A WORKOUT LOG WITH ONE JOB
Most "workout apps" want to sell you a program. A workout log has one job: capture the set fast, show you last time, and prove you're progressing. Here's what a good one needs — and why ours is free.
Progressive overload — adding a little weight or a rep over time — is the entire engine of getting stronger. And you can't overload what you can't remember. That's the whole case for logging: the lifter with a logbook knows they did 185×5 last Tuesday and owes the bar 190. The lifter without one does 185 forever.
The problem is that most workout apps are programs wearing a logger as a costume: subscription walls, someone else's routine, five taps to record one set, and your history held hostage when you stop paying.
What a workout log actually needs
- Speed between sets. If logging a set takes longer than racking the bar, you'll quit by week two. It should be: exercise → weight → reps → done.
- "Last time" staring at you. The log's job is to hand you the number to beat, right at the moment you load the bar.
- PR detection. The app should know your best — computed properly, across rep ranges — and tell you the moment you beat it.
- Plate math. "What do I put on each side for 205?" is a solved problem; the log should solve it.
- A rest timer that starts itself when you log the set.
- Your routines, not theirs. Save your own days ("PUSH A") and cycle through them.
- An exit door. Full export of your history, free — because a logbook you can't take with you isn't yours.
How EatSleepRep's logger does it
All of the above ships free in EatSleepRep — as one of the three daily jobs, next to food and sleep:
- 27-exercise library + custom lifts. Pick the lift, and the log shows LAST TIME: 185 LB × 5 and pre-fills the weight.
- PR banners, computed on estimated 1RM (Epley formula) — so 190×3 and 175×8 compete fairly, and a rep PR counts like a weight PR.
- Plate math per side the moment you type a weight, and a 90-second rest timer that starts on every logged set.
- Routines: log a day once, save it as a named routine, and tap through it next time — it even suggests the next unfinished lift.
- A record book of your top-10 lifetime lifts, and crew leaderboards on the big four (bench, squat, deadlift, OHP) if you want witnesses.
- Honest rest days. Recovery counts — mark a rest day and the streak survives, because six training days plus one planned rest day is a good week, not a broken chain.
- One-tap CSV export of every set you've ever logged. No paywall on your own history.
Two pieces of that math also run on this site, with nothing to install: the barbell plate calculator works out what to hang on each side for any bar and any plate set, and the one-rep max calculator runs five formulas at once so you can see how far apart they are.
Open the free workout log — no account needed →Why free, and what the catch isn't
The strength-app business model is usually: free logger → build a year of history → paywall the history. We refuse the third step. The logger, the PRs, the export — free, permanently, no ads. EatSleepRep's bet is different: be the tracker people keep using because food, sleep, and training live in one daily loop. If you're weighing us against the nutrition heavyweights, here's the full comparison.
FAQ
What's the best free workout log app?
The one you'll still be using in six months — which means fast entry, last-time prefill, PR tracking, and free export. EatSleepRep does all four with zero ads; Strong and Hevy are solid dedicated loggers whose free tiers cap routines or history features.
Do I need an app, or is a notebook fine?
A paper logbook genuinely works — lifters ran on them for a century. An app adds automatic PRs across rep ranges, plate math, rest timing, and trends without the transcription. Use whichever you'll keep using; ours just also happens to be free.
How does PR detection across different rep counts work?
We convert every set to an estimated one-rep max (Epley: weight × (1 + reps/30)) and compare those. 175×8 (~222 e1RM) beats 190×3 (~209), and the app knows it.
Can I export my training history?
Yes — every set, every day, one tap, CSV, free.