Boostcamp vs Hevy (2026): Price, Programs, Auto Progression

Boostcamp vs Hevy comes down to who writes your program. Boostcamp gives you a coach’s program from a free library and logs it; Hevy gives you a free logger and lets you build the routine yourself. As of 7 November 2026, both apps charge for the part that tells you what to lift next.

The big change this autumn: on 2 October 2026, Boostcamp version 266 made Auto Progression a Pro feature.¹ Sets that a program already calculates, “as % of 1RM or from last week’s weight,” still get their weights for free; Auto Progression covers the sets “you load yourself.”² Hevy’s version of the same job, Hevy Trainer, is part of Hevy Pro.³

Every price, rating and feature below was checked on 7 November 2026 against both apps’ App Store and Google Play listings, their help centers and feature pages, five independent reviews and PubMed. SensAI publishes this blog and makes a competing app, so we also say where SensAI loses.

	Boostcamp	Hevy
Best for	Running a proven, named program¹	Logging your own routines, with friends⁴
Monthly (US)	$14.99, no trial⁵	$2.99; $3.99 also listed⁴
Yearly (US)	$59.99, 7-day free trial⁵	$23.99⁴
Lifetime	None⁶	$74.99⁴
Free trial	7 days, yearly plan only⁵	None advertised⁴
Free plan limits	No program cap; 3 custom exercises; 10 plate-calculator uses⁶⁷	4 routines, 7 custom exercises, 3 months of history⁸
Programs	14,000+ (website) or 11,000+ (app stores); 130+ from coaches⁶¹	Free routine library; Hevy Trainer builds a program (Pro⁴)
Who sets next weights, free	The program, for % of 1RM or last-week sets²	You; Trainer is Pro-only⁸
Who sets next weights, paid	Auto Progression (Pro²)	Hevy Trainer (Pro³)
RPE	6–10 in half-point steps, free⁷	6–10, switched on in Settings⁹
Per-muscle volume	Muscle Tracker, Pro⁶	Set count per muscle group, Pro⁸
Apple Watch	No app¹⁰	Yes, with heart rate; watchOS 9+⁴
Android / Wear OS	Android yes; Wear OS not listed¹⁰¹¹	Both¹²
Web	Program builder only; logging on mobile¹⁰	Web browser¹³
Apple Health / Health Connect	Both; session date, duration and bodyweight¹⁴	Both⁴¹⁵
Strava	None listed⁷	Automatic sync¹⁶
Garmin	None listed⁷	No; Garmin rejected Hevy’s API application¹⁷
CSV export	Not documented⁷	Workouts and measurements¹⁸
Official API	None published¹⁹	Yes, Pro-only, “experimental”²⁰
AI connectors (ChatGPT/Claude)	None official¹⁹	Free ChatGPT app and Claude connector²¹²²
App Store (US)	4.9 from 11K ratings¹	4.9 from 102K ratings⁴
Google Play (US)	4.8 from 13.7K reviews¹¹	4.9 from 288K reviews¹²

US App Store and Google Play listings and each company’s own help and feature pages, checked 7 November 2026.

Boostcamp vs Hevy: which is better in 2026?

Boostcamp is better if you want a coach’s program, such as GZCLP or 5/3/1, and a free plan with no program cap. Hevy is better if you write your own routines, train with friends, wear an Apple Watch or Wear OS watch, or want the cheaper upgrade: $23.99 a year against Boostcamp Pro’s $59.99.¹⁶⁴¹²⁵

Think of it as the difference between buying a training plan and buying a training diary. Boostcamp’s strength is the plan: its listing names programs from Dr. Eric Helms, Cody Lefever (GZCL), Greg Nuckols, Jonnie Candito, Menno Henselmans “and 50+ more.”¹ Hevy’s strength is the diary: fast logging on phone, watch and web, a social feed, and data you can take elsewhere.⁴¹³¹⁸

Both hold 4.9 stars on the US App Store, but Hevy has about nine times as many ratings, 102K to Boostcamp’s 11K.⁴¹ Boostcamp’s own comparison page concedes the price point: “Hevy Pro is less expensive than Boostcamp Pro at every horizon.”¹⁰

Each has clear gaps. Boostcamp has no Apple Watch app, no lifetime plan, no documented export and no public API.¹⁰⁶¹⁹ Hevy’s free plan stops you at four routines and three months of history, and, as Boostcamp’s comparison page points out, Hevy has no library of named methodology programs.⁸¹⁰

What is the difference between Boostcamp and Hevy? (the simple version)

Boostcamp is a program library with a logger; Hevy is a logger with a social feed. In Boostcamp you pick a coach’s program and it lays out each day. In Hevy you build routines and it logs, charts and shares them. The lines blur: Hevy has a free routine library, and Boostcamp added a Community feed in July 2026.¹⁴

Picture a cookbook versus a notebook. Boostcamp is the cookbook: nSuns, GZCLP, PHUL and Reddit PPL are each a recipe, with sets, reps and weeks already written.¹ Hevy is the notebook: you write the routine, and Hevy records every set, flags PRs and shows your friends.⁴

The nuance matters, because both companies’ marketing overstates the gap. Boostcamp’s comparison page says Hevy “does not ship with pre-built named methodology programs,” which is fair, but Hevy’s listing also offers a “large, free library for a full split or individual workouts.”¹⁰⁴ In the other direction, the same Boostcamp page still calls a social feed “Not a core feature,” yet Boostcamp shipped a Community feed in version 263 (25 July 2026) and added lift comparisons with friends in version 268 (6 November 2026).¹⁰¹

Hevy’s social side is still bigger. Its listing lets you “Follow friends and athletes from around the world, see their workouts in your feed, and compare your lifts,” and version 3.2.4 (28 October 2026) added gym profiles with their own feed and leaderboards.⁴

Boostcamp Pro vs Hevy Pro: pricing, and which subscription is worth it?

Hevy Pro is cheaper at every length: $2.99 a month, $23.99 a year or $74.99 once. Boostcamp Pro is $14.99 a month or $59.99 a year, with a 7-day trial on the yearly plan only and no lifetime option. Over three years on yearly or lifetime billing, Hevy costs $71.97 to $74.99; Boostcamp costs $179.97.⁴⁵⁶

Hevy’s paid plan, which some people search for as “Hevy Premium,” is officially called Hevy Pro.⁸ Here is what each subscription costs in the US App Store:

	Boostcamp Pro	Hevy Pro
Monthly	$14.99, no trial⁵	$2.99; a $3.99 monthly item is also listed⁴
Yearly	$59.99 (“$4.99 per month, billed annually”⁵)	$23.99⁴
Lifetime	None⁶	$74.99⁴
Free trial	7 days, yearly plan only⁵	None advertised⁴
Sales	App Store lists a $48.99 “Limited-Time Offer”¹	50% off the first year of yearly “a few times per year”; lifetime “never discounted”²³
iOS vs Android	“Pricing is the same across iOS and Android”⁵	Not stated

US App Store listings and each company’s pricing and help pages, 7 November 2026.

Plan	1 year	3 years
Hevy Pro monthly, $2.99	$35.88	$107.64
Hevy Pro yearly, $23.99	$23.99	$71.97
Hevy Pro lifetime, $74.99	$74.99	$74.99
Boostcamp Pro monthly, $14.99	$179.88	$539.64
Boostcamp Pro yearly, $59.99	$59.99	$179.97

Our arithmetic from the US App Store prices above, before tax and any sale.⁴⁵

What the money buys is different. Boostcamp Pro adds 20+ exclusive coach programs, Personalized Programs built from a questionnaire, Auto Progression, the Muscle Tracker, Strength Score views, exercise analytics and per-exercise records and charts.⁵ Hevy Pro adds Hevy Trainer, unlimited routines and custom exercises, all-time history, set count per muscle group, a warm-up calculator and API access.⁸²⁰

So the price gap is real, but so is the content gap. Boostcamp Pro is partly a library subscription; Hevy Pro is mostly a logger subscription with a program builder attached.

Is there a Boostcamp lifetime plan?

