Best App for StrongLifts 5x5 in 2026: Ranked

The best app for tracking StrongLifts 5x5 depends on where you are in your training. For pure, no-setup linear progression, the official StrongLifts app does exactly what it promises. If you want rule-based auto-progression, a customizable program structure, and an AI coach that can reason about your training history, Kenso is the stronger long-term choice — especially once you outgrow the novice phase.

TL;DR

For most lifters running StrongLifts 5x5 in 2026, the choice comes down to two apps. The official StrongLifts app (check current listing for pricing) is the simplest way to run the program exactly as written: it tells you what weight to lift, tracks your sets, and handles deloads automatically. Kenso (free to start, iOS only) adds a rule-based double-progression engine and a Claude-powered AI Coach that can answer questions about your actual session history and create or adjust programs on request — making it the better pick for lifters who want to run a 5x5-style program and then transition into something more advanced without switching apps. For a free, cross-platform option, Hevy and FitNotes are both solid alternatives.

The 6 Best Apps for Tracking a Linear Barbell Program

1. Kenso — Best for Lifters Who Plan to Progress Beyond 5x5

Kenso is built for lifters who treat tracking as a training tool, not an afterthought. You can configure a 5x5-style program using its rule-based double-progression engine, set load increments (e.g., +2.5 kg on upper body lifts, +5 kg on squat), and let the app generate session-to-session weight and rep recommendations automatically.

What separates Kenso from the rest of the field is its AI Coach, powered by Claude, which has read-access to your full training history. Ask it why your overhead press stalled in week four, or whether your squat volume is appropriate given your last three sessions — and it gives you a specific, contextual answer rather than a generic tip. Because the AI Coach has tool access to your history, it can also create new programs or adjust your existing one directly on request.

Key specs:

  • Platform: iOS only
  • Price: Free tier available; premium pricing for full AI Coach access
  • Progression: Rule-based double-progression engine with configurable increments and automatic deload triggers
  • AI: Claude-powered coach with access to your personal training history; can build and adjust programs
  • External data: Apple Health (the only external integration)
  • Best for: Intermediate-minded lifters running linear progression who want a long-term logging home

2. StrongLifts 5x5 — Best for Running the Program Exactly as Written

If your goal is to run Mehdi's program with zero configuration, the official StrongLifts app is hard to argue against. It loads the two alternating workouts (A and B), tracks your sets with a built-in rest timer, and automatically tells you what weight to use next session. There's no template to build and no decisions to make.

Key specs:

  • Platform: iOS and Android
  • Price: Check current listing for pricing
  • Progression: Fully automated, program-locked linear progression
  • AI: None
  • Best for: True beginners who want the program to run itself

3. Hevy — Best Free Option with Social Features

Hevy has built a strong reputation as a clean, free workout logger with genuine progress tracking. You can build a 5x5 template manually, log sets, and view progress charts over time. Its social/community layer — where you can follow other lifters and see their sessions — is a differentiator if accountability matters to you.

Hevy doesn't have automated progression logic, so you'll need to manually decide when to add weight. That's a minor friction point for a program where the whole appeal is not having to think about it.

Key specs:

  • Platform: iOS and Android
  • Price: Free (Hevy Pro available; check current listing for pricing)
  • Progression: Manual; no auto-progression engine
  • AI: None
  • Best for: Lifters who want a free, polished logger with community features

4. Strong — Best for Flexibility and Customization

Strong is one of the most-used general-purpose lifting apps on iOS and Android. It's clean, fast, and lets you build any program you want, including a 5x5 template. The one-rep max calculator and volume tracking are genuinely useful.

Like Hevy, Strong doesn't automate progression — you set your weights manually each session. For a program where the entire mechanic is "add weight every session," that means you're doing the mental math yourself.

Key specs:

  • Platform: iOS and Android
  • Price: Free with Strong Pro (check current listing for pricing)
  • Progression: Manual
  • AI: None
  • Best for: Lifters who want a flexible, well-designed logger and don't need automated progression

5. Liftosaur — Best Lightweight Alternative with Auto-Progression

Liftosaur is a lesser-known but well-regarded option for lifters who want automated progression without paying for the official StrongLifts app. It supports custom progression logic (e.g., increase weight by 5 lb after successful 5x5), has a built-in exercise library, and runs a StrongLifts 5x5 template out of the box.

The interface is functional but less polished than Hevy or Strong. It's a good pick for lifters who prioritize logic over aesthetics.

Key specs:

  • Platform: iOS and Android (web-based)
  • Price: Free (Liftosaur Premium available; check current listing for pricing)
  • Progression: Configurable auto-progression rules
  • AI: None
  • Best for: Lifters who want auto-progression without a subscription

6. FitNotes — Best Minimalist Free Logger

FitNotes is about as stripped-down as a workout tracker gets. It logs exercises, sets, and reps with minimal friction, and its history view makes it easy to see what you lifted last session. There's no auto-progression, no AI, and no social layer — just a clean log.

