# The free bodybuilding app that runs your split

> Template Trainer is a free bodybuilding app that runs classic hypertrophy programs for you. Pick a split like PHUL, PHAT, the Reddit PPL, Y3T, FST-7 or Dorian Yates's Blood and Guts, and its double progression rules add weight once you hit the top of each rep range. A Balance view shows each muscle's weekly sets.

Source: https://templatetrainer.com/bodybuilding-app/ · By Jordan DuBois · Updated 2026-10-13 · Template Trainer

Building muscle comes down to a few things done consistently for a long time: enough hard sets for every muscle, a little more weight or a few more reps over time, and enough rest to recover. Most workout apps help you write down what you did. Template Trainer goes further. Pick a bodybuilding program, and it tells you what to lift every session, raises the weight when you've earned it, and shows whether each muscle is getting enough work. It's free, and it runs in any browser on your phone or computer.

## Bodybuilding programs ready to run

The Program Library includes the classic hypertrophy programs, each written out with the author's rep ranges and its own progression rules.

| Program | Days a week | Style | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reddit PPL | 6 | Push, pull, legs twice a week; heavy 5s on the main lift, 8 to 12 elsewhere | Beginners who can train often |
| PHUL | 4 | Upper/lower; two power days, two hypertrophy days | Size and strength together |
| Generic Bulking Routine (Lyle McDonald) | 4 | Upper/lower, strict double progression | A simple, proven bulk |
| PHAT (Layne Norton) | 5 | Two heavy days, three hypertrophy days with speed work | Intermediate powerbuilding |
| HST (Bryan Haycock) | 3 | Full body; two-week blocks of 15s, 10s and 5s | Frequent, periodized full body |
| German Volume Training | 3 sessions over 5 days | Ten sets of ten on two lifts per session | A short, brutal volume phase |
| Arnold's Golden Six | 3 | One full-body workout of six exercises | Beginners and returning lifters |
| Y3T (Neil Hill) | 4 | A three-week loop: heavy, moderate, then very high reps and giant sets | Advanced lifters who like variety |
| FST-7 (Hany Rambod) | 5 | Body-part split finished with seven sets on 30-second breaks | Advanced lifters chasing a pump |
| Blood and Guts (Dorian Yates) | 4 | One all-out set per exercise, two days on, one off | Advanced, high-intensity training |

Not sure which fits? [How to choose a workout program](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-workout-program/) walks through experience, schedule and goals, and the full list of free programs is on [workout templates](https://templatetrainer.com/workout-templates/).

## Double progression, done for you

Most bodybuilding programs use double progression. You work in a rep range, say 8 to 12. Start with a weight you can lift for 8 on every set. Add reps over the next sessions. When every working set reaches 12, add weight and drop back to 8. It's simple, it works, and it's tedious to track across 20 exercises in a notebook.

In Template Trainer the program does it. Each program has rules like "If every working set of Incline Dumbbell Press reached 12 reps, add 5 lb and set reps to 8." You train, tick your sets, and next time the weight and reps are already set. The workout screen marks "Progression applied" when a rule changed today's numbers, so you always know why. The Generic Bulking Routine, PHUL, PHAT and Arnold's Golden Six all work this way, and high-intensity programs like Blood and Guts add weight when the all-out set reaches the top of its target. More on why this works in [progressive overload](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/progressive-overload/).

## Sets per muscle, before you start

Weekly sets per muscle is one of the strongest predictors of growth in the research. A 2017 meta-analysis found that more weekly sets gave more growth, and 10 or more sets a week grew muscle more than fewer than 5. A 2025 analysis found growth kept rising past 20 sets a week, with smaller gains for each extra set.

Template Trainer's Balance view counts the weekly sets each muscle gets in a program before you run it, marks muscles under 10 sets as Low, and shows the 10 to 20 range as a band. It's an easy way to see that a split barely trains your rear delts or hamstrings, and fix it before you've spent three months on it. The counts mean what the research means only when your working sets end close to failure, so train hard.

## How it works

1. **Pick a program** in the Program Library. Filter by Bodybuilding, and compare cards by days, rules and the muscles each one trains.
2. **Check its Balance.** Look at the weekly sets for each muscle and add an exercise if something you care about is marked Low.
3. **Start at the bottom of each rep range** with a weight you control. For programs that load from your records, like Y3T's heavy week, type in a one rep max or a recent best set of 5 once.
4. **Train from Today.** Each exercise shows last time's numbers beside today's target. Tick a set and the rest timer starts with the program's rest time.
5. **Let the rules progress you**, and watch each lift climb on Progress.

![The Programs screen on a phone showing PHUL with 27 rules and its muscle balance bar](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/images/app-programs-phone.webp "Each program shows its rules and muscle balance") ![A PHUL workout in progress with Front Squat sets of 10, Progression applied and the rest timer running](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/images/app-workout-phone.webp "Progression applied: today's weights came from the rules")

![Today on a laptop showing PHUL's Lower Body Hypertrophy workout ready to start](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/images/app-today-desktop.webp "Today has the next session planned")

## Built for long blocks of hard training

- **Circuits, drop sets and giant sets.** FST-7's seven-set finishers and Y3T's giant sets are written as circuits, so the app counts rounds and times the short rests for you.
- **Rest that matches the program.** Heavy compounds get long rests and isolation work short ones, and the rest timer follows. See [how long to rest between sets](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/how-long-to-rest-between-sets/).
- **Deloads.** Add a lighter week whenever you need one; see [how to deload](https://templatetrainer.com/guides/how-to-deload/).
- **Progress you can see.** Estimated one rep max charts for every exercise, records and a bodyweight log, all free.
- **Your data is yours.** Download a CSV of every set you've logged.
- **Works in the gym basement.** Workouts log offline and sync when you're back online.

## Frequently asked questions

### What is the best free bodybuilding app?

The best one is the one that keeps you on a good program. Template Trainer is free with no paid tier and suits lifters who want a proven split like PHUL, PHAT or the Reddit PPL with the progression handled for them. If you'd rather build every session yourself and share it with friends, a simple logger with a social feed may suit you better.

### Does Template Trainer have push pull legs?

Yes. The Reddit PPL is in the library: six days a week, pull, push and legs twice, with a heavy set of 5 on the main lift and 8 to 12 reps on everything else. It adds weight when you reach the top of the range.

### Can I make my own bodybuilding split?

Yes. Build any split in the program editor, with your own exercises, sets, rep ranges, rest times and circuits, then add progression rules or copy them from a library program. There's no limit on programs.

### How many sets per muscle should I do for hypertrophy?

Research supports at least 10 hard sets per muscle a week for most people, with more sets giving more growth at a smaller rate. Many programs land between 10 and 20. Template Trainer's Balance view shows where a program falls for each muscle.

### Is Template Trainer free?

Yes, with no paid tier. It shows a small sponsored card on some screens, never on the workout screen.

## Sources

- [Schoenfeld, Ogborn and Krieger (2017), Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass, Journal of Sports Sciences](https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197)
- [Pelland et al. (2025), The resistance training dose response: meta-regressions exploring the effects of weekly volume and frequency on muscle hypertrophy and strength gains, Sports Medicine](https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w)

## About the author

Jordan DuBois has been lifting for 20 years and won men's lightweight bodybuilding as a natural at a 2013 NPC show in Mesa, Arizona. Jordan holds summa cum laude degrees in applied mathematics and biology from Arizona State University, and founded Template Trainer to run proven programs the way their authors wrote them. [Bio](https://templatetrainer.com/authors/jordan-dubois/)