No. Boostcamp’s own free-vs-Pro page says Pro “costs more per year than Hevy Pro or Strong PRO, and it doesn’t offer a lifetime plan.” The App Store lists several unlabeled Boostcamp Pro price points, from $11.99 to $79.99, but Boostcamp’s website names only the $14.99 monthly and $59.99 yearly plans.⁶¹⁵

If you want to pay once, Hevy’s $74.99 lifetime plan costs about what three years of its yearly plan would ($71.97).⁴

Does Hevy have a free trial?

Hevy doesn’t advertise one. No trial is stated on its App Store listing, its Hevy Pro help article or its 2026 features guide. The listing does say “You have the right to withdraw from your initial subscription within 14 days of starting it,” and the free plan has no time limit.⁴⁸¹³

In Hevy’s words: “If you don’t purchase Hevy Pro, you can keep using Hevy for free.”⁴ If you drop back from Pro, “you will not lose the routines you created above the original 4 free routines … you just won’t be able to create new routines.”²⁴

What does Hevy Coach cost?

Hevy Coach is a separate product for personal trainers, not a plan for lifters. It starts at $25 a month for 1–10 clients, with a 30-day free trial, and scales to $700 a month for 501–1,000 clients. Clients get “Free Hevy Pro,” and Hevy says “your clients will not pay anything.”²⁵

Is Boostcamp free? Is Hevy free? What each free plan includes

Yes, both are free with no time limit. Boostcamp’s free plan includes its program library, the full tracker, exercise demos, RPE logging and unlimited custom programs. Hevy’s free plan caps you at 4 routines, 7 custom exercises and 3 months of history. On both, the progression engine and per-muscle set counts now cost extra.⁶⁸

Feature	Boostcamp Free	Boostcamp Pro	Hevy Free	Hevy Pro
Programs and routines	Library and custom programs, no cap	Adds 20+ Pro-exclusive coach programs	4 routines, plus the free library	Unlimited routines
Custom exercises	3	Unlimited	7	Unlimited
History	No limit stated	No limit stated	3 months	All time
Next-weight suggestions	Only where the program calculates them	Auto Progression	None	Hevy Trainer
Plan built from a questionnaire	—	Personalized Programs	—	Hevy Trainer
Muscle breakdown	Muscle-group engagement	Muscle Tracker heatmap, radar and table	Muscle distribution, body and chart	Adds set count per muscle group
Records and 1RM	PRs flagged in session; PR boards	Per-exercise records and estimated 1RM charts	Stats for 3 months	Stats for 1 year and all time
Calculators	Plate calculator, 10 uses	Unlimited plate calculator	No warm-up calculator	Warm-up calculator
Body measurements	Bodyweight sync	Same	Bodyweight and waist only	Additional measurements
Apple Health / Health Connect	Free	Free	Free	Free

Boostcamp’s free-vs-Pro, Pro and features pages; Hevy’s Pro help article, 2026 features guide and downgrade article, 7 November 2026.⁶⁵⁷¹¹⁴⁸¹³²⁴

Boostcamp’s free plan is the more generous of the two. Its page says the library, tracker, exercise demos, RPE logging, rest timers, PR boards, the Weekly Report and the custom program builder “cost nothing, with no time limit and no cap on programs.”⁶ Garage Gym Reviews agrees: “While most of the analytics are locked behind the Pro plan, you can use the free version forever.”²⁶

Two notes on the counts. Boostcamp’s website says 14,000+ programs while its App Store and Google Play listings say 11,000+.⁶¹ Its free-vs-Pro page also gives two different numbers for Pro-only coach programs (32 in one place, 33 implied in another), so read “20+ Pro-exclusive” as the safe figure.⁶

Hevy’s free tier changed too. Its help center, updated 6 November 2026, lists “Set count per muscle group” as a Pro feature, while an older Hevy feature page still describes that view as free with a three-month limit.⁸²⁷ We went with the newer help center.

Which app sets your next weights? Boostcamp Auto Progression vs Hevy Trainer

Both apps now charge for automatic next-weight suggestions. Since version 266 on 2 October 2026, Boostcamp’s Auto Progression is a Pro feature; programs that set weights as a percentage of 1RM or from last week’s weight still calculate them free. Hevy Trainer, part of Hevy Pro, builds a program and “automatically adjusts your working weights.”¹²²⁸

Boostcamp’s release note reads: “Auto Progression (PRO): Get personalized weight targets that adjust based on your performance. Works with programs and empty workouts.”¹ Older reviews, including our September comparison of Boostcamp, Hevy and Liftosaur, describe Boostcamp’s auto-progression as free. That was true before 2 October. Boostcamp’s App Store description still says “Auto-progression sets your next weights” without a Pro label, so the listing alone won’t tell you.¹

Here is what the paywall actually covers, in Boostcamp’s own table:

Set type	Covered by Auto Progression (Pro)?
Fixed reps or a rep range at a weight you choose	Yes
Sets prescribed as % of 1RM or from last week’s weight	“No, the program sets the weight”
Bodyweight and cardio exercises	No
Time, distance and AMRAP targets	No
An exercise with no logged session yet	“Not until after the first session”

Boostcamp, “Auto Progression,” updated October 2026.²

In plain terms: if your program is written in percentages of your 1RM, the free plan still does the math for each set. If it says “3 sets of 8–12” and leaves the weight to you, that is the part Pro now fills in.²

	Boostcamp Auto Progression	Hevy Trainer
Plan needed	Boostcamp Pro, $59.99 a year²⁵	Hevy Pro, $23.99 a year or $74.99 lifetime²⁸
Methods	“Linear progression and double progression (rep ranges)”²	Progressive overload that says “when to increase your weight and by how much”; reps-only exercises since 20 August 2026³⁴
How often	“Once a week (default) or every session”²	Not stated
Step size	Twice your smallest plate by default; 1–25 lb or 0.5–15 kg per exercise²	Not stated
When a set felt hard	An RPE above the prescribed RPE holds the weight²	Not stated
Missed reps	Suggests a weight you can hit for the target reps²	Not stated
Builds the program too?	Separate Pro feature, Personalized Programs⁵	Yes, from 11 onboarding questions³
Injuries	Asked in the Personalized Programs questionnaire⁵	Injury Management, since 6 August 2026⁴
AI or algorithm?	See below	“do not rely on AI”³

Boostcamp publishes a worked example. On 3 sets of 8–12 at 135 lb, reps climb one at a time until every set reaches 12, then the next suggestion is 140 lb for 8. Log an RPE of 9 against a target of 8 and the weight holds; drop to 140 lb for 7, 6 and 6, and it eases back to 135 lb.²

Hevy Trainer works the other way round: it starts with the program. Its onboarding asks 11 questions, covering your top goal, training experience, gender, birthday, weight, height, equipment, how often you want to train, whether to add cardio, workout length and a focus muscle group.³ Hevy says “Our programs are generated using an algorithm and do not rely on AI to create users’ programs.”³ Since August 2026, Injury Management “lets you flag injuries so Trainer can adapt your program around them.”⁴

Does Boostcamp’s AI Coach cost money?

Boostcamp’s sources disagree, so we can only report them. Its App Store listing advertises “an AI coach that builds a custom plan from your goal, schedule, and equipment.” Its Pro page says Personalized Programs, built from a short questionnaire, “are Pro-only.” Its comparison page says “No AI generator” for Boostcamp.¹⁵¹⁰

The descriptions overlap. The listing’s “AI Coach” is a “Short questionnaire, then a customized multi-week program,” and the Pro page’s Personalized Programs ask about “your goal, experience, equipment, focus areas, injuries, and training days.”¹⁵ Version 252 (14 March 2026) added “Create programs with AI,” and version 267 (28 October 2026) added “AI Support” for help questions.¹ Boostcamp never states in one place that the AI Coach and Personalized Programs are the same feature, so check the paywall in the app before you count on it.

Boostcamp vs Hevy for tracking workouts: what are the technical differences?

