Load Progression

A program only works if the load keeps pace with the lifter. In Phase the steps of a phase — repetitions, load, effort and the deload — are written into its plan when the phase is generated, and the routine does not change while the phase runs. Within the phase, the lifter applies the rule below in the session; what was actually lifted is read when the phase ends, and the next phase is written from it. This document sets out the rule, which logged sets count, and where the progression lives.

What the research shows

• Load goes up when the reps go over the target. Position stands on resistance training recommend a 2–10% load increase once the current load can be lifted for one or two repetitions beyond the desired number.
• Adding repetitions works too. In trained lifters, progressing by adding repetitions and progressing by adding load produced similar muscle growth and similar strength; the small differences between them had no practical meaning.
• Effort ratings are usable, with a margin. The reps-in-reserve rating scale tracks how close a set came to failure, but people misjudge the repetitions they have left by about one. A logged effort only counts against progress when it is clearly above the target.

The rule

Last week	Next week
Every set done at the prescribed reps and load	one more rep per set, up to 2 above the plan
Two reps above the plan on every set	load up 2.5% (upper body and single-joint) or 5% (lower-body multi-joint), rounded up to the next real weight; reps back to the plan
Next week's plan changes the reps	follow the plan: its change in load has been earned
A set short of its reps, a lighter load, or a logged RPE 1.5 or more above target	hold the load
No logged session	follow the plan
Deload week in the plan	the deload prescription

Repetitions first, then load. Each week where every set reaches its target adds one repetition per set. When every set reaches two repetitions above the plan, that is the point at which position stands call for more load: the load goes up and the repetitions return to the plan. This is double progression, and it keeps each increase small enough to be repeated week after week.

Upper and lower body move at different rates. Upper-body and single-joint exercises rise by 2.5%, the low end of the recommended range. Squats, deadlifts, leg presses, lunges and hip thrusts move more weight and tolerate larger absolute increases, so they rise by 5%.

A planned change is followed only when it has been earned. When the plan itself changes the repetitions for the next week, for example from eight to six at a higher percentage, the plan already contains the progression. It is applied as written if last week was completed; otherwise the load is held.

Holding is not failing. A set that fell short, a load lighter than prescribed, or a session logged as much harder than planned means the current load is still the right stimulus. The plan does not climb above what did not go as planned.

Every set moves together, and the number of sets stays. A pyramid or a set of descending repetitions is compared set by set with what was logged, and next week every set moves by the same number of repetitions and in the same proportion of load, so the shape of the exercise is kept. Progression changes repetitions and load, not volume: sets are removed only in a deload week.

Real weights

An increase is rounded up to a weight that exists: 2.5 kg on barbells, machines and plate-loaded equipment, 2 kg on dumbbells, 4 kg on kettlebells. A set written only as a percentage of one-repetition maximum rises by the same percentage, and the weight is calculated from the maximum when the program is sent. Bodyweight, band and suspension exercises progress in repetitions only, up to two above the plan.

Which sets count

The sets that count are the working sets of the most recent completed session of each routine, logged in Hevy, Liftosaur or the in-app player. The heaviest sets are compared with the prescription, so a logged warm-up is not mistaken for a missed set. Strength activities recorded only on a Garmin watch arrive without individual sets.

Where the progression lives

The weekly steps of a phase live in its plan. The routine keeps the sets of the first week, and the in-app player, the Today page and the calendar show each week's prescription computed from the plan. Nothing rewrites a routine or sends it to an app on its own: an app receives the routine when the athlete sends it. When the lifter beats the prescription, the extra repetition or the next plate happens in the session, and the next phase starts from what was logged.

Common errors

• Adding load every week on a fixed schedule. A plan that climbs regardless of the sessions eventually prescribes loads the lifter cannot move, and the sets stop early.
• Waiting for an effort rating that never comes. Most lifters do not log effort on every set. Repetitions and load are always logged, so they drive the decision.
• Jumping by the smallest plate on every lift. A fixed kilogram increase is a large step on a lateral raise and a trivial one on a squat; a percentage rounded to a real weight keeps the step proportional.