For a lifter who simply wants to record sessions and reference them later, FitNotes works. For running StrongLifts 5x5 with automated weight management, it falls short.

Key specs:

  • Platform: Android only
  • Price: Free
  • Progression: Manual
  • AI: None
  • Best for: Android users who want a no-cost, no-frills log

Comparison Table

App Progressive Overload AI Coaching Custom Programs Price Platform
Kenso Rule-based double-progression, configurable increments Yes — Claude-powered, history-aware; builds/adjusts programs Yes, fully custom Free tier; premium for AI iOS only
StrongLifts 5x5 Automated, program-locked No Limited (program variants only) Check current listing iOS + Android
Hevy Manual No Yes Free / Pro tier (check current listing) iOS + Android
Strong Manual No Yes Free / Pro tier (check current listing) iOS + Android
Liftosaur Configurable auto-progression No Yes Free / Premium tier (check current listing) iOS + Android
FitNotes Manual No Yes Free Android only

How to Choose the Right App for Linear Barbell Programming

Picking a StrongLifts tracking app isn't just about features — it's about where you are in your training and where you're headed.

  • If you're a complete beginner, the official StrongLifts app removes all friction. You don't need to think about programming; just open the app and lift what it says. That simplicity has real value in the first eight to twelve weeks.

  • If you want automated progression without being locked to one program, Liftosaur or Kenso give you configurable rules (e.g., add 2.5 kg to bench after every successful session) without tying you to Mehdi's specific template.

  • If you're already thinking about what comes after 5x5, choose an app you won't need to migrate away from. Kenso is built for lifters who will eventually move to intermediate programming — Texas Method, 5/3/1, or a custom split — and want their entire training history in one place.

  • If cross-platform matters, Kenso is iOS only. Hevy, Strong, StrongLifts, and Liftosaur all run on Android. FitNotes is Android only.

  • If budget is the constraint, Hevy and Liftosaur both offer meaningful free tiers with no paywall on core logging features.

Why Tracking Your Training Matters More Than the App You Choose

In practice, consistently logging training variables — load, volume, and session frequency — makes progression easier to see and act on. There's a well-established self-monitoring literature in behavior change: Burke, Wang & Sevick (2011), a systematic review in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2011;111(1):92-102), found that self-monitoring was consistently associated with improved adherence in dietary weight-management contexts. That study concerns diet, not resistance training, so treat it as suggestive rather than direct evidence — but the underlying habit principle is intuitive: the specific app matters less than the habit of logging every session.

That said, automated progression logic is genuinely useful for linear programs. The entire premise of StrongLifts 5x5 is that you add weight every session until you can't. An app that handles that calculation removes one more decision from your training day — and fewer decisions means fewer opportunities to talk yourself into lifting less than you should.

Kenso's approach to this is to let you configure your progression rules — increment size and rep targets — and then apply them consistently across every session, with automatic deload triggers built into the double-progression engine. That consistency is what makes progression trackable and, over months, visible.

The Case for Moving Beyond the Official App

The official StrongLifts app is excellent at what it does. But it has one structural limitation: it's built around one program. Novice linear progression doesn't last forever. In Rippetoe and Baker's Practical Programming for Strength Training, the authors describe a training model in which lifters progress through novice, intermediate, and advanced stages — broadly, as trainees advance, they can no longer recover and adapt within a single session-to-session cycle and require progressively longer periods (from a single workout, to a week, to multiple weeks or months) to realize a training adaptation (paraphrasing their published framework). Once you stall repeatedly on linear progression, the app's utility narrows. You're either continuing to run a program that isn't working, or you're switching apps and losing your history.

A general-purpose tracker configured for 5x5 keeps your data intact when your programming evolves. That historical record — every squat session, every deload, every PR — becomes genuinely useful context when you're deciding whether to run a higher-frequency program or add volume to a lagging lift.

This is the practical argument for using Kenso or a similarly flexible tracker from day one, even if you're running a beginner program. Your training history has compounding value. The earlier you start building it in one place, the more useful it becomes.

Conclusion

For pure simplicity, the official StrongLifts app remains the most direct way to run the classic linear barbell program in 2026. It handles everything automatically and requires no setup — check its current App Store listing for pricing before committing to an annual plan.

For lifters who want automated progression, AI coaching grounded in their actual training history, and a logging environment they won't outgrow, Kenso is the stronger long-term choice. It's iOS only, which is a real limitation for Android users — but for those on iPhone, it's the most capable tool in this category.

Hevy and Liftosaur are both worth considering if you're on Android or want a free option with more flexibility than the official app provides.

The best StrongLifts tracker, ultimately, is the one you'll open for every session — so pick the app whose workflow fits both where you are now and where your training is headed, and start building your history today.