Hevy tracks in more places; Boostcamp keeps your data inside the app. Hevy logs on Apple Watch and Wear OS with heart rate, syncs to Strava, exports CSV and has an API. Boostcamp sends only a strength session’s date and duration, plus bodyweight, to Apple Health or Health Connect, and documents no export. Both log RPE from 6 to 10.⁴¹²¹⁶¹⁸²⁰¹⁴⁷⁹

	Boostcamp	Hevy
RPE	Every set, 6–10 in half-point steps, with hints such as “Could do 2 more reps”⁷	Per set, 6–10, after you turn on RPE Tracking⁹
Estimated 1RM	Per-exercise e1RM charts on Pro⁷	Published rep-to-percentage table; 10 reps = 75%²⁹
PRs	“Flagged the moment you hit them,” free; Max Weight Reps PR type added October 2026⁷¹	PRs and graphs “for every exercise”⁴
Per-exercise charts	Pro⁷	Yes; 3 months of history on free⁸
Per-muscle volume	Muscle Tracker, Pro⁶	Set count per muscle group, Pro; muscle distribution free⁸
History window	No limit stated⁶	3 months free; all time on Pro⁸
Apple Health	Strength session with date and duration; bodyweight both ways; no heart rate, calories or set details¹⁴	Exports workouts through HealthKit and CareKit⁴
Health Connect (Android)	Yes¹⁴	Yes; Google Fit’s direct link was removed by Google¹⁵
Strava	None listed⁷	Shares workouts “automatically on your Strava feed”¹⁶
Garmin	None listed⁷	No: “Garmin has rejected Hevy’s application for access to their API”¹⁷
CSV export	Not documented⁷⁶	Workouts or measurements¹⁸
Import	Not documented⁷	CSVs from Strong only¹⁸
Apple Watch	“There is no native Apple Watch app”¹⁰	Log sets, rest timers and heart rate; saves when the watch reconnects⁴
Wear OS	Not listed¹¹	Yes, with live sync to the phone¹²
Lock Screen	Live Activities for set and rest timer¹	Not compared

Each company’s feature, help and listing pages, 7 November 2026.

The Apple Health row is the one people miss. Boostcamp says “Health receives the session, not the exercise details,” and “Boostcamp doesn’t read or record heart rate or calories.”¹⁴ So Apple Health will show, in Boostcamp’s own example, a strength session “lasting 65 minutes,” but not the sets, reps or weights inside it.¹⁴

Hevy goes further on the wrist. Its watch app lets you “Log sets, start rest timers, and finish your workout without touching your phone,” and “Monitor your heart rate during your workout.”⁴ On Android, the Wear OS app can “Live sync your Wear OS Watch workout with your phone.”¹²

Garmin owners are out of luck with both. Hevy says it “would like to integrate with Garmin,” but Garmin turned down its API application; Boostcamp lists no Garmin integration at all.¹⁷⁷

Does Boostcamp or Hevy have an API or MCP server?

Hevy has an official API; Boostcamp doesn’t. Hevy’s REST API is experimental and Pro-only, and Hevy also offers a free ChatGPT app and a free Claude connector. Boostcamp publishes no API or MCP server; the only Boostcamp MCP server we found is a community project built on what its README calls “Boostcamp’s private API.”²⁰²¹²²¹⁹

Hevy’s help center says “API access is currently only available to Hevy Pro users,” and that you can “create or update workouts and routines, add custom exercises and routine folders, and log or update body measurements.”²⁰ The API does not cover Apple Health or Health Connect data, deleting workouts, routines or exercises, or social features.²⁰ Its documentation lists endpoints for workouts, workout events, routines, routine folders, exercise templates, body measurements and user info, and warns: “use it at your own risk.”³⁰

For AI assistants, Hevy has two official routes, both free. The Claude integration is “a connector we specifically developed for Claude,” and it works with a free Hevy account and a free Claude account.²² The Hevy app for ChatGPT is “freely available to all of our users,” and Hevy is “sunsetting the old HevyGPT.”²¹ Since version 3.1.12 (3 September 2026) you can “Send workouts to ChatGPT & Claude directly from the finish workout screen.”⁴

Hevy calls its Claude integration a connector, and its help center has no article that uses the term MCP. If you searched for a “Hevy MCP server,” the Claude connector is the closest official thing.²²

Boostcamp has no developer page in its sitemap.¹⁹ The community project, alex-keyes/boostcamp-mcp on GitHub, describes itself as “A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating with the Boostcamp fitness platform,” built on “A library for interacting with Boostcamp’s private API.”¹⁹ Its README makes no affiliation statement, and a tool built on a private API can break whenever Boostcamp changes it.¹⁹

Boostcamp vs Hevy for beginners: which is easier?

Boostcamp is easier if you want to be told what to do: free beginner programs such as GZCLP, 5/3/1 for Beginners and Greg Nuckols Beginner lay out every session. Hevy is easier if you only want to log, but its guided plan, Hevy Trainer, needs Pro. Neither replaces a coach watching your form.¹⁶⁸³¹

Boostcamp’s beginner programs are popular ones. Its homepage shows 40,185 athletes joined on GZCLP and 44,216 on nSuns 5/3/1.³² Its features page lists “classic linear progressions for beginners (GZCLP, 5/3/1 for Beginners, Starting Strength).”⁷

On free Hevy, a beginner picks a split from the free library or builds one, then decides each weight.⁴⁸ Pay for Pro and Trainer asks about your experience and goal, then “tracks your performance, automatically adjusts your working weights, and offers helpful tips.”³²⁸ For more on Hevy’s beginner experience, see our Hevy review.

Reviewers disagree on how well Boostcamp teaches movement. Boostcamp says its free plan includes “exercise demos,” and its listing mentions “form videos.”⁶¹ Garage Gym Reviews’ Matt Dustin, CSCS, wrote that Boostcamp has animations but “there aren’t video demos of each exercise, which can be confusing if you’re relatively new to lifting,” and Fortune’s tester found “There isn’t a ton of visual instruction.”²⁶³³ Dustin also called Boostcamp “an app for intermediate lifters who simply need a better program.”³¹

Boostcamp vs Hevy for powerlifting

Boostcamp, for most powerlifters. Its library includes Sheiko, Smolov, Candito and nSuns, percentage-based sets still calculate on the free plan, and its Strength Score rates 13 lifts with the DOTS formula. In Hevy you build the program yourself or let Trainer build one, and Hevy rates squat, bench and deadlift by Strength Level.⁷¹²⁵²⁷

Boostcamp’s library covers “powerlifting peaking blocks (Sheiko, Smolov, Candito),” and its listing names Candito 6 Week, nSuns 5/3/1 and Building the Monolith.⁷¹ The free program builder supports multi-week mesocycles and “intensity targets as RPE, RPE range, or % of 1RM.”⁷

Boostcamp’s Strength Score is “a single 0-100 number based on the DOTS powerlifting formula relative to bodyweight, age-adjusted, across 13 lifts in five categories.”⁵ The score itself is free; the Level, Max and Balance views are Pro.⁶

Hevy suits powerlifters who already have a coach’s spreadsheet. You can log RPE on every set, and Hevy’s estimated 1RM uses a published table: lift 75 kg for 10 reps and it estimates 100 kg.⁹²⁹ Its Strength Level ranks barbell deadlift, squat and bench as “Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Elite.”²⁷

Boostcamp vs Hevy for bodybuilding and hypertrophy tracking

A tie, with a catch: per-muscle set counts are now Pro on both. Boostcamp Pro’s Muscle Tracker shows per-muscle volume as a heatmap, radar and table; Hevy Pro adds set count per muscle group. On the free plans, Boostcamp has PHUL, PHAT, Helms and Nuñez programs, and Hevy shows muscle distribution while you build any split.⁵⁸¹⁷

Boostcamp’s hypertrophy shelf is deep: PHUL, PHAT, Jacked and Tan 2.0, Alberto Nuñez Upper Lower and Eric Helms Intermediate Bodybuilding are all named on its listing.¹ PHUL alone shows 33,350 athletes joined.³²

Why count sets per muscle at all? In a 2017 meta-analysis of 15 studies, each additional weekly set was associated with “an increase in the percentage gain by 0.37%” in muscle size.³⁴ A 2026 analysis of 67 studies and 2,058 participants found gains rise with volume for both size and strength, with diminishing returns that were “considerably more pronounced” for strength.³⁵

How you spread those sets matters less. A 2019 meta-analysis of 25 studies concluded that frequency “does not significantly or meaningfully impact muscle hypertrophy when volume is equated.”³⁶ So a per-muscle counter is useful, but it only reports what you did; neither app’s counter has been tested as a way to build more muscle.

