Strong and Fitbod compared for set logging, progressive overload and recovery-aware planning, with Hevy and JEFIT covered for free routines.
Lifting progress eventually runs into a very specific problem: you cannot remember what you benched last Wednesday, and guessing low stalls progress while guessing high wrecks the session. A notebook solves the memory part, but an app also totals volume, tracks progression per exercise and runs a rest timer without being asked. The 2 apps in this guide represent the two serious philosophies. Strong is built around frictionless logging of the plan you brought to the gym; Fitbod generates the plan itself around recovery and available equipment. The FAQs also cover Hevy and JEFIT, since free-tier limits are where this category's choice is often decided.
Strong is the fastest clean lifting log: two taps per set, previous-session weights always visible and an automatic rest timer, with no coaching noise.
Strong's design treats logging as a transaction that must not interrupt a workout. Entering sets, reps and weight takes roughly two taps, total training volume is calculated automatically, and the screen between sets shows the one number that actually drives progression — what you lifted last time you did this exercise. A rest timer runs without setup. The trade-offs are commercial: the free version caps you at three routines, there is no library of technique videos, and the annual subscription is on the expensive side relative to logging-first rivals.
Fitbod generates each session from your recent lifts, the equipment available and estimated muscle recovery — adaptive planning no rival takes as seriously.
Fitbod is the veteran of algorithm-built workouts. Every session is assembled from what you lifted last time, which muscle groups are still recovering and the equipment you actually have that day; if all that is available is a pair of dumbbells, the app rebuilds the workout around them rather than asking for machines. Its lifting history is thorough and the recovery model is genuinely detailed. Nearly everything sits behind the subscription, it is aimed squarely at gym lifting with little cardio support, and at 4.1 stars it carries the lowest rating in this comparison.
Pros
Sessions adapt to estimated recovery
Rebuilds around the equipment you have
Thorough lifting-history tracking
Cons
Almost everything requires subscription
Built for gym lifts, weak on cardio
Lowest group rating at 4.1 stars
Download price only. In-app purchases and subscriptions may cost extra.
Questions & answers
What is the best free gym app?
Hevy, because it allows unlimited routines without paying. Strong caps its free plan at three routines and Fitbod is close to unusable without a subscription. JEFIT also offers a broad free version, supported by quite a lot of advertising, which makes it a reasonable second option if Hevy's layout does not suit you.
Is logging workouts actually worth it?
It is arguably the biggest separator between lifters who progress and those lifting the same weights two years later. Progressive overload depends on knowing exactly what you did last session, and memory is unreliable across eight exercises with several sets each. Writing each set down costs seconds and changes the trajectory of the training.
Do these apps work for home training?
Yes. All of them let you filter by equipment and log dumbbell, band or bodyweight exercises, and Fitbod adapts best because it constructs the routine around whatever equipment you tell it you own. Even so, these are designed primarily for loaded strength work; circuit-style sessions are not where they are strongest.
How long until strength results show?
The first gains arrive within weeks and are mostly neuromuscular adaptation — the nervous system learning to recruit muscle — rather than new tissue. Visible changes in body composition usually require several months of consistency plus adequate nutrition and rest. Any app promising visible results in two weeks is overselling what training does.
More related apps
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