Guide
Three lifts, three times a week, a little more weight each time. That's the whole idea.
The program
There are two workouts, and you alternate them with at least a day of rest between — Mon/Wed/Fri is the classic week.
- Workout A
- Squat
- Bench Press
- Barbell Row
- Workout B
- Squat
- Overhead Press
- Deadlift
Every exercise is the same sets and reps (5×5 unless you change it in Settings), except deadlifts, which are always one set — you're already squatting every workout.
Start light. New lifters begin with the empty 45 lb bar (65 for rows, 95 for deadlifts, so the plates hold the bar at the right height). It feels easy for a few weeks; that's when you learn the movements. If you've lifted before, set your own starting weights under Progress → Change weight.
The lifts
One cue to remember each — and the full technique guide, with video, for the rest.
-
Squat
+5 lb per workout
Bar on your upper back, feet shoulder-width. Break parallel — hips below knees — every rep.
-
Bench Press
+5 lb per workout
Shoulder blades squeezed, feet planted. Touch your mid-chest, press to locked elbows.
-
Barbell Row
+5 lb per workout
Every rep starts and ends on the floor. Back flat and near horizontal, pull to your lower chest.
-
Overhead Press
+5 lb per workout
Standing, bar from your shoulders to locked out overhead. No leg drive; squeeze your glutes.
-
Deadlift
+10 lb per workout
Bar over mid-foot, back flat. Stand up with it, then return it to the floor — a dead stop each rep.
Doing a workout
- Today shows your next workout: each lift, its weight, and the plates to load. Tap Start Workout.
- Warm up. Each lift lists its warm-up sets with the plates for each. They're always sets of 5: squat, bench and press start with the empty bar twice, then the weight climbs 25–50 lb a set toward your work weight — so heavier lifts get more warm-up sets, and very light ones get none. Rows and deadlifts skip the empty bar, because the bar has to rest on the floor between reps. Tap each warm-up circle as you go: the bar picture at the top of the card always shows the plates for the set you're on, then your work weight once the warm-ups are ticked. They're for keeping your place and never affect your weights. Don't rest between warm-up sets, except before the last one.
- Load the work weight and do your first set.
- Tap the circle when you finish a set. It turns red: all reps done.
- Missed reps? Tap again — each tap takes one rep off, and the circle turns amber. Tapping past zero clears it.
- The rest timer starts when you log a work set (and before and after your last warm-up). Rest about 1:30 if it was easy, 3:00 if it was hard, 5:00 if you missed reps.
- Tap Finish workout when you're done. That's when your weights for next time are worked out. An exercise with nothing logged counts as skipped and doesn't change.
Closed the app mid-workout? It's saved — Today will offer to resume it. Discard workout throws it away without touching your weights.
Loading the bar
Every weight includes the 45 lb olympic bar. The picture and the Each side line show what to slide onto one sleeve, heaviest plate first — put the same on the other side.
Each side 45 + 25
185 lb = the 45 lb bar + (45 + 25) on each side. The app uses 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb plates.
How the weight moves
- +5 lb next time
- You got every rep of every set. The lift goes up 5 lb (10 lb for deadlifts) next workout.
- Repeat this weight
- You missed a rep somewhere. Same weight next time — most misses fix themselves on the second try.
- Deloaded 15%
- Three misses in a row at one weight. The lift drops 15% (rounded down to the nearest 5 lb) so you can build momentum and come back through it. Today warns you when you're one miss away.
Back from a layoff or feeling beaten up? Progress has a manual Deload 15% button and lets you set any weight directly.
Sets and reps
In Settings, pick 3 or 5 sets of 5 or 8 reps. Changes apply from your next workout, never the one in progress.
- 5×5 — the standard. Start here.
- 3×5 — when 5×5 gets too long or too hard to recover from as the weights get heavy.
- 3×8 or 5×8 — lighter weights, more reps; drop your working weights when you switch.
Tracking progress
History lists every finished workout with a ✓, ✗ or ↓ per lift. Progress charts each lift's weight over time. Your data is yours alone — other users can't see it.
Getting an account
Fortalifto is invite-only. Anyone already using it can invite you from Settings: you get an email with a link (and a code, if they text it to you instead). Open the link and you're in. Each invitation works once.
There are no passwords: every time you sign in, we email you a short code. To invite someone yourself, use Settings → Invite someone.
Install it on your phone
iPhone: open in Safari → Share → Add to Home Screen.
Android: open in Chrome → menu → Install app.
It opens full-screen like any other app. Logging sets needs a connection.
Fortalifto isn't affiliated with StrongLifts; technique links go to their free guides. If something hurts, stop and ask a professional.