What does the research say about following a program vs logging your own?

No study has tested Boostcamp or Hevy. The research covers what they help you do: periodized programs beat unplanned ones for strength, RPE and fixed percentages work about equally, adding reps works about as well as adding weight, and more weekly sets build more muscle, with diminishing returns.³⁷³⁸³⁹⁴⁰³⁵

Does a periodized program beat making it up as you go?

For strength, modestly. Two meta-analyses found periodized programs raised 1RM more than non-periodized ones, with effect sizes of 0.43 and 0.31; muscle growth did not differ. A named Boostcamp program is periodized by design; a Hevy routine is only if you write it that way.³⁷³⁸

Williams and colleagues pooled 81 effects from 18 studies and found that “undulating programs were more favorable for strength gains,” with larger improvements in untrained people.³⁷ Moesgaard and colleagues, across 35 volume-matched studies, found no hypertrophy difference between periodized and non-periodized training (effect size 0.13, with a confidence interval crossing zero).³⁸

A named program like those in Boostcamp’s library is periodized by design. A Hevy routine can be too, but only if you write the plan. In these comparisons, non-periodized groups typically kept one scheme throughout, which is what many homemade routines drift into.³⁷

Is RPE better than percentage-based loading?

About the same, on average. In a 2018 trial, RPE-based loading gave a small, non-significant strength edge over percentages; a meta-analysis of six load-autoregulation studies found autoregulated and fixed loading “produced similar improvements in strength.” A separate meta-analysis in athletes favored autoregulation. Both apps let you log RPE on every set for free.⁴¹³⁹⁴²⁷⁹

In Eric Helms’s 8-week trial of 21 resistance-trained men, squat 1RM rose 13.91 kg in the percentage group and 17.05 kg in the RPE group. The authors concluded: “Both loading-types are effective. However, RPE-based loading may provide a small 1RM strength advantage in a majority of individuals.”⁴¹ Hickmott’s meta-analysis put the 1RM difference at 2.07 kg (p = 0.09).³⁹ Zhang’s meta-analysis of 8 studies and 166 athletes found auto-regulation beat fixed loading for maximal strength (effect size 0.64).⁴²

Both apps use a 6–10 RPE picker, the top of the reps-in-reserve-based RPE scale Mike Zourdos of Florida Atlantic University and colleagues described in 2016. In 29 lifters, they called it “a practical method to regulate daily training load.”⁴³⁷⁹ On that scale, RPE 10 means no reps left in reserve.⁴³

Helms, a sports science research fellow at Auckland University of Technology, frames autoregulation as “simply a systematic approach to implementing something every trainer worth their salt knows is of supreme importance: the principle of individuality.”⁴⁴⁴⁵⁴¹ Disclosure: Boostcamp lists Helms as an advisor, and his programs are in its library.⁴⁵¹ More in our RPE and RIR guide.

Should you add weight or reps?

Either works. In an 8-week trial of 43 trained lifters, adding reps grew the thigh slightly more and adding load raised strength slightly more, with differences “of questionable practical significance.” That is Boostcamp’s double progression versus its linear progression. Zourdos adds that stronger lifters chasing strength need load progression.⁴⁰²⁴⁶

Plotkin and colleagues, with Brad Schoenfeld as senior author, wrote that “Both progressions of repetitions and load appear to be viable strategies for enhancing muscular adaptations over an 8-week training cycle.”⁴⁰ The reps group led on rectus femoris growth by 2.8 mm; the load group led on strength by 2.0 kg.⁴⁰

Zourdos, writing for Stronger by Science, adds a caveat for stronger lifters: “Various progressive overload strategies can maximize short-term gains in novice trainees. In more trained individuals, especially those aiming to maximize strength, load progression is essential.”⁴⁶ His practical advice fits either app: “pick a strategy, believe in it, and stick with it for at least a little bit.”⁴⁶

How many sets per muscle, and how close to failure?

More weekly sets help, with diminishing returns, and you don’t need to hit failure. Training to failure didn’t beat stopping short for strength or size in a 15-study meta-analysis, though growth improves as sets end closer to failure. Honest RPE logging matters more for hypertrophy than for strength.³⁵⁴⁷⁴⁸⁴⁹

Grgic and colleagues concluded: “Training to muscle failure does not seem to be required for gains in strength and muscle size.”⁴⁷ Refalo and colleagues found only a “trivial advantage” for set failure, an effect size of 0.19.⁴⁹ Robinson and colleagues, in an exploratory analysis, found “Strength gains were similar across a wide range of RIR, while muscle hypertrophy improves as sets are terminated closer to failure.”⁴⁸

For an app user, that means two numbers matter: how many hard sets each muscle gets per week, and how close each set gets to failure. Both apps can log the second for free; both now charge for the first.⁷⁹⁶⁸ Volume figures from the 2017 and 2026 meta-analyses are in the hypertrophy section above.³⁴³⁵

Do apps actually keep people training?

Somewhat, and mostly early on. These studies measured physical activity such as daily steps, not lifting. Apps and trackers raised activity by about 1,850 steps a day across 28 trials, but a second meta-analysis found a non-significant effect that was strongest in the first three months.⁵⁰⁵¹

Laranjo and colleagues pooled 28 randomized trials with 7,454 participants and found “Interventions including text-messaging and personalisation features were significantly more effective.”⁵⁰ Romeo and colleagues meta-analysed 6 studies and found a non-significant increase of 476.75 steps a day; “apps have been most effective in the short term (eg, up to 3 months).”⁵¹ No trial has tested whether Boostcamp’s programs or Hevy’s feed keep lifters going longer.

Is Boostcamp good? What reviewers say about Boostcamp and Hevy

Yes, and reviewers rate Hevy well too. Garage Gym Reviews scores Boostcamp 4.2 out of 5 and names it the “Best App for Workout Plans”; BarBend scores it 4.1 and names Hevy its “Best Free Weightlifting App.” Common criticisms: Boostcamp locks most analytics behind Pro and is thin on visual instruction; Hevy has no long-term programs, per BarBend.²⁶³¹⁵²⁵³³³

Garage Gym Reviews, Boostcamp review. Matt Dustin, CSCS, PN1-NC, updated 11 September 2026, scored it 4.2/5 after a year of training. He praised “132 programs from top coaches and athletes like Dr. Eric Helms, Brandon Campbell, Cody Lefever, Alex Bromley,” but noted “there’s no access to individual coaches, either.”²⁶
Garage Gym Reviews, Best Workout Apps. Written by Lauren Strong, CPT, and updated 6 November 2026. It names Caliber best overall and Boostcamp “Best App for Workout Plans.” Dustin adds that Boostcamp “won’t be at the level of having a coach or group trainer leading a class.”³¹ Boostcamp’s App Store listing says GGR “named Boostcamp the Best Workout App Overall in 2026”; that may refer to a different GGR list, which we didn’t check.¹
BarBend, Boostcamp review. Stephen Sheehan, ISSA CPT, CNC, CSCS, updated 11 September 2026, scored it 4.1/5. BarBend’s tester said “$59.99 for Pro for a year is incredible for how much data it provides,” and Sheehan added: “Or, you could just use the fully free version, which is comparable to another one of our favorite weightlifting apps, Hevy.” The tester docked a point because “it’s not really meant for cardio or mobility at all.”⁵²
BarBend, Best Weightlifting Apps. Written by Matt Cummings, NASM-CPT, updated by Jason Serafino on 24 June 2026. It names Hevy “Best Free Weightlifting App” and Boostcamp “Best App for Weightlifting Routines.” Its listed cons: Hevy has “No long-term programs, only workouts and routines”; Boostcamp “Lacks accountability features.” Both points are older than Boostcamp’s Community feed and some of Hevy Trainer’s 2026 updates.⁵³¹⁴
Fortune, Boostcamp review. Emily Phares, medically reviewed by Jillian Robillard, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD, updated 14 October 2026. Its tester, who used Pro, said: “You have a muscle tracker, a workout summary, and exercise analysis based on which movements you performed last.”³³
Quoted on Hevy’s App Store listing. Beth Skwarecki, senior health editor at Lifehacker: “I definitely have a favorite: It’s Hevy.” Men’s Journal: “a top pick if you thrive on accountability and community support.” We could not reach the original articles.⁴

Where does SensAI fit?

