Train Smarter. Progress Further.
Evidence-based periodization for strength training
Ascend brings intelligent programming to your workouts—whether you're doing pull-ups in a park or weighted squats in a gym. Your targets are calculated from your actual tested performance, and your intensity automatically waves across sessions to drive real progress.
Free trial included. Available for iOS.
I built Ascend because the RFEM system transformed my own training, and I wanted an app designed around it. RFEM stands for Reps From Established Max—a methodology where your training targets are calculated directly from your tested capabilities. You always know exactly what to do, and the app handles intensity management automatically based on your real numbers.
The RFEM Method
Progress Custom-Designed for Your Current Level.
Test Your Max
Record your maximum reps for each exercise. This establishes your personal baseline.
Train Below It
Ascend calculates working targets with built-in reps in reserve—intensity that drives progress while supporting consistent recovery.
Progress Systematically
Your intensity waves across sessions automatically, accumulating quality volume over time.
Retest & Repeat
When you’re ready, test again. Your entire program recalibrates to your new capabilities.
Research shows that training with reps in reserve allows you to accumulate more quality volume over time—and volume is a primary driver of results. Ascend builds this principle directly into every session, so each workout is productive and sustainable.
Built-In Periodization
Intensity Waves That Build in Your Recovery
Your training intensity automatically varies across workouts, with each session assigned its own RFEM value. This creates a natural pattern of harder and easier days that matches how recovery actually works.
A typical cycle might wave like this: harder → moderate → lighter → harder → moderate → lighter. This managed variation helps you sustain progress over weeks and months, session after session.
Miss a workout? The periodization stays intact. Your next session picks up exactly where it should be in the wave pattern.
Intensity Across a Training Cycle
Lower RFEM = closer to your max = higher intensity. The wave manages fatigue so you can train consistently.
Works for Any Strength Training
Bodyweight, Weighted, or Both
Rep-Based Calisthenics
Pull-ups, push-ups, dips, squats—track your max and let Ascend calculate your targets for progressive bodyweight training.
Weighted Exercises
Full load tracking for barbell and dumbbell work. Add weight, add reps, or both—Ascend supports simple, clear progression.
Time-Based Holds
Planks, dead hangs, wall sits—track holds by time with the same structured progression and automatic timer.
Use RFEM for exercises where periodization makes sense, simple progression where it fits better, or mix both approaches in the same cycle. Ascend also includes a conditioning mode for high-rep endurance work.
Designed for Training
Built Around How You Actually Work Out
Effortless Logging
Swipe to complete. Timer starts automatically. Fast enough to use between sets without breaking your focus.
Works Offline
Train anywhere—the gym, the park, on the road. Full functionality with no internet connection required.
Automatic Recalibration
Update your max and your entire program adjusts. Your training always reflects your current capabilities.
Clear Workout View
Every session shows exactly what to do: exercises, target reps, sets remaining. Open the app and start training.
Research-Backed
Built on Peer-Reviewed Sports Science
Ascend's methodology draws on published research including multiple meta-analyses on training intensity, volume, recovery, and autoregulation. The evidence consistently supports the core principles behind RFEM: that managing intensity through reps in reserve produces sustainable, long-term progress.
We're transparent about what the research shows—and what it doesn't. We've done the homework so you can focus on training.
Meta-analyses on training volume and hypertrophy
Periodization research on intensity variation and fatigue management
Autoregulation studies on reps-in-reserve and training proximity to failure
One-Time Purchase. Yours to Keep.
Ascend is available as a one-time purchase on the App Store—no subscriptions, no recurring fees. Start with a free 4-week trial that includes full access to every feature.
Available for iOS
Ready to Train Smarter?
Ascend brings intelligent progression to your workouts—wherever and however you train. Start with a free trial and see the difference structured programming makes.