strenos
For a percentage program, pick an app that works out every set from your max and changes the weights by the program's own rule. On iPhone, Strenos, Liftosaur, KeyLifts and Boostcamp all do that, and the free nSuns 5/3/1 app does it for nSuns. Hevy and Strong are excellent workout logs, but you enter the weekly weights yourself.
We make Strenos, so weigh our opinion with that in mind. Everything we say about other apps comes from their own websites, help centers and App Store pages, checked on November 8, 2026. Apps change, so check each app's page before you decide.
What to look for
- Ready-made programs. 5/3/1, nSuns and GZCLP should already be in the app, not something you rebuild from a blank routine.
- Weights from your max. You enter your maxes once, and every set is worked out from them.
- The program's own progression. The plus set moves your working max, and missed reps on GZCLP move the lift to its next stage. If you change the numbers by hand every week, the app is just a notebook.
- Plates. Weights should round to what you can actually load.
- Apple Watch. Closing sets from your wrist beats unlocking a phone with chalk on your hands.
The apps side by side
| App | Built-in programs | Weights from your max | Apple Watch | Android |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strenos | 5/3/1 with BBB or FSL, nSuns, GZCLP, Texas Method, Smolov Jr | Yes, with each program's own rule | Yes, you start on iPhone | No |
| Liftosaur | 5/3/1, nSuns, GZCLP, Texas Method, Smolov Jr and about 60 more | Yes, rules written as code | Yes, with Premium | Yes |
| KeyLifts | 150+ templates from the 5/3/1 books, plus GZCL and nSuns | Yes, auto training max increase in Pro | Yes | Yes |
| Boostcamp | 5/3/1, nSuns, GZCLP and a big library | Yes | No | Yes |
| nSuns 5/3/1 | nSuns only | Yes | Yes, rest timer and current set | Not listed |
| Hevy | Not mentioned on its site | No, you enter the weights | Yes, works without the phone | Yes |
| Strong | Not mentioned on its site | No, you enter the weights | Yes, works without the phone | Yes |
Strenos
In Strenos you get five percentage programs on iPhone and Apple Watch: 5/3/1 with BBB or FSL, nSuns, GZCLP, the Texas Method and Smolov Jr. You enter your maxes once. Every set shows up with its weight, rounded to the smallest plate in your gym, and the program's rule moves your numbers: the plus set in 5/3/1 and nSuns, the stages in GZCLP, intensity day in the Texas Method. On weighted pull-ups and dips, your bodyweight counts in the percentages, which we didn't find in any other app we checked.
Worth knowing: it's iPhone and Apple Watch only, you start each workout on the iPhone, and 5/3/1 supplemental work is limited to BBB and FSL. Logging and the watch app are free, week one of every program is free, and Plus opens the full plan.
Liftosaur
The most programmable app on the list. Liftosaur ships about 60 programs, including nSuns, GZCLP with its stages, the Texas Method and Smolov Jr, and you can read and edit each program's progression rules, written in its own scripting language. Weights round to the plates you actually have, and it runs on iPhone, Android and the web. The Apple Watch app and the plates-per-side view need Premium, and the app is in English only.
The short answerA percentage program needs an app that works out the next weight for you. Any log can record the last one.
KeyLifts
Built around 5/3/1: more than 150 templates from Wendler's books, Joker sets and three ways to raise your training max, including auto-regulation by reps. It also covers GZCL and nSuns. Automatic training max increases and the plate calculator are part of Pro. It runs on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Android, and Pro comes as a subscription or a lifetime purchase.
Boostcamp
The biggest library of ready programs on the list, with GZCLP through what Boostcamp calls an official partnership with Cody Lefever, and nSuns in several day splits. The program builder supports percentages of your 1RM for free. There's no Apple Watch app yet, and the plate and warm-up calculators have a free limit before Pro.
nSuns 5/3/1
If nSuns is all you run, this free app by Jonas Reichert does one job well. Your training max and AMRAP results drive the weights, it has 4-, 5- and 6-day templates, and the watch app keeps your rest timer and current set on your wrist. Its in-app purchases are tips, not features.
Hevy and Strong
Both are popular, polished workout logs with full Apple Watch apps and Android versions. Going by their own pages, neither works out weights from a training max or ships 5/3/1, nSuns or GZCLP. You can still run a program in them: you calculate each week yourself, type the weights into a routine and change them when the program says so. After a workout, both can copy what you lifted back into the routine, but that's not the program's rule. We compare them in detail in Strenos vs Hevy and Strenos vs Strong.
How to choose
- If you run 5/3/1, nSuns, GZCLP, the Texas Method or Smolov Jr on iPhone with Apple Watch, try Strenos.
- If you want to write your own progression rules or need Android and the web, try Liftosaur.
- If you live by the 5/3/1 books and their templates, try KeyLifts.
- If you want the biggest program library and don't need a watch, try Boostcamp.
- If you only run nSuns and want it free, try nSuns 5/3/1.
- If you don't follow a set program and just log, Hevy or Strong will do.