SensAI is a third option for iPhone and Apple Watch: a Coach builds your plan from your goals, schedule, equipment and fitness level, then adapts it through conversation and how you train. It reads sleep and resting heart rate from Apple Health, and HRV from Apple Watch, to adjust for readiness. It costs $69.99 a year after a 7-day trial.⁵⁴⁵⁵

Disclosure: SensAI publishes this blog. Where Boostcamp hands you a coach’s program and Hevy hands you a logbook, SensAI’s Coach writes the plan and changes it when you ask. Its listing says “Smart Modify can shorten your workout, change its intensity, or shift its focus. Just type what you need.”⁵⁴ SensAI Premium costs $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year.⁵⁴

Recovery data comes with limits. “SensAI reads Apple Health only,” so a Garmin, Oura or WHOOP has to write to Apple Health first, and HRV arrives “Only from Apple Watch.”⁵⁵ Vendor scores such as Body Battery, Recovery and Readiness “never transfer.”⁵⁵ If you use a non-Apple device, check what your wearable shares with SensAI through Apple Health before you count on it. SensAI writes the strength workouts you track to Apple Health.⁵⁵

Where Boostcamp and Hevy beat SensAI:

Free plans. Both have free plans with no time limit; SensAI offers a 7-day free trial of full access and its listing doesn’t advertise a permanent free plan.⁶⁴⁵⁴
Platforms. Both run on Android, and Hevy runs in a browser; SensAI is iPhone and Apple Watch only and needs iOS 26.¹⁰¹³⁵⁴
Track record. 11K and 102K App Store ratings against SensAI’s 39, at 4.6 stars.¹⁴⁵⁴
Named programs. Boostcamp’s library includes 130+ coach programs; SensAI doesn’t advertise a named-program library.¹⁵⁴
Price. Hevy Pro is $23.99 a year or $74.99 for life; SensAI is $69.99 a year.⁴⁵⁴
Data access. Hevy has CSV export and a public API; SensAI’s listing advertises neither.¹⁸²⁰⁵⁴

No trial has tested SensAI’s coaching either, so judge all three by how well they fit your week.

Boostcamp vs Hevy: which should you choose?

Pick Boostcamp if you want a named program and the more generous free plan. Pick Hevy if you want to log your own routines cheaply, on a watch, with friends and with your data portable. Pay for Boostcamp Pro for analytics and Auto Progression, or Hevy Pro for Trainer, full history and the API.⁶⁴⁵⁸

If you…	Pick	Why
Want to run GZCLP, 5/3/1 or nSuns without a spreadsheet	Boostcamp	Named programs on the free plan¹
Run a percentage-based program and don’t want to pay	Boostcamp	The program still sets those weights free²
Want the app to set your next weights for the cheapest price	Hevy Pro	$23.99 a year or $74.99 lifetime⁴
Log sets on an Apple Watch or Wear OS watch	Hevy	Boostcamp has no watch app¹⁰¹²
Train with friends and want a big feed	Hevy	Follow friends, gym profiles, leaderboards⁴
Want CSV export, an API or a Claude/ChatGPT connection	Hevy	All official; API is Pro-only¹⁸²⁰²²
Run peaking blocks such as Sheiko or Smolov	Boostcamp	Powerlifting programs in the library⁷
Want per-muscle volume tracking	Either, on Pro	Muscle Tracker or set count per muscle⁶⁸
Use Strava for runs and rides	Hevy	Automatic Strava sync¹⁶
Want sleep and HRV from Apple Health to shape the day’s session	SensAI	Reads Apple Health; HRV from Apple Watch only⁵⁵

Our verdict: for most lifters who already know they want a program, Boostcamp’s free plan is the better deal, as long as your program sets weights by percentage. If you choose your own weights and want an app to raise them, Hevy Pro does that job for less than half the yearly price of Boostcamp Pro.²⁴⁵

Frequently asked questions

Is Boostcamp better than Hevy?

For running named programs for free, yes. For a cheaper upgrade, an Apple Watch or Wear OS app, Strava sync and an official API, Hevy is better.⁶⁴¹²¹⁶²⁰

Is Boostcamp Pro worth it?

It is if you want Auto Progression on sets you load yourself, the Muscle Tracker and per-exercise 1RM charts. It costs $59.99 a year with a 7-day trial. If you run a percentage-based program, the free plan already calculates those weights.⁵²

Is Hevy Pro worth it?

It is if you want Hevy Trainer, more than 4 routines, history beyond 3 months, per-muscle set counts or API access. At $23.99 a year or $74.99 lifetime, it is the cheaper of the two upgrades.⁸²⁰⁴

Is Boostcamp auto progression free?

Not anymore. Since version 266 on 2 October 2026, Auto Progression is a Pro feature. Sets prescribed as a percentage of 1RM or from last week’s weight still follow the program on the free plan.¹²

Can I move my workouts from Boostcamp to Hevy?

Not through any documented path. Hevy says it “only allows you to import CSVs from the Strong app,” and Boostcamp doesn’t document an export.¹⁸⁷

Does Boostcamp work with Apple Watch?

No. Boostcamp says “There is no native Apple Watch app.” On iPhone, Live Activities put your set and rest timer on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island.¹⁰¹

Does Hevy work with Garmin?

No. Hevy says “Garmin has rejected Hevy’s application for access to their API.” Hevy does work with Apple Watch, Wear OS and Strava.¹⁷¹³¹⁶

Boostcamp vs Hevy vs Strong: which is simplest?

Hevy and Strong are both loggers; Boostcamp is the one built around programs. Boostcamp’s own page says Pro “costs more per year than Hevy Pro or Strong PRO, and it doesn’t offer a lifetime plan.”⁶ We compare Strong with Hevy in Hevy vs Strong and review it on its own in our Strong app review.

The bottom line

Boostcamp is the better free app for lifters who want a proven program, and Hevy is the better paid app for lifters who write their own. Since 2 October 2026, both charge for the feature that sets your next weights: $59.99 a year for Boostcamp Pro, $23.99 a year or $74.99 once for Hevy Pro.¹⁵⁴

If you run a percentage-based program, start on Boostcamp’s free plan; you may never need Pro. If you want a watch app, Strava, an export or an AI connector, Hevy is the only one of the two that has them.²⁴¹⁶¹⁸²²

And if you’d rather have a coach adjust the session around how you slept, that is a different kind of app, such as SensAI, which offers a 7-day free trial.⁵⁴

