Precise progress tracking
Each set is saved with its weight and reps. After a few weeks, the charts show which lifts are moving and which have stalled.
Comparison · Apps
Workout apps
How to choose one
What a good app should do, how to compare apps, and what a subscription adds up to over a year.
- What to compare
- Subscription or one-time
A workout app replaces the paper log: it keeps your weights, sets and records, and shows you whether you're progressing. The catch is picking the right one, because fitness apps vary a lot in what they do and what they cost.
This guide covers what a workout tracking app should do, how to compare apps, and the question of how they make money. We build BenchRep, so we talk about it at the end, but the criteria apply to any app.
Why use a workout app?
Save time at the gym
You can see what you lifted last time at a glance, without flipping through a notebook or relying on memory.
Motivation
Seeing a record fall or a chart climb helps you get back to the gym in the weeks when you'd rather not.
Structured programs
With a program, you know what you're doing before you walk in. Most apps include a few and let you build your own.
Logging your sessions is mainly about progressive overload: to add weight or a rep, you need to know what you did last time. Without a log, it's easy to repeat the same weights for months without noticing.
Download, €8.99 onceEssential features of a workout app
1 Workout tracking
The basic job of any workout app: logging your sessions in detail, and quickly.
- Recording exercises, sets, reps, and weights
- Built-in and customizable rest timer
- Complete history of all your sessions
- Works offline, for gyms with poor signal
2 Exercise catalog
A broad list of exercises with a demonstration for each one, ideally on video.
Exercises included
- • Compound movements (squat, deadlift...)
- • Isolation exercises (curl, extensions...)
- • Bodyweight exercises
- • Machine exercises
Information provided
- • Primary and secondary muscles targeted
- • Detailed execution instructions
- • Variations and alternatives
- • Safety tips
3 Statistics and progress
Numbers that show whether you're progressing, lift by lift.
Progress charts Weight evolution curves
Personal Records (PR) Automatic record tracking
Training volume Tonnage per muscle/session
Frequency Consistency tracking
4 Training programs
Ready-made programs to get started, and the tools to build your own.
-
Predefined programs
Full body, PPL, Upper/Lower, strength programs, hypertrophy...
-
Custom programs
Your own sessions, built around your goal and the time you have
-
Weight suggestions
The app suggests today's weight based on your recent sessions
The app
What BenchRep does
Set logging with RPE and notes, a rest timer, 618 exercises with 602 videos, 15 built-in programs plus your own, charts per exercise and records detected after every workout. All offline, on iPhone and Android.
Download, €8.99 onceHow to choose your workout app
1
Define your needs
A beginner mostly needs guided programs and exercise explanations. An experienced lifter wants to log weights fast and read the charts. Your level and your goal decide which features are useful to you.
2
Test the interface
You'll be using the app between sets, often out of breath, sometimes with chalk on your fingers. If logging a set takes more than a few seconds, you'll eventually stop doing it.
3
Check offline mode
Plenty of gyms are in basements or get poor signal. A workout app that needs a connection to save a set will let you down at the worst moment.
4
Look at the business model
Subscription, ads or a one-time purchase: one way or another, the app gets paid for. A €9.99 monthly subscription costs €119.88 a year, and access ends the day you cancel. Free apps often make their money from ads or from your data.
5
Read user reviews
Reviews on the App Store and Google Play often mention bugs or limits the description leaves out. Read the recent ones first, and check whether the developer replies.
Which app for your profile?
Beginners
Look for an app with ready-made programs, exercise explanations and a simple interface. You should be able to log your first session without reading a manual.
BenchRep: 15 built-in programsIntermediate
You need precise weight tracking, progress stats and the ability to build your own programs.
BenchRep: custom programsAdvanced
You'll care most about detailed stats, balance between muscle groups, RPE per set and a full history.
BenchRep: RPE, notes, estimated 1RMDiscover BenchRep
A workout tracker you pay for once, and it works without a connection
Unlimited workout tracking
Every session logged, with no quota and no paid tier to unlock.
618 exercises in the catalog
467 strength exercises, 115 stretches and 36 cardio exercises, 602 of them on video.
Predefined programs
15 programs to get started, plus your own programs and exercises if you need them.
Personal Records tracking
Detected after every workout, including your estimated 1RM.
Fully offline
No server, no account: your data stays on your phone.
Visual statistics
Charts per exercise, a body weight chart, stats compared from one period to the next.
Quick logging
Every set is saved the moment you check it off.
iOS & Android
Available on the App Store and Google Play.
€8.99, paid once on the App Store or Google Play. Every feature is included from day one, updates too, and there's no subscription or in-app purchase.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best free workout app?
Free apps almost always make money some other way: ads, use of your data, or a limited free tier that nudges you toward a subscription. Some are still fine for logging sessions, as long as you check what the free version lets you do day to day. BenchRep GymTracker went a different way: €8.99 paid once, with no ads, no account and no subscription, 618 exercises, 15 programs and updates included. It's available on the App Store and Google Play.
How do I choose a workout app?
Check that it lets you log sets, reps and weights in a few seconds, and that it has editable programs, progress stats and an exercise library with demonstrations. Offline support matters too if your gym has poor signal.
Can a workout app replace a personal trainer?
Not entirely. An app keeps your history, organizes your sessions and can suggest weights, but it can't see your technique. For people who train on their own, an app is often enough. Early on, a few sessions with a coach are still worth it to learn the lifts.
What features are essential in a workout app?
At a minimum: logging sessions (exercises, sets, reps, weights), keeping track of personal records, showing your progress, a rest timer, and a way to follow or build a program.
Do workout apps work offline?
Not all of them. Some need a connection to save or sync your sets. BenchRep works fully offline: there's no server, your data stays on your phone, and you can log sessions with no signal at all.
Why track workouts with an app?
To know what to lift today, you need to know what you did last time. A training log lets you apply progressive overload, spot a lift that has stalled and adjust your program before you spend months spinning your wheels. Watching the numbers go up also helps with motivation.
BenchRep GymTracker is out on iPhone and Android
618 exercises with 602 videos, 15 programs and every session logged, on your phone and with no connection needed. €8.99 once, no subscription, no account to create, updates included.
- 618 exercises, 602 with a video
- 15 programs included
- Works offline
- No account needed