Finding a good Weightlifting App
One of the first things I did when I got my first smartphone 3 years ago was to start searching for an app to use in the gym.
It took me a couple of months of trial and error and waffling back and forth between the smartphone and pencil and paper before I gave up on the existing apps entirely, threw my hat in the ring and developed a weightlifting app of my own. The landscape has changed quite a bit since those early days, and the competition has improved considerably. While this is great news for weightlifters and bodybuilders everywhere, this also means that picking the app that is right for you has only gotten harder. As an expert in this space, my goal here is not to sell you on the app that I developed (though I wouldn’t mind if you enjoyed my application), but to provide you with a basis for understanding which app might be right for you.
The top three apps in Google Play for the keyword “weightlifting app” are JeFit, Fitness Trainer GymApp and Bodybuilding & Fitness. Your results may vary depending on the device you use and where you are when you conduct your search (Google considers your location when delivering search results).
Credit: tt-thomas.co.uk
JeFit
JeFit is the flagship weightlifing app on Android in my opinion. If you are a beginner, and you need a guide in building and conducting your weightlifting routine, start here. It is very feature rich which for a certain segment of the exercising population can be a problem.
With JeFit you can download sample workout plans, keep track of body stats, take progress photos, plan your entire weekly workout rotation and read detailed exercise instructions prior to performing each exercise.
When I was using weightlifting apps other than my own, this one was my favorite, and it still seems to be the most professional app in this space.
Get JeFit on Google Play.
Fitness Trainer GymApp
This application is nearly as feature-rich as JeFit, but lacks the polish.
Several of the key features of the app are limited in the free version and it is supported with a banner ad at the top of the screen which occasionally causes the elements on the screen to shift when it is refreshed. This often makes for a limited experience with the app which in my opinion could be easily avoided. While the application does exhibit some attractive features such as the interface for entering weight and reps that are refreshingly simple, I find it difficult to recommend this application when something like JeFit is available.
Credit: androidheadlines.com
Credit: play.google.com
Bodybuilding & Fitness
The Bodybuilding & Fitness application is simple, instructive and well laid out.
If you are looking for an app that provides copious sample routines and will guide you through every step of the process, then this is probably the app for you. Choose from one of 5 built-in fitness programs which proscribe all of the workouts in a 7-day rotation. If you are not a beginner, however, be forewarned that this app is essentially a replacement for an exercise routine booklet or magazine. It does not, as far as I can tell, provide any means to track your progress.
Gymer App
This brings me to my application, GYMer which I developed for the single purpose of replacing my pencil and paper gym logs that I had piled up over the years.
After several failed attempts to make any of the mobile apps stick it occurred to me that I really only wanted two features in a gym log. First, I wanted to
be able to track my weight lifted and reps achieved for each set of each exercise which was almost always going to be easier to achieve with pencil and paper. So the app was designed to make it as easy as possible to enter your data and get started. Second, I wanted to be able to graph my progress over time to see if I was getting stronger or whether I needed to switch things up. So I designed the app with all of the graphs of your lifts just a single swipe from the home screen.
If you are looking for something that is an easy-to-use replacement for pen and paper and you don’t mind having your progress presented through illuminating graphics then GYMer might be just right for you.
I hope you have a good time trying out one or other weightlifting app to help you in your journey. At the very least, you will get in a few workouts in the process.