References

BPM Health Co. “Boostcamp: Workout Tracker.” Apple App Store listing, US (id1529354455) — 4.9 rating from 11K ratings; iPhone and iPad, requires iOS 15.1 (no Apple Watch entry); in-app purchases “Boostcamp Pro” $59.99, $14.99, $11.99, $79.99, $69.99 and “Limited-Time Offer $48.99”; “a free workout tracker and gym logger with 11,000+ programs and an AI coach that builds a custom plan from your goal, schedule, and equipment”; “AI Coach – Short questionnaire, then a customized multi-week program”; “Run nSuns, GZCLP, 5/3/1, Reddit PPL, PHUL, PHAT, or 130+ coach programs”; “Auto-progression sets your next weights”; “form videos”; “Live Activities put your set and rest timer on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island”; coaches “Dr. Eric Helms, Alex Bromley, Cody Lefever (GZCL) … Greg Nuckols, Jonnie Candito … Menno Henselmans … and 50+ more”; programs including “nSuns 5/3/1, GZCLP, 5/3/1 for Beginners, Building the Monolith, Candito 6 Week … PHUL, PHAT, Reddit PPL … Jacked and Tan 2.0 … Alberto Nuñez Upper Lower, Eric Helms Intermediate Bodybuilding, Greg Nuckols Beginner”; “Garage Gym Reviews named Boostcamp the Best Workout App Overall in 2026”; version history: 252 (March 14, 2026) “Create programs with AI”; 263 (July 25, 2026) “Community: a new social feed”; 266 (October 2, 2026) “Auto Progression (PRO): Get personalized weight targets that adjust based on your performance. Works with programs and empty workouts,” “Max Weight Reps”; 267 (October 28, 2026) “AI Support”; 268 (November 6, 2026) “compare your lifts with friends.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/boostcamp-workout-tracker/id1529354455 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷
Boostcamp. “Auto Progression: Your Next Weight, Set for You.” Updated October 2026 — “Linear progression and double progression (rep ranges)”; “Once a week (default) or every session”; step size “Default is twice your smallest plate; set per exercise from 1 to 25 lb or 0.5 to 15 kg”; “If you logged an RPE above the prescribed RPE, the weight holds. If no set reached the bottom of the range, Boostcamp estimates a weight you can hit for that many reps and suggests it instead”; “Price: Boostcamp Pro”; “Auto Progression works on sets you load yourself. Sets whose weight the program already calculates follow the program instead”; “Sets prescribed as % of 1RM or from last week’s weight — No, the program sets the weight”; worked example on 3 × 8 to 12 starting at 135 lb. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/features/auto-progression ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰
Hevy Help Center. “Hevy Trainer Explained: How It Builds Your Workout Program.” Updated November 3, 2026 — “Hevy Trainer is a new feature for Hevy Pro users … Hevy Trainer has a progressive overload feature that will let you know when to increase your weight and by how much based on your performance”; “Our programs are generated using an algorithm and do not rely on AI to create users’ programs”; onboarding: “What is your top goal? How much training experience do you have? What is your gender? When is your birthday? What is your weight? What is your height? What equipment do you have available? How often do you want to work out? Do you want to add cardio to your workouts? How long would you like your workouts to be? Which muscle group do you want to focus on?” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/38385724273047 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Hevy Studios S.L. “Hevy - Workout Tracker Gym Log.” Apple App Store listing, US (id1458862350) — 4.9 rating from 102K ratings; iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch; requires iOS 15.1 and watchOS 9.0; in-app purchases “Hevy Pro - Monthly $2.99,” “Hevy Pro - Yearly $23.99,” “Hevy Pro - Lifetime $74.99,” “Hevy Pro - Monthly $3.99”; “browse Hevy’s large, free library for a full split or individual workouts”; “Follow friends and athletes from around the world, see their workouts in your feed, and compare your lifts”; “Monitor your strength progression and PRs with graphs for every exercise”; “Automatically sync your workouts to Strava”; “Hevy uses HealthKit and CareKit to export your workouts to the Health app”; Apple Watch: “Log sets, start rest timers, and finish your workout without touching your phone,” “Monitor your heart rate during your workout,” “Workouts save automatically when your watch reconnects to your phone”; Hevy Pro includes Hevy Trainer, unlimited routines and custom exercises, complete history; “You have the right to withdraw from your initial subscription within 14 days of starting it. If you don’t purchase Hevy Pro, you can keep using Hevy for free”; no free trial stated; press quotes from Beth Skwarecki, senior health editor, Lifehacker, and Men’s Journal; version history: 3.1.8 (August 6, 2026) “Injury Management lets you flag injuries so Trainer can adapt your program around them”; 3.1.10 (August 20, 2026) “Progressive Overload now supports reps-only exercises”; 3.1.12 (September 3, 2026) “Send workouts to ChatGPT & Claude directly from the finish workout screen”; 3.2.4 (October 28, 2026) “Gym Profiles: see your gym’s workout feed, your own stats, and leaderboards.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hevy-workout-tracker-gym-log/id1458862350 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶ ↩²⁷ ↩²⁸ ↩²⁹ ↩³⁰ ↩³¹ ↩³² ↩³³ ↩³⁴ ↩³⁵ ↩³⁶ ↩³⁷ ↩³⁸ ↩³⁹ ↩⁴⁰ ↩⁴¹ ↩⁴² ↩⁴³ ↩⁴⁴ ↩⁴⁵ ↩⁴⁶ ↩⁴⁷ ↩⁴⁸
Boostcamp. “Boostcamp Pro.” Updated October 2026 — “Boostcamp Pro is $59.99 per year ($4.99 per month, billed annually) with a 7-day free trial, or $14.99 per month with no trial … Pricing is the same across iOS and Android”; “The monthly plan does not include a trial”; Pro “adds 20+ exclusive coach programs, Personalized Programs (a starter plan built from a short questionnaire), Auto Progression … the Muscle Tracker (per-muscle volume as a body heatmap, radar, and table), Exercise Analytics and Training Trends, per-exercise Records and Charts”; Personalized Programs ask about “your goal, experience, equipment, focus areas, injuries, and training days … Personalized Programs are Pro-only”; Strength Score “a single 0-100 number based on the DOTS powerlifting formula relative to bodyweight, age-adjusted, across 13 lifts in five categories.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/pro ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵
Boostcamp. “Is Boostcamp Free? Free vs Pro Explained (2026).” — “The 14,000+ program library, the full workout tracker, exercise demos, RPE logging, rest timers, PR boards, the Weekly Report and the custom program builder cost nothing, with no time limit and no cap on programs. The plate calculator includes 10 free uses”; table: coach-designed programs “99 of 132” free; Muscle Tracker, Personalized programs, Auto Progression and “Exercise Analytics, Training Trends, per-exercise records and estimated 1RM charts” Pro only; Strength Score “Score view” free, “Score, Level, Max and Balance views” Pro; FAQ: “(32 of the 132 coach programs are Pro-only)”; “Boostcamp Pro costs more per year than Hevy Pro or Strong PRO, and it doesn’t offer a lifetime plan.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/is-boostcamp-free ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶
Boostcamp. “Boostcamp Features: Programs, Tracking, Analytics.” — “Create up to 3 custom exercises free (unlimited with Pro)”; builder supports “multi-week mesocycles … intensity targets as RPE, RPE range, or % of 1RM”; RPE “6 to 10 in half-point steps … ‘Could do 2 more reps’”; “PRs are flagged the moment you hit them during a workout … free. … Pro adds per-exercise Records and Charts (best set, estimated 1RM …)”; “powerlifting peaking blocks (Sheiko, Smolov, Candito), hypertrophy programs (PHUL, PHAT, coach-designed splits from Alberto Nuñez), classic linear progressions for beginners (GZCLP, 5/3/1 for Beginners, Starting Strength)”; “Community — Free”; no Strava, Garmin, data export or import listed. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/features ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰ ↩²¹ ↩²² ↩²³ ↩²⁴ ↩²⁵ ↩²⁶
Hevy Help Center. “Hevy Pro Subscription: How to get Pro and What Does It Include?” Updated November 6, 2026 — free vs Pro: “Routine limit: Limit of 4 | Unlimited”; “Data history: 3 months | All time”; “Custom exercises: Limit of 7 | Unlimited”; advanced tracking free: “Muscle distribution (body and chart) Main exercises Leaderboard Exercises Monthly Report,” Pro adds “Set count per muscle group”; “Warm up Calculator: Unavailable | Available”; “Trainer: Unavailable | Available”; no free trial stated. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/35119778922263-Hevy-Pro-Subscription-How-to-get-Pro-and-What-Does-It-Include ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴ ↩¹⁵ ↩¹⁶ ↩¹⁷ ↩¹⁸ ↩¹⁹ ↩²⁰
Hevy. “How to Calculate and Log RPE During Training.” — “Profile tab > Settings … > Workouts > RPE Tracking > activate the option”; “You can tap the RPE button for a specific set to select a value from 6 to 10.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/how-to-calculate-rpe/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Boostcamp. “Boostcamp vs Hevy: Programs vs Social Tracker (2026).” Last updated October 2026 (vendor comparison) — “There is no native Apple Watch app; on desktop, Boostcamp offers a web program builder, while workout logging stays on mobile”; Hevy “does not ship with pre-built named methodology programs”; social feed “Not a core feature”; “No AI generator; Personalized Programs (Pro) builds a plan from a questionnaire”; “Only Hevy uses AI”; Android “Yes” for Boostcamp, “Yes, plus Wear OS” for Hevy; “Hevy Pro is less expensive than Boostcamp Pro at every horizon: $2.99/month vs $14.99/month, $23.99/year vs $59.99/year, and Hevy offers a $74.99 lifetime tier that Boostcamp does not.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/vs/hevy ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³
