GUIDE · PROGRESS.

When should you add weight? Use double progression.

The most common reason people stall in the gym is not the program. It is that they add weight by feel, too early or too late. Double progression replaces the guess with a rule.

The rule

Pick a rep range for the exercise, for example 3 sets of 8–12. Keep the same load until you can do 12, 12, 12 with the same technique and about two reps in reserve. Do that on two separate sessions, then add the smallest increase your equipment allows (usually 2.5 kg on a barbell, one pin on a machine, the next dumbbell up). If you then fall under 8 reps on any set, the jump was too big: go back down and build the reps again.

Why two sessions, not one

One good day can be sleep, caffeine or a lucky warm-up. Two sessions in a row at the top of the range is a pattern. It also stops the classic mistake of adding weight after a single strong set and then grinding the next three.

What counts as “the same technique”

Same range of motion, same tempo, same setup. If the last two reps of a set needed a swing, a shorter range or a different seat height, the set does not count toward progression. Reps in reserve (RIR) is the honest check: about 2 RIR on working sets during the main weeks, about 3 RIR during an introduction week or a deload.

The part that actually fails

None of this works if you cannot remember what you did last session. “I think it was 55 for 11” is how progress disappears. Write down every working set: load, reps, RIR. Then the next session is one question: what do I have to beat?

How PROGRESS. handles it. Every exercise shows last session's sets above today's. When you finish an exercise it tells you “+2 reps at the same loads” or “Top reps reached”, so the two-session rule becomes something you see rather than something you have to remember. Open the app · Get it on Gumroad.

Common questions

What if I hit 12 on the first set but 9 on the last? Keep the load. Progression is per exercise, not per set: all sets must reach the top of the range.

What about exercises with tiny jumps, like lateral raises? Use the rep range: 10–15 or even 12–20 gives you more room before the next dumbbell.

Does this work for beginners? Yes, it is the safest way to start. Beginners will simply hit the rule more often. Once jumps stop coming every week or two, that is normal, not failure.