12REPS is a strength training app that plans your workouts and tracks every set. You tell it your goal, your equipment and how much time you have, and your workout is ready when you open the app. Every exercise has a demonstration from a qualified personal trainer, and the app remembers what you lifted last time, so you always have a number to beat.
A gym membership gives you access. It doesn’t tell you what to do once you’re inside.
This page is for you if:
- You’ve joined a gym and don’t know what to train each day.
- You train, but you can’t remember what you lifted last week.
- You want structure and accountability without paying for a personal trainer every session.
I’m Will Duru, a personal trainer and the founder of 12REPS. I’ll explain why a plan and a training log matter, what to look for in a workout planner and tracker, and exactly how 12REPS does both. I’m biased, because I built it. So I’ll keep to what the app actually does, and I’ll be honest about who it isn’t for.
Why you need a plan and a training log
After more than a decade of coaching, I saw the same problem again and again. People weren’t failing because they didn’t want to train. Many simply lacked structure, confidence and accountability.
A plan tells you what to do today. A log tells you what you did last time, so you know what to beat. You need both.
What the research says
- Strength comes from gradually doing more. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends increasing the load by 2 to 10% once you can do one or two reps more than your target. You can only do that if you know what you lifted last time. (ACSM, 2009)
- Structure and guidance help you lift more. In a 12-week study, men following the same program either with a personal trainer or on their own both got stronger. The supervised group used heavier weights and ended up with stronger squat and bench press results. (Mazzetti et al., 2000)
- Tracking what you do helps you keep doing it. A review of 122 studies with almost 45,000 people looked at what makes exercise and healthy eating programs work. Self-monitoring, like logging your workouts, was the technique that explained the most difference between programs. (Michie et al., 2009)
What the research doesn’t say
- An app alone won’t make you train. A review of 9 trials found fitness apps gave only a small, uncertain boost to daily steps, and worked best in the first three months. (Romeo et al., 2019)
- None of these studies tested 12REPS. They show why a plan, guidance and tracking matter, not that any one app works for everyone.
My view
You can’t progress if you don’t track. A notebook works. A spreadsheet works. What doesn’t work is guessing.
I built 12REPS to put the plan, the coaching and the log in one place, so you spend your time training instead of deciding what to do.
What to look for in a workout planner and tracker
Whichever app you choose, these are the things I’d check. Use this as a checklist, even if you never download 12REPS.
| Check | Why it matters | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| A plan built around you | A program for a full gym is no use if you train at home with two dumbbells | Does it ask about my goal, equipment and time? |
| Proper progression | You get stronger by doing slightly more over time | Does the program build week to week, or is it random each day? |
| Exercise demonstrations | Good form makes every set count and keeps you safe | Can I see how to do each exercise before I lift? |
| Fast logging | If logging is slow, you’ll stop doing it | Can I enter reps and weight in seconds, mid-workout? |
| Last time’s numbers | This is what tells you what to beat | Does it show what I lifted last session? |
| History and personal bests | Seeing progress keeps you going | Can I look back at past workouts and records? |
| Flexibility | Some days you just want to train one muscle | Can I build my own session when I want to? |
| A clear price | You should know what you’ll pay before you commit | Is there a free trial, and what does it cost after? |
A blank logbook gives you the tracking but not the plan. A random workout generator gives you a plan but often no real progression. Look for an app that does both.
How 12REPS plans your training
12REPS is built around three things: a trainer, a plan and accountability.
A program built for you
When you sign up, you tell 12REPS your goal, your experience, how many days you can train and what equipment you have. It then builds a structured program for you.
- Programs run for 6, 8, 10 or 12 weeks.
- Splits include full body, upper/lower and push-pull-legs.
- Workouts cover the gym, home, dumbbells, kettlebells and bodyweight.
- If a machine is taken or you don’t have the equipment, you can swap the exercise.
When you walk into the gym, you open the app and today’s session is waiting, for example Chest & Back, 60 minutes, 6 exercises.
Build your own workout with the body map
Some days you want to choose. Tap the muscles you want to train on the body map, choose your equipment and how long you have, and 12REPS creates the workout in seconds. Save it and start training.
The library has more than 1,500 exercises, so you can find a version that suits your gym and your level.
A trainer for every exercise
Every exercise has two videos: a movement demonstration and a coach’s tutorial. You see how the lift should look and hear the cues that help you do it well, before you pick up the weight.