BPM Health Co. “Boostcamp: Workout Programs.” Google Play listing, US (com.bpmhealth.boostcamp) — 4.8 rating, 13.7K reviews; 500K+ downloads; updated November 6, 2026; ratings shown for phone and tablet only, no Wear OS. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bpmhealth.boostcamp&hl=en_US&gl=US ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hevy Studios S.L. “Hevy - Gym Log Workout Tracker.” Google Play listing, US (com.hevy) — 4.9 rating, 288K reviews; 5M+ downloads; updated November 5, 2026; “Easily track your workouts on your Wear OS Watch,” “Live sync your Wear OS Watch workout with your phone.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hevy&hl=en_US&gl=US ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸
Hevy Help Center. “Everything You Need to Know About the Hevy App (2026 Features Guide).” Updated November 6, 2026 — “Hevy can be used across multiple devices, including: iPhone and Android / Web browser / Apple Watch / Wear OS”; “Free users can create up to 4 routines”; “Free users can view up to 3 months of workout and statistics history”; set count per muscle group Pro only; Strava sync and “Apple Watch & Wear OS” on free and Pro; no free trial stated. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/33106320824727-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-About-the-Hevy-App-2026-Features-Guide ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Boostcamp. “Apple Health and Health Connect Sync.” Updated October 2026 — “Each completed workout is saved as a strength training session with its date and duration, and bodyweight can sync in either direction … The integration is free”; “Not synced: Heart rate, calories, body fat”; “Health receives the session, not the exercise details”; “A Strength Training session dated that day, lasting 65 minutes”; “Boostcamp doesn’t read or record heart rate or calories.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/features/apple-health ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Hevy Help Center. “How to Connect Hevy to Google Fit Using Health Connect.” Updated November 4, 2026 — “Settings > Integrations > Manage > Health Connect”; “We previously connected directly to Google Fit, but Google has removed this option.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/34204824335255-How-to-Connect-Hevy-to-Google-Fit-Using-Health-Connect ↩ ↩²
Hevy. “Explore Hevy’s Strava Integration & How to Enable It.” — “Our Strava integration allows you to share your Hevy workouts automatically on your Strava feed.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/strava-integration/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Hevy Help Center. “Hevy and Garmin Integration Update: Why It’s Not Possible Yet.” Updated November 6, 2026 — “We would like to integrate with Garmin, but it is not possible at this time … Garmin has rejected Hevy’s application for access to their API.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/35361029194647-Hevy-and-Garmin-Integration-Update-Why-It-s-Not-Possible-Yet ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Hevy Help Center. “How to Import Strong App CSV Files and Export Your Data in Hevy.” Updated October 28, 2026 — “You can choose to export either your measurements data or your workout data”; “Hevy only allows you to import CSVs from the Strong app.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/38001424401943-How-to-Import-Strong-App-CSV-Files-and-Export-Your-Data-in-Hevy ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹
alex-keyes (GitHub user). “boostcamp-mcp.” GitHub repository — “A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for integrating with the Boostcamp fitness platform”; built with the boostcamp-api library, “A library for interacting with Boostcamp’s private API”; no affiliation statement. No API, MCP or developer page appears in Boostcamp’s sitemap (https://www.boostcamp.app/sitemap/sitemap.xml). Both accessed November 7, 2026. https://github.com/alex-keyes/boostcamp-mcp ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷
Hevy Help Center. “How to Access and Use the Hevy API.” Updated November 6, 2026 — “Important: API access is currently only available to Hevy Pro users”; “You can also use the API to create or update workouts and routines, add custom exercises and routine folders, and log or update body measurements”; not covered: “Apple Health or Health Connect data,” “Deleting workouts, routines, or exercises,” “Social features”; “The Hevy API is still experimental, so features may change over time.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/44834585028375-How-to-Access-and-Use-the-Hevy-API ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
Hevy. “Hevy for ChatGPT: Build a Workout Plan & Import it to Hevy.” — “Yes, the option is freely available to all of our users”; “we’re sunsetting the old HevyGPT now that the new Hevy app for ChatGPT is available.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/hevy-chatgpt/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hevy. “Hevy Claude Plugin: Build Workouts and Analyze Performance.” — “This is a connector we specifically developed for Claude”; “Yes, the integration works with a free Hevy account”; “A free Claude account also works.” Hevy’s help center returned no articles for “MCP” (search, November 7, 2026). Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/hevy-claude/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶
Hevy Help Center. “Hevy Pro Sale - 50% Off First Year.” — “The 50% off sale applies to the first year of an annual Pro subscription”; “Lifetime subscriptions are never discounted”; “The sale is only available a few times per year.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/38223834432279-Hevy-Pro-Sale-50-Off-First-Year ↩
Hevy Help Center. “What will happen to my account if I switch from Pro to the free version?” — “On the free version of the app, the only measurements that can be recorded are your body weight and your waist circumference”; “you will not lose the routines you created above the original 4 free routines … you just won’t be able to create new routines”; “With a Pro subscription, you can see history for 1 year and all time for each of the stats.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/38279350428695 ↩ ↩²
Hevy Coach. “Pricing.” — “30 day free trial”; “$25 /USD month” for “1-10 clients,” up to $700 for “501-1,000 clients”; “Free Hevy Pro for all your clients”; “No, your clients will not pay anything.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://hevycoach.com/pricing/ ↩
Dustin M. “Boostcamp Review (2026): Honest Thoughts After a Year of Training.” Garage Gym Reviews, expert-verified by Amanda Capritto; updated September 11, 2026 — GGR score 4.2/5; “While most of the analytics are locked behind the Pro plan, you can use the free version forever”; “there’s no access to individual coaches, either”; “there aren’t video demos of each exercise, which can be confusing if you’re relatively new to lifting”; “there are 132 programs from top coaches and athletes like Dr. Eric Helms, Brandon Campbell, Cody Lefever, Alex Bromley.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.garagegymreviews.com/boostcamp-review ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Hevy. “Gym Performance Tracking (Tools, Graphs & Statistics).” — exercise summary shows “Heaviest weight lifted / Projected or true 1RM / Best set volume”; Strength Level for barbell deadlift, squat and bench: “Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, or Elite”; muscle-group sets “limited to three months on Hevy’s free version” (older page). Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/gym-performance/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hevy. “Hevy Trainer: Adaptive Strength Programming System.” — “It creates personalized programs with built-in progressive overload, tracks your performance, automatically adjusts your working weights, and offers helpful tips”; “Trainer is a Pro feature … $2.99/month ($23.99/year or $74.99/lifetime).” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.hevyapp.com/features/workout-plan-generator/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hevy Help Center. “Understanding Your Estimated One-Rep Max (1RM) in Hevy.” Updated October 19, 2026 — “We estimate your 1RM from each set using a rep-to-percentage table”; “Estimated 1RM = weight lifted ÷ percentage for that rep count”; “If you lift 75 kg for 10 reps, the percentage used is 75%: 75 kg ÷ 0.75 = 100 kg estimated 1RM.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://help.hevyapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/36954464726167 ↩ ↩²
Hevy. “Hevy Public API Docs.” — “we make no guarantees that we won’t completely change the structure or abandon the project entirely so use it at your own risk. Currently, this API is only available to Hevy Pro users”; endpoints /v1/workouts, /v1/workouts/count, /v1/workouts/events, /v1/routines, /v1/routine_folders, /v1/exercise_templates, /v1/body_measurements, /v1/user/info. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://api.hevyapp.com/docs/ ↩
Strong L. “Best Workout Apps.” Garage Gym Reviews, updated November 6, 2026 — Caliber best overall (4.6); Boostcamp “Best App for Workout Plans” (4.2); Matt Dustin: “This is an app for intermediate lifters who simply need a better program”; “it won’t be at the level of having a coach or group trainer leading a class.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.garagegymreviews.com/best-workout-apps ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Boostcamp. “Boostcamp: Free Workout Tracker & Program App, Every Level.” Homepage program cards — “nSuns 5/3/1 … 44,216 athletes joined”; “GZCL Program (GZCLP) Cody Lefever … 40,185 athletes joined”; “PHUL Workout Program Brandon Campbell … 33,350.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/ ↩ ↩²
