How to choose a workout tracker app: the questions that actually separate them
Most workout tracker comparisons rank apps by features. This guide sorts them by the job you need done, lists the questions worth asking, and says plainly which kind Method is and who should look elsewhere.
ExplainerUpdated 4 min readMarkdown version
Four kinds of tracker
Most "best workout app" lists compare apps that are trying to do different jobs. Sorting by the job first makes the choice obvious.
| Kind | What it is good at | Typical examples | Ask yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Routine logger | Fast set logging from saved routines, wide platform support, social features | Hevy, Strong | Do I mostly repeat a few routines and want speed? |
| Program-first tracker | Holding a multi-week plan, scheduling it, logging against it, history tied to the plan | Method | Do I write or follow a structured program and want the plan in view while I lift? |
| Program library app | Following a published program with built-in progression | Boostcamp | Do I want someone else's proven program, run for me? |
| Auto-generating app | Building each session for you from goals, equipment, and recovery | Fitbod | Do I want the app to decide what I do today? |
The lines blur at the edges. Routine loggers can schedule routines to a calendar. Library apps have custom builders. But the centre of gravity of each app is clear from its own description, and that centre is what you live with.
Questions that separate trackers
Where do you plan, and where do you log? If you want a keyboard and a big screen for building weeks, you want a web app that is a real editor. If you log on the gym floor, you want a phone app that shows the prescription and pre-fills the load. Method splits exactly this way, web to plan and iPhone to log. The web app does not log.
What does a set prescription hold? Reps as a number, a range, or AMRAP. Effort as RIR or RPE, with halves. Rest, tempo, notes. Relative loads such as a percentage of the top set. If your program uses any of these, check the app can store them rather than leaving them in a note. Method holds all of them.
Does it keep planned and completed separate? A tracker that overwrites the plan with what you did cannot tell you later where you deviated. Method stores the prescription with every completed workout.
How are loads suggested, and can you see why? Some apps suggest a weight with no explanation. Method computes it from your most recent eligible set using estimated 1RM with reps in reserve and shows the arithmetic. It is off by default.
Cardio and Apple Health. If you run or ride as well as lift, you want those sessions in the same history. Method logs 20 cardio activity types, records them on Apple Watch, imports Apple Health workouts in the background, and writes Method cardio back.
Export. Can you get your data out, and in what shape? Method Pro exports every set as CSV with program, week, day, and both weight units, and produces PDFs. Cardio is not in the export today.
Platforms. Android, iPad, Apple Watch for lifting, Mac. Method has none of those; it is iPhone plus web plus a cardio-only Watch app. Routine loggers generally cover more devices.
Price and the free tier. Every app here has a free tier. The question is what the free tier limits. Method limits total programming to 6 weeks, history to 30 days, saved sessions to 4, and custom exercises to 25, and warns before the programming wall. Paid tiers are priced within a few dollars of each other across the category; the pricing page has Method's.
Where Method fits
Method is for the athlete who trains from a written program, their own or their coach's. It is strongest when the plan comes first, the prescriptions are detailed, the training mixes lifting with running, riding, or rowing, and you want to read your history against the plan later. It is weakest when you want to open an app and go with no setup, when you want the app to write your training, or when you need Android, iPad, or lifting on a watch. If you coach other people, Method for coaches covers the workspace side.
If that sounds like you, the comparisons with Hevy and Strong go through the specifics. If it does not, one of the routine loggers will serve you better, and it is fine to say so.
Common questions
- What is the best workout tracker app?
- There is no single answer. It depends on whether you log routines, follow a program you write, follow a coach, or want the app to generate workouts. Method is built for people who follow a written multi-week program and want to log against it on iPhone, whether they wrote the program themselves on the web or a coach published it to them from a Method Coach Workspace.
- Which workout trackers have a web app?
- Method's program editor, history, and analytics run in the browser. Hevy also offers a web app. Strong's listing and site describe iPhone, Android, and Apple Watch only. Check each app's current listing; this page states what was published on the date it was last checked.
- Is Method a good first workout tracker?
- It is a good fit if you already train from a plan or want to start. If you want to open an app and tap sets with no setup, a routine logger is quicker to begin with.
- Does Method work on Android?
- No. Method is iPhone and web, with a cardio-only Apple Watch app.
Try Method
Write your program on the web, log every set on iPhone, and keep the whole history in one place. Free to start.
Related reading
Method vs Hevy: a workout tracker comparison for people who plan their training
Hevy is a social gym logger built around routines. Method is a program-first planner and logger. This page lays out exactly where they differ so you can pick the one that fits how you train.
Method vs Strong: a workout tracker comparison for program-first training
Strong is a long-running, simple gym logger with a full Apple Watch app and CSV export. Method is a planner and logger built around multi-week programs. This page sets out the differences plainly.
Strength training program tracker: what to look for, and how Method does it
A logger records sets. A program tracker holds the plan, schedules it, logs against it, and keeps the two connected. This page lists the capabilities that matter and states exactly what Method does and does not do for each.
Where Method runs: iPhone, Apple Watch, and web
A plain list of the devices Method runs on, the minimum versions, what each surface is for, and what Method does not support, so nobody installs it and finds out the hard way.
Method writes and maintains this page. Every statement about Method is checked against the shipped product. If something here is out of date, email contact@methodapp.net. For general references, link to the Method homepage.