the reps in reserve to 2 on the iPhone so the sets get hard again.
Start the workout on your wrist and the first set is already filled in from last time: weight, target reps and reps in reserve. Lift, then confirm or adjust with the Digital Crown. The rest timer starts on its own; add or take off 15 seconds, or skip it. If a set went better or worse than planned, the next one adjusts before you've put the bar down for long. Warm-up sets show as Warmup 1/3 and are never rated.
The hinge pattern, loaded light enough to come back to without soreness that lasts all week.
How to do it
Stand with feet hip-width apart, a dumbbell in each hand in front of your thighs.
Unlock your knees, then push your hips back and let the dumbbells slide down your legs.
Stop when your hamstrings are tight and your back is about to round, usually just below the knee.
Squeeze your glutes to bring your hips forward and stand up.
Cues
Hips back, not chest down
Dumbbells shave your legs
Long spine, neck in line
Common mistakes
Turning it into a squat: keep the knee bend small and fixed.
Chasing depth by rounding your back: stop where your hamstrings stop you.
Swap for: Single-Leg RDL, Dumbbell B-Stance RDL, Dumbbell Good Morning
Dumbbell overhead press
Dumbbell Shoulder Press
Shoulders
It trains the shoulders overhead with free movement at the wrists and elbows.
How to do it
Sit on a bench or chair with back support, or stand with your stomach braced.
Start with the dumbbells at shoulder height, palms forward or slightly turned in.
Press up until your arms are straight overhead.
Lower back to shoulder height under control.
Cues
Ribs down
Press up and slightly back
Full lockout overhead
Common mistakes
Leaning far back: brace your stomach and squeeze your glutes.
Stopping at forehead height: bring them down to your shoulders.
Swap for: Neutral-Grip Dumbbell Shoulder Press, Arnold Press, Pike Push-Up
Make it fit you
Set up your bar and plates (Pro)
With Pro, enter your gym's plates and bar. The Watch then shows only loads you can actually make, and the plates per side for each one.
Rest before deadlift day
If Day 2's Romanian deadlifts leave your lower back tired for Day 3, put a rest day between them. The Watch keeps the order whatever days you train.
Change the pace
In RIRLift, Steady takes smaller, surer steps, Standard is double progression and Push takes bigger jumps. Pick Steady if you're coming back from time off.
Set your bodyweight for pull-ups
Add your bodyweight in the iPhone app, under Settings. Pull-ups then count it as the load; until you do, the Watch shows Bodyweight not set.
Questions
Is there a weight lifting workout on Apple Watch?
The Workout app has Traditional Strength Training and Functional Strength Training, which time the session and track heart rate. They have nowhere to put the weight or reps. A lifting app on the Watch adds that: RIRLift logs each set and sets the next weight from it.
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.
Does a strength workout count toward my Exercise ring?
RIRLift saves each session to Apple Health as a workout. How much of it counts toward the ring is Apple's decision, not RIRLift's.
How many reps for strength?
Mostly 3 to 8 on the main barbell lifts, with 1 to 3 reps left in reserve, and higher reps on the lifts that follow. The barbell plan above does that; the other two use 6 to 15 reps because machines and dumbbells move in bigger steps.
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.
Is it free?
Yes. Running these plans on iPhone and Apple Watch is free, with no account. Pro adds plates per side on the Watch and your own plates and bar.