Phares E. “Boostcamp App Review (2026): Trainer Approved.” Fortune, medically reviewed by Jillian Robillard, MS, RD, LDN, CSSD; published August 4, 2026, updated October 14, 2026 — “There isn’t a ton of visual instruction, but they will explain the workouts and movements on the app before you start”; “You have a muscle tracker, a workout summary, and exercise analysis based on which movements you performed last.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://fortune.com/article/boostcamp-review/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2017;35(11):1073-1082. doi:10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197. PMID: 27433992. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27433992/ ↩ ↩²
Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Robinson ZP, Hinson SR, Zourdos MC. The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. Sports Medicine. 2026;56(2):481-505. doi:10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w. PMID: 41343037. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41343037/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. How many times per week should a muscle be trained to maximize muscle hypertrophy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining the effects of resistance training frequency. Journal of Sports Sciences. 2019;37(11):1286-1295. doi:10.1080/02640414.2018.1555906. PMID: 30558493. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30558493/ ↩
Williams TD, Tolusso DV, Fedewa MV, Esco MR. Comparison of Periodized and Non-Periodized Resistance Training on Maximal Strength: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine. 2017;47(10):2083-2100. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0734-y. PMID: 28497285. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28497285/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Moesgaard L, Beck MM, Christiansen L, Aagaard P, Lundbye-Jensen J. Effects of Periodization on Strength and Muscle Hypertrophy in Volume-Equated Resistance Training Programs: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2022;52(7):1647-1666. doi:10.1007/s40279-021-01636-1. PMID: 35044672. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35044672/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Hickmott LM, Chilibeck PD, Shaw KA, Butcher SJ. The Effect of Load and Volume Autoregulation on Muscular Strength and Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports Medicine - Open. 2022;8(1):9. doi:10.1186/s40798-021-00404-9. PMID: 35038063. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35038063/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Plotkin D, Coleman M, Van Every D, Maldonado J, Oberlin D, Israetel M, Feather J, Alto A, Vigotsky AD, Schoenfeld BJ. Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ. 2022;10:e14142. doi:10.7717/peerj.14142. PMID: 36199287. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36199287/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴
Helms ER, Byrnes RK, Cooke DM, Haischer MH, Carzoli JP, Johnson TK, Cross MR, Cronin JB, Storey AG, Zourdos MC. RPE vs. Percentage 1RM Loading in Periodized Programs Matched for Sets and Repetitions. Frontiers in Physiology. 2018;9:247. doi:10.3389/fphys.2018.00247. PMID: 29628895. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29628895/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Zhang X, Li H, Bi S, Luo Y, Cao Y, Zhang G. Auto-Regulation Method vs. Fixed-Loading Method in Maximum Strength Training for Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Frontiers in Physiology. 2021;12:651112. doi:10.3389/fphys.2021.651112. PMID: 33776802. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33776802/ ↩ ↩²
Zourdos MC, Klemp A, Dolan C, Quiles JM, Schau KA, Jo E, Helms E, Esgro B, Duncan S, Garcia Merino S, Blanco R. Novel Resistance Training-Specific Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale Measuring Repetitions in Reserve. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2016;30(1):267-275. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000001049. PMID: 26049792. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26049792/ ↩ ↩²
Helms E. “The Science of Autoregulation.” Stronger by Science, published August 30, 2017, modified January 26, 2020 — “Rather, autoregulation is simply a systematic approach to implementing something every trainer worth their salt knows is of supreme importance: the principle of individuality.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.strongerbyscience.com/autoregulation/ ↩
Boostcamp. “About Us: Meet the Boostcamp Team and Our Story.” — “Eric Helms ADVISOR … Eric is a renowned fitness educator, sports science research fellow at AUT, champion-level coach, and author of The Muscle & Strength Pyramid.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.boostcamp.app/about ↩ ↩²
Zourdos M. “When to Use Specific Progressive Overload Strategies.” Stronger by Science, April 1, 2024 — “Various progressive overload strategies can maximize short-term gains in novice trainees. In more trained individuals, especially those aiming to maximize strength, load progression is essential”; “pick a strategy, believe in it, and stick with it for at least a little bit.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.strongerbyscience.com/progressive-overload-strategies/ ↩ ↩² ↩³
Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Health Science. 2022;11(2):202-211. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2021.01.007. PMID: 33497853. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33497853/ ↩ ↩²
Robinson ZP, Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Refalo MC, Jukic I, Steele J, Zourdos MC. Exploring the Dose-Response Relationship Between Estimated Resistance Training Proximity to Failure, Strength Gain, and Muscle Hypertrophy: A Series of Meta-Regressions. Sports Medicine. 2024;54(9):2209-2231. doi:10.1007/s40279-024-02069-2. PMID: 38970765. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38970765/ ↩ ↩²
Refalo MC, Helms ER, Trexler ET, Hamilton DL, Fyfe JJ. Influence of Resistance Training Proximity-to-Failure on Skeletal Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. 2023;53(3):649-665. doi:10.1007/s40279-022-01784-y. PMID: 36334240. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36334240/ ↩ ↩²
Laranjo L, Ding D, Heleno B, Kocaballi B, Quiroz JC, Tong HL, Chahwan B, Neves AL, Gabarron E, Dao KP, Rodrigues D, Neves GC, Antunes ML, Coiera E, Bates DW. Do smartphone applications and activity trackers increase physical activity in adults? Systematic review, meta-analysis and metaregression. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2021;55(8):422-432. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2020-102892. PMID: 33355160. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33355160/ ↩ ↩²
Romeo A, Edney S, Plotnikoff R, Curtis R, Ryan J, Sanders I, Crozier A, Maher C. Can Smartphone Apps Increase Physical Activity? Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019;21(3):e12053. doi:10.2196/12053. PMID: 30888321. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30888321/ ↩ ↩²
Sheehan S. “Boostcamp Review (2026): Tested By a Certified Personal Trainer.” BarBend, updated September 11, 2026 — 4.1/5; “The monthly fee isn’t great, but $59.99 for Pro for a year is incredible for how much data it provides”; “Or, you could just use the fully free version, which is comparable to another one of our favorite weightlifting apps, Hevy”; “I’ll dock a point because it’s not really meant for cardio or mobility at all, which is a bummer.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://barbend.com/boostcamp-review/ ↩ ↩²
Cummings M, updated by Serafino J. “Best Weightlifting Apps.” BarBend, updated June 24, 2026 — “Best Free Weightlifting App: Hevy”; Hevy con: “No long-term programs, only workouts and routines”; “Best App for Weightlifting Routines: Boostcamp”; Boostcamp con: “Lacks accountability features.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://barbend.com/best-weightlifting-apps/ ↩ ↩²
Origami, Incorporated. “SensAI: Workout Planner.” Apple App Store listing, US (id6738963099) — “Coaching that adapts to you”; 4.6 rating from 39 ratings; iPhone and Apple Watch; “Requires iOS 26 or later; Apple Watch requires watchOS 26 or later”; “SensAI Premium Monthly $6.99,” “SensAI Premium Yearly $69.99”; “Get full access free for 7 days. No subscription required to start”; “Get a plan built around your goals, schedule, equipment, and fitness level. Train with set-by-set guidance and a Coach who adapts your plan through conversation and how you train”; “Smart Modify can shorten your workout, change its intensity, or shift its focus. Just type what you need”; “Coach uses HRV, sleep, resting heart rate, body composition, and cardio fitness from Apple Health to tailor training to your readiness”; version 1.1.8, October 30, 2026. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sensai-workout-planner/id6738963099 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰
SensAI Help Center. “How to Connect Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, Strava, or Any Wearable to SensAI Through Apple Health.” Last updated September 25, 2026 — “SensAI reads Apple Health only”; HRV “Only from Apple Watch. Garmin, Oura, WHOOP, COROS, Polar, and Fitbit do not write HRV to Apple Health”; “Body Battery, Recovery, and Readiness never transfer”; “SensAI writes the strength workouts you track in the app to Apple Health.” Accessed November 7, 2026. https://www.sensai.fit/help/connect-wearable-to-sensai-apple-health ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