Article URL: https://musklr.com/blog/2026/iphone-lock-screen-workout-tracking-live-activity/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48932784 Points: 7 # Comments: 2

Musklr shows your current set, what you lifted last time, and a running rest timer on the iPhone Lock Screen. You do not unlock the phone and you do not open the app. Glance at it, then get back under the bar. Live Activities are Apple's way of letting an app keep a small, updating card on your Lock Screen while something is in progress. You have probably seen one for a food delivery or a flight. On an iPhone with a Dynamic Island, the same card also folds into the pill at the top of the screen. Apple introduced them in iOS 16, and they update in real time without you opening the app. The current set is the biggest thing on the card, the same way it is on the Apple Watch. You see the exercise, the weight and reps you are about to do, and a "Last" line showing what you did on that exercise in your previous session. That last number is the reason to look at all: it tells you whether to add weight or hold. A set counter underneath tells you how much is left. Finish a set and the card becomes a rest countdown with a progress bar. It ticks down on the Lock Screen whether the phone is locked or not, so you can check how long you have left with a glance. The card also carries the controls you reach for most: add 15 seconds, take 15 seconds off, or skip the rest. Tapping one opens Musklr straight to that action, so you skip the hunt for the right screen. If an Apple Watch is feeding Musklr your heart rate, that appears on the card too, which is a decent read on whether you are actually recovered. On an iPhone with a Dynamic Island, the workout follows you into other apps. Touch and hold the pill and it expands to the full card: current set, the "Last" comparison, and the rest countdown with the same controls. Left alone it stays compact, with the exercise on one side and your set on the other, so it stays out of your way until you want it. The Live Activity and the Apple Watch app show the same session. Log a set on the Watch and the Lock Screen card updates. Start a rest timer on the phone and the Watch counts down with you. The layout is deliberately the same on both, so there is no second interface to learn. If you are still choosing an app, our comparison of the main iOS lifting apps covers where each one lands on Apple Watch support.