A good first Apple Watch workout is a short full body lifting session, two or three times a week, logged set by set from your wrist. In RIRLift, a lift you've never done starts at a deliberately light weight marked Estimate, and your first set is as many good reps as you can manage; every weight after that is worked out from what you did. Pick the plan below that matches where you train, add it, switch to it in My Programs, and start it on the Watch.
EquipmentLeg Press, Chest Press, Lat Pulldown, Seated Leg Curl +1
You've just joined a gym, you've never lifted, and you want to start on machines that guide the movement for you.
One workout of five machines, done twice a week: legs, chest, back, hamstrings and shoulders. Machines hold you in the right path, so you can learn what a hard set feels like without worrying about balance. Three reps in reserve keeps the first month comfortable while the weights find their level.
Start the workout on your wrist. On each machine the first weight is a light Estimate, and the first set asks for max reps with good form; from the second set on, the Watch gives you a weight worked out from that set. Leave two or three days between sessions.
How to progress
After the first session, every set at the top of its range earns the next plate on the stack, and the reps reset. When a set is harder than planned the weight simply holds; you never lose weight for pushing.
You're starting at home with one pair of dumbbells, around 15 to 25 lb, and three short sessions a week.
Two workouts alternate, each under half an hour. With one pair, the weight can't climb for long, so the rep ranges run up to 15 or 20 and push-ups use a bench or counter to make them doable. Every session trains the legs, a push and a pull, enough to start.
Alternate Home A and Home B; the Watch puts the next one first. On a lift you've never logged, the first set asks for max reps and the rest are set from it.
How to progress
With one pair of dumbbells, progress is more reps: when every set reaches the top of the range, RIRLift asks for the next weight up. If you don't have it, keep the weight on the Watch and slow the lowering. When incline push-ups reach 20, lower the surface.
You've trained on machines or dumbbells for a couple of months, and you want to add the squat, bench press and Romanian deadlift.
Two workouts alternate: A opens with the squat and bench press, B with the Romanian deadlift. Each barbell lift gets warm-up sets and a long rest, then familiar dumbbell and machine lifts follow. Ranges of 6 to 10 reps with 3 in reserve give you room to learn the movement before the sets get hard.
Run A and B alternately, three days a week. Start the bar light; on a lift you've never logged, the Watch starts at an Estimate and your first set tells it the rest. With Pro the Watch shows the plates per side.
How to progress
Barbell lifts climb by the smallest step your plates make once every set reaches the top of the range. When your form feels steady, lower the reps in reserve on the iPhone from 3 to 2.
The pad keeps your lower back out of it after squats.
How to do it
Set the seat so the handles line up with your lower chest when your arms are straight.
Press your chest into the pad and grab the handles.
Pull your elbows back past your torso and squeeze your shoulder blades together.
Let your arms straighten and your shoulder blades spread forward before the next rep.
Cues
Chest glued to the pad
Elbows past your ribs
Let the shoulder blades travel
Common mistakes
Peeling your chest off the pad to finish reps: lighten the load and keep contact.
Short reps at the front: go all the way to straight arms or you lose the stretch.
Swap for: Machine Row, Seal Row, Incline Dumbbell Row
First barbell hinge
Romanian Deadlift
Hamstrings, Glutes
The hip hinge with a barbell, a step before the full deadlift.
How to do it
Stand tall holding the bar at your hips with an overhand grip just outside your thighs.
Soften your knees and keep that bend fixed for the whole set.
Push your hips straight back and let the bar slide down your thighs until you feel a strong hamstring stretch, usually just below your knees.
Squeeze your glutes to bring your hips forward and stand back up.
Cues
Hips back, not down
Bar stays in contact with your legs
Long spine from head to hips
Common mistakes
Turning it into a squat by bending your knees more as you lower: keep the knee angle fixed.
Rounding your back to reach the floor: stop the rep where your hips stop moving back.
Swap for: Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift, Stiff-Leg Deadlift, Good Morning
Make it fit you
Not sure how many reps you had left?
Make your best guess and stay consistent. RIRLift compares your reps in reserve against a target you judge the same way, and the reps you logged always count first.
Make the first week shorter
If the full session is too much, delete one set from each exercise on the iPhone for the first week, then add it back.
Use the swap button
If a machine is busy or you can't find it, tap swap on the Watch and choose from the suggestions. The new exercise starts from a weight worked out from the one you swapped out.
Override any weight
If a suggested weight looks wrong, change it on the Watch before the set. RIRLift carries on from what you actually lifted.
Questions
How do beginners use Apple Watch for lifting?
Add a beginner plan to a lifting app with a Watch app, start it on your wrist and log each set. In RIRLift each set shows the weight and reps to aim for, the rest timer runs by itself, and the next weights come from what you did.
What weight should a beginner start with?
Lighter than you think. RIRLift starts a new lift at a light Estimate and asks for as many good reps as you can on the first set, then works out the right weight from it. You never test a one-rep max.
How many days a week should a beginner lift?
Two or three. Two full body sessions train every muscle twice a week; a third helps once the first two feel routine.
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.
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.
