RPE workout log

Weight training programs based on the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) are a good choice for you if you have progressed passed the novice stage of lifting.

In the novice stage, a simple beginner program like Starting Strength or StrongLifts is enough to develop a strength foundation.

Past this stage, you need a slightly more complex workout routine to drive further progress.

This app will help you plan your RPE based workout, log your sessions, track your weights and visualize your progress.

The app includes the first month of the training template The Bridge by Barbell Medicine, which is designed to be a bridge between novice and intermediate programs. It focuses in equal parts on building strength and building muscle mass. You can find the full template for free on the internet.

If you don't like The Bridge you can simply delete the template by swiping left and create another by tapping the plus icon. The internet contains all kinds of templates geared towards hypertrophy, powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, strongman and CrossFit training that all rely on the RPE to help you pick the right weight and number of repetitions (reps).

The RPE is a number between 0 and 10 that denotes your perceived difficulty of a training set based on the number of reps you could still do after completion of the set. A 10 is the most difficult and means you have performed as many reps as possible (AMRAP). A 9 means you could still perform one more rep. An 8 implies you could do two more reps and so on.

The RPE is often prefixed by an @-sign. 7@8 for example means 7 reps at RPE 8.

If you are unsure about how many reps you have left, you can also estimate a decimal number. For instance, a 6.5 means you could have done between three and four reps more.

You rarely want to train AMRAP because you still want to have strength left for another set or to reduce the number of days to recover from the stress on your body.

When you create a workout template with this app, you write down the RPE to give you an indication of how hard your set should be.

After you have created your template, you can start a workout by tapping on the barbell icon. When you perform an exercise for the first time, you will have to set an adequate weight yourself. The next time, you perform this exercise, this app can help you find your weight by showing you the statistics of your last performance in a suggestion box. Don't worry, if you misjudge your weight. You can change your actually performed reps and your estimated RPE for each set individually.

This app uses the weight, reps and RPE values to create an estimation of your one rep max (e1RM), that is the maximal weight with which you should be able to perform one rep.

It also shows you the progress of your e1RM over time for each exercise in a line chart. And it stores your detailed training data so that you can review the history of your training days.

Your workout data is only stored locally on your phone and not on the internet.