I know many old-school lifters who still bring a notebook with them to keep track of their workouts. I like to be paper-free which is why I’m always in the lookout for a good fitness app. I was recommended from a friend to check out Stacked. Stacked is a fitness app designed to help you keep track of workouts and body measurements.
- Download: Only available on iOS
- Price: Free for 10 workouts; $4.99 for Pro Version
Stacked is restricted to 10 workouts for the free version. You have to purchase the Pro Version for anything past 10 workouts. The $4.99 is a one-time fee. Stacked is ad-free in both the free and the pro version, which is a welcome change from other apps. There are three main sections of the app: body, training, and log.
Body Section
The body section is for people who want to keep track of body measurements. I mostly just keep track of my weight to track how quickly I am gaining weight during my bulk. However, there are multitudes of things you can track such as arms, body fat percentage, calves, chest, hips, shoulders, legs, and waist. There is even an option to add images to have visual representation of your progress. You can also set goals for anything you want to track. Anyone who is really diligent about tracking their body statistics is going to love this feature.
Training Section
This is where the meat of the app is. This is where you’ll be spending most of your time.
The fire symbol at the top represents the workout section. This is where you can choose what workout you want to do from a list of pre-made workouts or you can customize your own. These pre-made workouts are beneficial for newbies who need assistance with workouts. A great option for newbies would be to add a video or animation option for various exercises so that a beginner could see the correct form. Correct form should always be a priority over lifting the most amount of weight possible.
I tried out sample pull workout and I must admit it was a solid workout. The play button on the top right corner will start the workout. When you press play, a timer is set for the duration of your workout. The coolest feature about this app is the barbell animation that you can add weight to. This is extremely helpful for people who hate trying to calculate the weight in their head. The only minor annoyance is that once the weight is on you can’t take it off. You have to click on the number to manually change the weight. It would be nice to have the option to swipe the plate off in the barbell animation.
There is also a 1RM calculator that will show not only your 1 rep max but also other rep ranges as well. I used this feature frequently because I base my workout on various percentages of my 1RM. At the end of the workout, you’ll get the duration of your workout, number of exercises, number of sets, number of reps, and total weight lifted.
If you can’t find an exercise, you can easily add new ones in the exercise section. This is represented by the dumbbell icon.
There is a wide selection of exercises that are pre-loaded into Stacked already. I only had to add a couple of obscure exercises that I do on a regular basis.
The workout goals section denoted by the trophy is where you go to set your weightlifting goals. This section is important to me because I’ve had a major goal to hit 1000 lbs on the three big lifts: bench, deadlift, and squat. I set my workout goals for 260 lb bench, 405 lb deadlift, and 345 squat. Once you hit a personal record (PR), the goal will go from you active to your achieved goals.
Log Section
The log section is where you go to review your workout and body progress. This is a great visualization tool to track your progress to see if how well you are progressing or if you are at a plateau. If you’re like me you don’t test your 1RM very often. The 1RM calculator will calculate your estimated 1RM, while the log section will track it over time to show you how you strength is changing over time. Tracking strength has always been my best indicator of whether or not I am progressing. Don’t worry about losing your data because everything is backed up on the cloud for free.
Stacked is a well-designed app that is pretty user-friendly once you get used to navigating around. Each section is laid out in a way that makes sense, without overwhelming you with too many options. The biggest strength of this app is the freedom to track your progress in any way you desire. You can be a power user and track everything from body measurements all the way to analyzing your monthly progress. You can be a beginner lifter and go to the app for workout ideas. The free version gives you access to everything you would have on the pro version but restricted to only 10 exercises. Click here if you want to find out more information about Stacked.