How to Track Weight Lifted as a Strength Goal on iPhone (kg)

A tonnage goal sounds odd the first time you hear it. Lift 100,000 kg this year. The number refers to total volume, which is every set, every rep, and every kilogram moved across every session, added together.

Strength coaches track tonnage because it describes training load in a way attendance never does. Four sessions in a peak week and four sessions in a deload week look identical on a calendar. In kilograms, they are nothing alike. One block might add 20,000 kg. The other might add 8,000.

That gap is the reason the metric exists, and it is also where most trackers mangle it.

Why a training streak measures the wrong thing

A streak tracker answers one question: did you show up today. For a tonnage goal, that question carries no information about the goal itself.

Take a lifter working toward 100,000 kg for the year. She trains four times a week through October and logs 38,000 kg. Then her program calls for a deload: the same four sessions, half the volume, 4,000 kg for the week instead of 10,000. The streak counter sees four training days and reports the identical thing it reported during her heaviest week. The tonnage number sees the difference, which is the only reason to keep it.

A travel week follows. The streak resets to zero. The 38,000 kg stays on the record. The counter on her home screen now reads a one-day streak, with the number she was building toward sitting behind it.

Volume goals break streak trackers a second way. A single session swings in load. Leg day with heavy squats and deadlifts might add 9,000 kg. An accessory day might add 3,000. Both count as one training day in a streak. Neither counts as one in the arithmetic that reaches 100,000.

What a tonnage goal needs

A volume goal with a target needs a tracker that accumulates, that shows the number against the finish line, and that ignores the gaps.

The total has to accumulate. Every session’s kilograms add to a running number that never decreases. Deload weeks contribute less. Peak weeks contribute more. Nothing you log subtracts from it.

The number sits against the target. 41,000 kg on its own means nothing. 41,000 of 100,000 tells you the year is 41 percent complete. That framing turns a log into a goal.

Rest costs nothing. Recovery weeks exist because adaptation happens between sessions. A tracker that flags them as failure punishes the part of the program doing the work. Log the reduced volume and move on.

A checkbox tracker covers none of this. It records presence, resets on gaps, and shows no relationship between what you moved and what you are trying to reach.

Habit goals and volume goals measure different things

A habit goal counts consecutive days. Meditation, flossing, and a daily water target work as habits because the action repeats and the schedule is daily.

A tonnage goal counts work completed. The action varies by session, the schedule follows the program, and the meaningful number is the sum across months. Habit framing does not transfer.

The distinction matters when you pick an app. The difference between habit trackers and milestone trackers comes down to what the counter holds: consecutive days or cumulative work. Strength training belongs in the second category, alongside running mileage goals and push-up volume goals.

How Notch tracks total volume lifted

Notch is a milestone tracker for iPhone built around goals with a finish line. A tonnage target fits directly.

Setup takes a minute. Create a goal named after the metric, set the unit to kilograms, and enter the target. 100,000 kg for a training year, or 1,000,000 kg if you frame it as a lifetime total. Notch holds the target and shows the gap remaining.

Logging a session is one entry. Add the day’s volume, and the total moves. The dot grid fills with one dot per session, which gives you a record of how often you trained without treating frequency as the goal.

Nothing resets. Skip a week and the total holds at whatever you logged. Come back and add the next session. The grid still shows every session you completed, and the total still reflects every kilogram you moved.

Practical setup for a metric tonnage goal

Annual targets work for most lifters because they match how training plans are written. A lifter moving 4,000 kg per session, four sessions a week, accumulates about 16,000 kg weekly and roughly 830,000 kg over a full training year. A 250,000 kg target lands in the first third of that. A 500,000 kg target asks for the year at that pace with room for two lighter weeks. Numbers below 100,000 kg suit a shorter block or a newer lifter still finding working weights.

Session volume is sets multiplied by reps multiplied by weight, summed across exercises. Precision matters less than consistency. An estimate within ten percent still tracks the trend, and a rough number logged after every session beats an exact number logged twice and abandoned.

Deload weeks need their own arithmetic rather than a skipped entry. A week at 60 percent volume cuts 16,000 kg down to roughly 9,600 kg. Log the 9,600 and the total moves by 9,600. Two deloads across a year cost about 13,000 kg against the peak-week pace, which is a rounding error against a 500,000 kg target and a real recovery investment. Planned recovery weeks belong in the total, not outside it.

Programs that run in blocks rather than calendar months need one adjustment. Track tonnage per block, since a four to six week block boundary lands mid-month and monthly totals jump around for reasons that have nothing to do with training. Keep the annual total for the goal and the block total for program review.

Sessions that move between gyms, equipment, and rep ranges make volume comparisons noisy across months. Compare the annual total to the target and leave month-to-month swings alone.

Tonnage goals pair with a second goal without conflict. A lifter can run a 500,000 kg annual total alongside a pull-up count goal or a body weight target, because each goal owns its own number and its own grid. Nothing bleeds between them, and a light week on one does not touch the other.

Comparing approaches

Tracker type	What it measures	Deload week	Resets?
Habit tracker (streak)	Consecutive training days	Breaks the streak	Yes
Notch (milestone)	Cumulative volume toward target	Adds less volume, no penalty	Never

The streak model answers whether you showed up. The milestone model answers how much you moved. For a tonnage goal, only one of those numbers gets you to the finish line.

The pound-based version of the same goal has its own article at how to track lifting goals in pounds, and the wider system behind cumulative tracking is in the ultimate guide to milestone goal tracking.

Frequently asked questions

What is a good tonnage target for a year?

Between 250,000 kg and 1,000,000 kg covers most lifters. Someone training four times a week at 4,000 kg per session lands near 830,000 kg over a year, so a 500,000 kg target leaves room for travel and deloads without turning the goal into a stretch.

How do I calculate volume for one session?

Multiply weight by reps by sets for each exercise, then add the exercises together. Three sets of ten squats at 100 kg is 3,000 kg. A full session with four main lifts usually lands between 3,000 kg and 10,000 kg.

Does a deload week hurt my progress toward the target?

It adds less. That is the entire effect. A 60 percent week still contributes roughly 9,600 kg at typical volumes, and the total only ever climbs.

Can I track kilograms and pounds at the same time?

Pick one unit for the goal and stay with it. Mixing units inside a single total produces a number that means nothing. If pounds are the frame you think in, use the pound version of this goal.

Should I log light accessory days or only heavy sessions?

Log both. A 3,000 kg accessory day is 3,000 kg of work you completed, and leaving it out undercounts the block. Consistency in what you log matters more than catching every set.

Is Notch a subscription?

Notch is free to download. The full app unlocks with a one-time $9.99 purchase.

Track the number your training produces

A tonnage goal measures work, and work accumulates whether your weeks look even or not. The tracker should report the sum and leave the schedule to your program.

Set the target in kilograms, log each session’s volume, and watch the total climb through the heavy weeks and the light ones. Deloads add less. Travel weeks add nothing. The number at any point tells you where the year stands.

Notch keeps that total on the home screen with the gap to the finish line beside it. Download it from the App Store and set the first target before your next session.