Runs, rows and intervals, next to your lifts.

The screen you train from

On a run set by distance, the ring holds a clock counting up from zero, with the exercise named above it and the distance in a stepper below. Run, tap the ring when you are done, and the time is recorded beside the distance. A piece set by time works the other way round: the ring drains as the clock counts down.

Between rounds, the ring becomes the rest clock and drains as the rest runs out, and −15s and +15s shorten or lengthen it. The same ring runs your lifting: on a set it says DONE, and you tap it when the set is done. An Up next card shows what comes next, so you always know what the following piece is.

What cardio training asks for

Most aerobic fitness comes from easy work: running, rowing or skiing at a pace you could hold a conversation at. Harder intervals sit on top of that base, a session or two a week, not every day. A common pattern is a long easy session, one interval session (repeats of 400 m to 1 km on a run, or 500 m on a rower, with rest between) and short easy pieces on other days.

Rest matters as much as the work in an interval session. Too little and the later repeats fall apart; too much and the session turns into separate sprints. Start with rest about as long as the work, and shorten it over weeks as the repeats get easier.

If you lift as well, keep the hardest cardio away from your heaviest leg day where you can, and add volume in small steps.

Cardio beside your lifting

A Cardio block is one steady effort by time, distance or calories. It can repeat for rounds with rest between, so 5 × 500 m on the rower with 90 seconds’ rest is one block, and a distance piece records how long it took. Put it after your squats in the same template, or run it on its own.

For timed work and rest, use an Interval block. It runs the work and the rest for the number of rounds you set and moves on by itself, so you never touch the phone. The EMOM preset sets 60 seconds of work with no rest, and the Tabata preset sets 20 seconds on and 10 off for 8 rounds. An Interval block records the rounds completed, not the reps inside each one.

Sounds and haptics mark the end of a rest and, in an Interval block with a rest time, the start of work and of rest, and a 3-2-1 countdown plays as a rest runs out. Every run, row and lift lands in the same history.

The app does not use GPS, connect to a watch or read heart rate. You enter the distance and it times the effort, so keep your watch for pace, route and heart rate.

How to build it in One Rep Closer

1. In the Templates tab, tap + and name the template.
2. Tap Add block and pick Cardio. Choose Run, Rowing (Erg) or SkiErg, and set it by time, distance or calories.
3. For repeats, set the rounds and the rest between.
4. For timed work and rest, tap Add block, pick Interval, choose EMOM, Tabata or your own work, rest and rounds, and tap Add movement for what you will do.
5. Tap Save.

To train, open the Train tab, tap Pick a template and tap Start workout. The hybrid split guide builds a full week of lifting and running, and the Hyrox week for lifters adds runs to a lifting week for race training.

One Rep Closer is free to download, and the free plan has no limit on how many workouts you log. It keeps 2 templates; Premium removes that limit. See pricing for what Premium adds.