How to progress your training load

What the terms mean

• Set — a series of reps with no rest in between.
• Rep — one full performance of the exercise.
• Rep range — the interval you work in, for example 10–12: the bottom is the start of a cycle, the top is the condition for adding weight.
• Reps in reserve — how many more reps you could have done with clean technique before failure. In this guide you do not need to reach failure.
• Working sets — the sets after the warm-up; these are the ones you log.

If you do not have a working weight yet, start with How to choose your starting working weight: from here on we assume the starting point is already found.

Double progression: the main rule

Double progression is called double because two things change in turn, not at the same time:

1. First the reps, at the same weight. Start at the bottom of the range in every set. Each session add a rep — usually in the first set, then in the second set the next session, and so on.
2. Then the weight, at the same reps. When every working set reaches the top of the range, add the smallest weight step available and go back to the bottom of the rep range. The ACSM position stand uses a 2–10% increase for this step.

The one-variable rule: across a single session only one thing changes — the weight, the number of reps or the number of sets. When two things grow at once, it is impossible to tell what worked and what broke your technique.

Why the weight step is so small: a guessed increase is usually bigger than your current adaptation allows, and the cycle breaks in the second or third session. The smallest step (for example 5 kg on a machine or 2.5 kg per side on a barbell) keeps technique clean and leaves reps in reserve.

Decision table: what to do when progression stalls

Adding a set is volume management: the systematic review and meta-analysis by Schoenfeld et al. shows a dose-response relationship between weekly resistance-training volume and muscle growth. That is an argument that “volume also progresses”, not an excuse to keep piling on sets.

Log example: leg press

A beginner found a working weight of 95 kg in a 10–12 range (the search example is in the guide on working weights). A week-by-week excerpt from the log:

The first session starts at 10 reps even though the search produced 12 with 2 in reserve: the cycle starts at the bottom so that reps in reserve stay a reserve rather than the working state. The jump from 95 to 100 kg is the machine's smallest step, about +5%: inside the 2–10% range from the ACSM.

The arithmetic of the example: three working sets; the reps grow by one per session; the weight goes up only once all three sets have done 12.

Log example: fixed dumbbells at home

When the weights do not change between sessions (one pair of dumbbells), the “add weight” step is unavailable — progression runs through reps, volume and harder variations. A log excerpt for one exercise with 10 kg dumbbells:

The same “one variable at a time” principle, worked through, is in the home dumbbell program: the ladder “reps → tempo → set → variation” fits when there is no weight step.

How this fits the programs

The ready-made programs on the site already set the ranges and the progression order — the guide above explains what you record in your log and when to expect an increase. Start with the 2-days-a-week beginner program: it combines basic exercises with a ready set grid. If you want to compare more than reps, the one-rep max calculator estimates a max from a working set.

Limits of applicability

• The specific 10–12 range, the “all sets at the top” increase rule and the “plateau of 2–3 weeks → +1 set” threshold are the editorial team's adaptation of double progression for beginners. The sources say something different: 8–12 RM for beginners and a 2–10% increase once you exceed the target by 1–2 reps (ACSM); the link between volume and muscle growth is shown in the Schoenfeld et al. review. Starting at the bottom of the range and the number of weeks are the editorial team's practical guidance, not a recommendation from a source. The numbers in the log examples (95 and 100 kg, a 5 kg step, 2.5 kg plates, 10 kg dumbbells) illustrate the method: the weight steps available depend on the gym's equipment.
• The algorithm is for healthy adults on basic exercises with learned technique. Periodisation for advanced lifters, training to a true max and competitive cycles are outside this guide.
• Progression depends on recovery: sleep, food and missed weeks affect it more than any increase rule. A bad week is not a reason to force the weight.
• This material is not medical advice: injuries, pregnancy and chronic conditions are outside a general instruction and need a professional.

When to stop the session

End the session and get help for sharp pain, dizziness or chest tightness. Progression for the sake of training through pain is not adaptation, it is risk: go back to the log one step lower.

What next

Double progression only works with a log: weight, reps, sets — a record of every session. Next, the programs catalogue, where the ranges and the order of increases are already set.

Sources

The full list with access dates is in the “Sources and review date” block below. The main supports: the 2009 ACSM position stand (8–12 RM for beginners, a 2–10% increase) and the 2017 systematic review by Schoenfeld et al. (a dose-response link between volume and muscle growth).