A strength log you can read under the bar.

The screen you train from

During a workout the screen centres on one large ring, with the set you are on named above it: SET 1 OF 5 — BARBELL SQUAT. On a lifting set the ring says DONE, and the whole ring is the button. Finish the set, tap it. Reps and weight sit in steppers below the ring, so if the set went differently from the plan you change them before you tap.

Tap the set done and, when the set has a rest time, the rest clock starts itself. The ring becomes a clock that drains as the rest runs down, with −15s and +15s to shorten or lengthen it. Under the ring, a line shows your best from the last run of this template (LAST RUN BEST) or, if there is none, your best ever for that exercise (BEST). An Up next card shows what comes after.

“The ring matters. Most sets go the way you planned them, and you don’t want to fuss with little buttons while you recover. One quick tap, and you start bringing your heart rate down.” — Graham Bond, who built One Rep Closer

What a strength log has to do

Getting stronger is mostly a matter of doing slightly more than last time, often enough, without getting hurt. That asks three things of you: know what you did last time, warm up properly before the heavy sets, and rest long enough between sets that the next one is worth doing.

A notebook can do this. So can memory, for a while. The trouble starts when you run three or four lifts a session across a few sessions a week: last Tuesday’s numbers are gone, the warm-ups get rushed, and the rest timer is whatever the clock on the wall says.

Everything a lifting log must do, done

One Rep Closer logs sets, reps and weights for every lift. When you start a template again, last time’s sets, reps and weights are already filled in, and a plan screen lets you change today’s sets, weights, reps and rest before you start. Those changes apply to that workout only.

Warm-up sets come from four ramps: Standard, Starting Strength, 5/3/1 and Minimal. They are worked out from your working weight, rounded to 2.5 kg, with an empty-bar set first on barbell lifts, and they are on the free plan.

Each Strength block has its own rest between sets, any single set’s rest can be changed on the plan screen, and a separate rest after the block runs by itself before the next one. Personal records cover estimated one rep max, the heaviest weight at each rep count, and workout and muscle-group tonnage. Warm-up sets do not count. When you repeat a template, the summary compares the total weight you lifted with last time.

Beyond the barbell

A Strength block can be set by time instead of reps, and each timed set counts down and finishes itself. A Hold block times a static hold such as a plank. A Rest block is a planned break between blocks.

Plans change mid-session. During a workout you can swap an exercise for a ranked alternative, add or remove a set, skip a block, or move blocks up and down.

If you compare logging apps, we set the details out on One Rep Closer vs Strong and One Rep Closer vs Hevy.

How to build it in One Rep Closer

Open the Templates tab and tap +. Tap Add block, choose Strength, pick the exercise and set your sets, reps, weight and rest. Add a warm-up ramp if you want one. Add a block for each lift, then Save.

To train, go to the Train tab, tap Pick a template, check today’s numbers on the plan screen and tap Start workout.

“My week starts on Sunday with heavy legs: squats, deadlifts and leg press. Low reps, high intensity. Set the target and get after it.” — Graham

The free plan has no limit on how many workouts you log. It keeps 2 templates and charts the last 4 weeks; Premium removes the template limit and adds longer chart ranges. See pricing for the details.