Sets, not tonnes
Taken close to failure, light and heavy loads build muscle comparably. Tonnage stays the right tool for a session, a week or one exercise over time — not for comparing two muscles.
Schoenfeld et al., 2017
Strength training log · iPhone and iPad
Every set counts.
So count it right.
Palestra tracks your progress to the kilo: one curve per machine and per gym, per-muscle volume counted the way research counts it, and a coach that runs on your iPhone. No account, no server.
Coming soon to the App Store · iPhone and iPad · Requires iOS 18.6
- No account
- On-device AI
- Free
The problem
60 kg on your gym's leg press isn't 60 kg on the one across town. Palestra knows the difference.
- No two machines are alikeCams, geared pulleys, lever arms: the number on the stack says nothing about the actual resistance. Mix two machines in one curve and you invent progress — or a regression.
- Kilos lie about musclesFour sets of leg press at 200 kg “weigh” eight times more than four sets of lateral raises, for a comparable effort. Adding up tonnes doesn't tell you which muscle actually worked.
- Your machine is never on the listSo you log it under another name, and your history gets muddy. Palestra starts from a broad library and lets you add whatever is missing.
Variants
One gym. One machine.
One curve.
Every exercise can carry “gym × machine” variants. Bench press on your weekday gym's Smith machine and on your weekend gym's converging press each keep their own history, estimated 1RM and records. Never mixed.
- Honest recordsA record is measured against the same machine, in the same gym. Not against the easier press down the street.
- The right load mathIf a gym only offers the exercise on a Smith machine, the variant switches equipment: plate math and volume math follow.
- Separate suggestionsLoad progression is tracked variant by variant, so you never get a +2.5 kg nudge on the wrong machine.
- Downtown gymOlympic bar 101.8kg
- Office gymSmith machine 94.5kg
- Weekend gymConverging press 118.0kg
Same exercise, three curves. Mixed in with the others, the converging press would fake 16 kg of progress in a single session.
The method
Counted the way
research counts.
For per-muscle volume, Palestra counts effective sets, not kilos. A set counts 1 for the primary muscle and 0.5 for each secondary muscle, read against the 10 to 20 sets per week where most studies land.
- Chest 13
- Back 15.5
- Front delts 10
- Side delts below zone 8
- Biceps 13
- Triceps 12.5
- Quads 12
- Hamstrings below zone 5
Direct Indirect (×0.5) 10–20 zone
Fractional counting
A bench press trains your triceps too. Counting 1 for the primary muscle and 0.5 for each secondary one is the model that fits the data best.
Pelland et al., 2024
Only real sets
Warm-ups are excluded. A set logged below RPE 6 — more than four reps in reserve — doesn't count. No RPE logged, it counts: an unlogged set isn't an easy one. Left and right make a single set.
Fifteen muscles tracked separately — biceps and triceps, quads and hamstrings, all three heads of the deltoid — because a single “Arms” or “Legs” bucket hid exactly the imbalances you want to see.
At the gym
Built for the gym floor,
between two sets.
Numbers you can read at arm's length, short gestures, and your previous session right next to every set. Log, check, rest.
Every set, its kind
Warm-up, drop set, to failure: each set carries its type. Warm-ups stay out of the math, unilateral exercises are logged left and right, and RPE is there when you want it.
Plates, worked out
Enter the load: Palestra shows what goes on each side of the bar — a 20 kg Olympic bar or a 10 kg EZ bar. With dumbbells, the weight reads per hand.
Rest, on the Lock Screen
The timer starts with every completed set. It lives in the Dynamic Island and on the Lock Screen, with buttons to add or remove 5, 10 or 15 seconds without opening the app.
Your whole history
Every finished session lands on the calendar. One day, one tap: the sets, loads and records of that session.
And all across iOS
- WidgetThis week's volume, this month's sessions and records, on your Home Screen.
- Siri and ShortcutsStart a template or a free session by voice.
- Quick actionsLong-press the icon: free session or your latest templates.
- HealthWeight and height pulled from Health; sessions saved as strength training on iOS 26.
- iCloudYour data follows your Apple Account, from one device to the next.
- iPadThe same app, on a bigger screen.
Coach
Describe your workout
like you would at the gym.
“Push pull legs over four days, no squats because of my knee”: the Coach turns it into complete sessions and a program, with sets, reps, starting loads and target loads. Refine it by replying — “no, swap that for…” — and it picks up where it left off.
The Coach runs on your device — nothing you type ever leaves your iPhone.