How 12REPS tracks your progress
Log every set in seconds
After each set, enter your reps and weight. The gym log shows your previous sets, so next time you know exactly what to beat. It also gives you progressive overload guidance and a rest timer between sets.
See your history and personal bests
Every workout is saved. Look back at past sessions, see your personal bests and check your weekly consistency.
Stay consistent
- Streaks and weekly goals. Build a weekly streak and hit your training target.
- Challenges and awards. Small wins that bring you back.
- Community. Connect with people working toward their own goals.
Track your body, not just your lifts
- Body progress. Log your body weight and lean muscle and watch the trend, with your start, current and change in one place.
- Progress photos. Upload before, mid and final photos, stored privately so only you can see them. Compare any two stages from the front, side and back.
How to set up your first week in 12REPS
- Download 12REPS. It’s on the App Store and Google Play.
- Answer a few questions. Your goal (build muscle, lose fat or get stronger), your experience, the equipment you have and how many days a week you can train.
- Look through your program. Check the exercises, sets and reps for each session so nothing surprises you in the gym.
- Start your first workout. Press Start Workout and follow along. Watch the demonstration for any exercise you’re unsure about.
- Log every set. Enter your reps and weight as you go. It takes seconds.
- Beat it next time. At your next session, the app shows what you lifted, so you have a clear number to improve.
My advice for week one
In your first week, the goal isn’t to find your maximum. It’s to learn the movements with weights you can control. Pick a weight you can lift for every rep with good form, log it, and add a little next week.
Who 12REPS is for
I built 12REPS for busy people who have joined a gym and want results. They want to build strength, lose body fat and stay strong as they get older. The problem usually isn’t motivation. It’s time, knowledge and mental space.
It’s a good fit if you are:
- New to the gym and want to know what to do and how to do it.
- Training without a plan and stuck lifting the same weights every week.
- Short on time and want your session ready before you walk in.
- Training at home with dumbbells, kettlebells or just your bodyweight.
Who it isn’t for
- People who want a trainer beside them every session. 12REPS gives you trainer-led education and a plan, not in-person coaching.
- People mainly tracking runs or cardio. It’s built for strength training.
- Anyone recovering from an injury or managing a medical condition. Get advice from a doctor or physical therapist first.
How much does 12REPS cost?
12REPS is free to download, with a 7-day free trial. After that, you can choose a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription. Prices vary by country, so check the App Store or Google Play for the current price where you live.
Summary
- To get stronger, you need a plan for today and a record of what you did last time.
- A good workout planner and tracker builds around your goal, equipment and time, shows you how to do each exercise and makes logging fast.
- 12REPS gives you trainer-built programs, a body map to build your own workouts, two videos per exercise and a log that shows what to beat.
- Streaks, challenges, body tracking and private progress photos help you stay consistent.
- It’s free to download with a 7-day free trial.
Walk into the gym knowing exactly what to do
No more wandering between machines. No more guessing what you lifted last week.
Open 12REPS and your workout is ready. Watch the trainer show you each lift. Log your sets, and next time the app tells you what to beat. Week by week, you can see yourself getting stronger.
A trainer. A plan. Accountability.
Download 12REPS and see what you’ll get:
Sources
- American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2009;41(3):687–708.
- Mazzetti SA, Kraemer WJ, Volek JS, Duncan ND, et al. The influence of direct supervision of resistance training on strength performance. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2000;32(6):1175–1184.
- Michie S, Abraham C, Whittington C, McAteer J, Gupta S. Effective techniques in healthy eating and physical activity interventions: a meta-regression. Health Psychology. 2009;28(6):690–701.
- Romeo A, Edney S, Plotnikoff R, et al. Can smartphone apps increase physical activity? Systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019;21(3):e12053.
- App features: 12REPS app page and the 12REPS App Store listing, checked November 3, 2026.
Related reading
- How to Track Your Workouts: Why and How to Log Your Training
- How to Plan Your Gym Workouts for Better Results
- Progressive Overload: Complete Guide to Getting Stronger
- How Much Weight Should I Lift? Choosing the Right Weight
- How to Do Face Pulls: Cable, Rope and Band Versions
About the author: I’m Will Duru, a personal trainer and the founder of 12REPS. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science and have more than a decade of experience coaching people in strength training.
