Cornerstone Strength vs Hard Time
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Cornerstone Strength
This app helps users track workouts, build strength, and gain muscle with custom programs and advanced analytics. It offers detailed logging for exercises, progress tracking, and a large exercise library.
- Custom workout program creation
- Advanced training algorithm
- Detailed workout logging (weight, reps, RPE, RIR)
- Progress charts and analytics
- Extensive exercise library
- Personal record detection
- Workout sharing
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STOP GUESSING. TRAIN WITH CONFIDENCE. Cornerstone Strength helps you know what to do next, and understand why. Every set you log becomes useful context: what the plan called for, how you performed, how hard it felt, and how your training is trending. Cornerstone turns that context into clear guidance while keeping you in control. KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT Get your next weight, sets, and reps suggested right on the workout screen. Smart Suggestions use your recent performance, logged effort (RPE/RIR), time between sessions, and program targets. Every suggestion includes a plain-language reason. Apply it with one tap, adjust it, or keep your plan. It is a starting point, not a rule. EVERY WORKOUT HAS A PURPOSE Choose from programs written by real strength coaches using proven periodization for strength, hypertrophy, athleticism, or a mix. Enter your numbers and train, customize a program, or build your own from scratch. Percentage-based programs calculate working weights from your training maxes automatically, so the plan is ready when you are. SEE THE TREND BEFORE THE NEXT PR Understand whether the work is working: - Estimated 1RM (e1RM) trends - Training volume by muscle group - Weekly volume and muscle-balance insights - Personal-record history and automatic PR detection - Workout consistency and streaks - Month, 3-month, year, and all-time views LOG WITHOUT LOSING YOUR FLOW - Weight, reps, RPE, RIR, and AMRAP support - Previous performance beside today’s set - Structured program sessions or quick workouts - Background rest timer with audio and vibration alerts - Exercise swaps, notes, and duration tracking - Band tracking for accommodating resistance - Apple Health workout sync 500+ EXERCISES Find movements for a commercial gym, garage gym, or anywhere in between. Browse by muscle group or equipment, including barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, machines, cables, bodyweight, trap bars, specialty bars, and more. SHARE THE WORK Turn a completed workout into a clean card with PRs, top lifts, and muscle-group balance. Share it to Instagram Stories, save it to Photos, or send it to a training partner. START WITH 30 DAYS OF PRO- FREE Every new account gets 30 days of Cornerstone Pro with every program, Smart Suggestions, and full analytics unlocked. No credit card required. When the 30 days end, keep logging free forever or subscribe to keep Pro. BUILT FOR LIFTERS - Dark and light themes - Fast, focused interface - No ads Cornerstone does more than remember what you lifted. It helps the next training decision feel clear. --- Privacy Policy: https://cornerstonestrength.app/privacy Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Subscription details: - Cornerstone Pro Monthly: $7.99/month - Cornerstone Pro Annual: $49.99/year Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscription automatically renews unless it is canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions by going to your account settings on the App Store after purchase.
Hard Time
This program uses bodyweight exercises inspired by prison training to build strength over six weeks. It features voice coaching, on-screen captions, and a unique card-based workout system. Designed for home use with minimal equipment.
- Six-week bodyweight program
- Voice coaching and form cues
- Card-based workout system (The Deck)
- Scalable workouts based on fitness level
- Minimal equipment required
- Themed weekly workouts
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In 1998, California pulled the iron out of its prisons. The people inside got strong anyway — with a floor, a bunk, a chair, a wall, and time. You've got a bedroom. Same equipment. HARD TIME is a six-week bodyweight program built from documented prison training history, run by two coaches who never let you slide: THE LIFER — twenty years of gravel-voiced yard wisdom. Tough as the door, straight as the bars. VOLKOV — quiet, precise, patient as winter. "Pain is weakness saying goodbye." They talk you through every rep — voice coaching with on-screen captions, form cues, rest-break stories from the yard, and drill cadences: DOWN! KICK! PUSH! SNAP! JUMP! AGAIN! THE PROGRAM • 28 workouts across six themed weeks: INTAKE, ROUTINE, YARD TIME, LOCKDOWN, HARD YARD, RELEASE DAY • The Deck — draw cards, pay reps: spades push, hearts sit up, diamonds squat, clubs jumping jack, jokers burpee • Alternating ladders, cell circuits, card squats, iron holds • Daily spread sets — the all-day habit that built yard strength • Every method labeled honestly: documented history or yard legend BUILT FOR A BEDROOM No equipment. No gym. A floor, a bed, a chair, a wall, a towel — that's the whole kit. THE BLOCK ADJUSTS TO YOU Three intake questions place you — Fresh Fish, Gen Pop, or Yard Veteran — and every workout scales to your level. An easier variation is always one tap away, and if life interrupts, your spot's held. FREE. No ads, no accounts, no subscription. Nothing collected, nothing tracked. Ages 13+. The coaches are fictional characters; the training history is real. Not medical advice — consult a physician before starting any exercise program.
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Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Cornerstone Strength at 5.0 against Hard Time's 2.0. Cornerstone Strength also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (10 vs 1). Hard Time's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Cornerstone Strength sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $7.99 per month. Hard Time asks for nothing beyond the download.
Cornerstone Strength holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Cornerstone Strength has 10 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Cornerstone Strength ships an update every 3 weeks, Hard Time every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 31, 2026.
| Parameter | Cornerstone Strength | Hard Time |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (10 ratings) — better | 2.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Subscription | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | K&G Apps | MATTHEW MALHAM |
In-app purchases
Cornerstone Strength
- Monthly Subscription$7.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription$49.991 Year
Hard Time
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Cornerstone Strength free?
Is Hard Time free?
Which has better reviews, Cornerstone Strength or Hard Time?
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Which is updated more often, Cornerstone Strength or Hard Time?
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