It speaks gym slang — and maps it to the library
- “DB bench” Bench press — dumbbells Chest
- “Incline bench” Incline press — barbell Chest
- “Cable crossover” Cable fly — lying Chest
- “DL” Deadlift — barbell Back
- “Bent over row” Barbell row Back
- “Lat pulldown” Pulldown — wide bar Back
- “RDL” Romanian deadlift Hamstrings
- “Tricep pushdown” Triceps extension — cable bar Triceps
- “Lat raise” Lateral raise — dumbbells Side delts
The AI proposes
Programs, sessions, profile tweaks: the Coach drafts a proposal that you review before anything is saved. An exercise it can't find in the library gets flagged, never made up.
Formulas do the math
Calories and macros come from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, 1RM from Epley's, load suggestions from a rule written in black and white. No number is guessed by a model.
You decide
The Coach also reviews your current program and flags what's falling behind. It advises; you're the one loading the bar.
The Coach relies on Apple Intelligence: it needs a compatible device (iPhone 15 Pro or later, iPad with M1 or later) on iOS 26 or later, with Apple Intelligence turned on. Without it, the rest of Palestra works exactly the same.
Progression
A suggestion,
and its reasons.
Same load over your last three sessions, at an average RPE of 7 or less? Palestra suggests adding 2.5 kg — and tells you why. One rule, real numbers, your call.
- Goals at two scalesA volume goal for the whole program, one for each exercise, with a deadline. The Coach compares your actual pace with that deadline and tells you if it should move.
- Records, spotted for youEvery completed set is compared with your best estimated 1RM on the same exercise and the same variant. A broken record shows in gold, quietly — no confetti.
- Yours to switch offPrefer to manage your loads yourself? Suggestions can be turned off in Settings.
Library
97 exercises.
Plus yours.
Barbell, dumbbells, machines, high, mid or low cable: every exercise shows its primary and secondary muscles on a front and back body diagram. Your machine isn't there? Add it in seconds.
- built-in exercises
- 97
- muscles tracked
- 15
- equipment types
- 12
- Your exercises, first-classAn exercise you add gets everything: variants, records, per-muscle stats — and the Coach can suggest it.
- Equipment that mattersHigh, mid or low cable, EZ or straight bar: the equipment you pick decides which load helper you see mid-session.
- Animated demosFor a growing number of exercises, a short animation shows the movement.
Your data
Your training belongs to you.
Period.
Palestra has no account and no server. Everything you log lives on your device and in your own iCloud — a place the app's publisher has no access to.
Source of truth
Your iPhone
Sessions, programs, profile and photos are stored in the app, on the device. Everything works offline, down to your gym's basement.
Automatic
Your iCloud
Signed in to iCloud, your data syncs to your Apple Account's private database. Reinstall or get a new iPhone, and it all comes back.
Optional
Health
With your permission, Palestra reads your weight and height, and saves your sessions. Revoke access anytime in the Health app.
Always
The way out
Export all of your data to a JSON file, whenever you want. Nothing holds you back.
- No account
- No Palestra server
- No trackers
- No ads
- No data resale
Questions
What people ask us.
Does the Coach work on my iPhone?
It relies on Apple Intelligence, which needs a compatible device — iPhone 15 Pro or later, iPad with M1 or later — on iOS 26 or later, with Apple Intelligence turned on in Settings. On other devices the Coach simply doesn't appear: sessions, stats, load suggestions, plate math and records work exactly the same from iOS 18.6.
Why count sets instead of kilos?
Because kilos don't compare from one exercise to another: a set of leg press “weighs” far more than a set of lateral raises, for a comparable effort. To know whether a muscle gets enough work, the number of effective sets is the yardstick the research uses. Tonnage stays wherever it makes sense: the session, the week, and the progress of a single exercise.
I'm switching gyms: do I lose my progress?
No — quite the opposite. Create a variant for the new gym and its machine: it starts its own curve, without skewing your usual gym's. Both histories stay available, side by side.
Does my data go anywhere?
Only to your own iCloud, if you're signed in, to sync between your devices. Palestra's publisher runs no server and has access to nothing. The Coach runs on-device, and no analytics or advertising library is built in.
What if I lose my phone?
If iCloud is on, your data is already in your account's private database: sign in on the new device, install Palestra, and it comes back down. You can also keep a JSON export on the side, from the app's settings, and import it anytime.
Is Palestra free?
Yes. No subscription, no ads, no account to create.
Is the app available in English?
The interface is in French today. The English version is on its way.
Coming soon
Palestra is coming
to the App Store.
Leave your email: one message on launch day, and that's it.
Coming soon to the App Store · iPhone and iPad · Requires iOS 18.6