Progressive overload calculator
This calculator gives the weight and reps for the first set of your next workout from the sets of your last one, using the rule of ArchiFit's build-muscle plan. If every set at your heaviest weight reached the top of your rep range, the weight goes up one step, about 5%, and the reps drop to the bottom of the range. Otherwise the weight stays and the reps go up by one, kept inside the range.
Last updated By ArchiFit
The step is fixed at 2.5 kg, the app's default for barbell and dumbbell lifts. In lb, a typed weight snaps to 0.5 lb and the answer lands on the matching 5 lb step. In the app, most machines step by 5 kg and raises by 1 kg (weight steps). The calculator runs in your browser and sends nothing.
How does the calculator decide?
It reads your last workout the way ArchiFit does. The top weight is the heaviest weight you entered, and only the sets at that weight count, so lighter warm-up sets change nothing.
- If every set at the top weight reached the top of the range, the next workout starts one step heavier, at the bottom of the range.
- If any set at the top weight fell short, the weight stays. The reps are one more than the first set at that weight, kept inside the range.
| Last workout | Range | Next workout, first set |
|---|---|---|
| 145 lb × 8, 8, 8 | 6–8 | 150 lb × 6. Every set reached 8 |
| 145 lb × 8, 8, 7 | 6–8 | 145 lb × 8. The third set stopped at 7 |
| 145 lb × 8, 8, 7 | 12–15 | 145 lb × 12. Reps rise to the bottom of the range |
| 145 lb × 15, 15, 15 | 12–15 | 150 lb × 12. Every set reached 15 |
| 100 kg × 8, 8, 8 | 6–8 | 105 kg × 6. 5% of 100 kg is two 2.5 kg steps |
| 60 kg × 8, 65 kg × 8, 70 kg × 5 | 6–8 | 70 kg × 6. Only the set at 70 kg counts |
| 140 kg × 9, 8 | 6–8 | 147.5 kg × 6. 5% of 140 kg is 7 kg, rounded to 7.5 kg |
Why is one step about 5%?
One step is 5% of the top weight, rounded to the 2.5 kg step and never less than one step. 100 kg goes to 105 kg and 140 kg to 147.5 kg. Rounding moves lighter lifts off 5%, so 60 kg to 62.5 kg is 4.2% and 40 kg to 42.5 kg is 6.3%.
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a 2–10% increase in load once you can do one or two reps over your target on two consecutive sessions. The smaller increase is for small-muscle exercises and the larger for large-muscle exercises (ACSM, 2009). ArchiFit's step sits inside that range. When the step comes is ArchiFit's own rule.
What about the sets after the first?
Inside a workout, ArchiFit looks only at the set you just logged. A set past the top of the range makes the next set one step heavier, for the bottom of the range. A set inside or under the range keeps the weight, with the reps kept inside the range, so tired reps never lower the weight. On a 6–8 plan, 145 lb × 9 gives 150 lb × 6, and 145 lb × 7 gives 145 lb × 7.
The first set of a workout goes up when every set last time reached the top of the range. A set within a workout goes up only when it went past the top. Try that rule in the demo on the home page, or read every case in rule 2.
Is this double progression?
Yes. Reps rise inside the range at one weight, and the weight rises once every set reaches the top. Coaches call it double progression because reps and weight take turns going up.
In an 8-week trial with 43 trained people, one group progressed by adding load and the other by adding reps. Growth of one thigh muscle modestly favored adding reps, strength slightly favored adding load, and the authors concluded that both are viable (Plotkin et al., 2022). The study covered lower-body training only. The guide to progressive overload when you train alone covers stalls and deloads.
Questions about the calculator
What is a progressive overload calculator?
It turns your last workout into a target for the next one. You enter the weight and reps of each set and your rep range, and it gives the weight and reps for the next workout's first set, a small step harder than last time. This one runs the rule of ArchiFit's build-muscle plan.
How much weight should I add?
One step, which is 5% of your top weight rounded to the 2.5 kg step, and never less than one step. 100 kg goes to 105 kg and 60 kg to 62.5 kg. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a 2–10% increase once you can do one or two reps over your target on two consecutive sessions (ACSM, 2009).
Why did the weight not go up?
At least one set at your top weight stopped short of the top of the range. The weight stays, and the reps are one more than the first set at that weight, kept inside the range. 145 lb × 8, 8, 7 on 6–8 reps gives 145 lb × 8. Lighter sets do not count, so 60 kg × 8, 65 kg × 8 and 70 kg × 5 give 70 kg × 6.
Should I add weight or reps first?
This rule adds reps first and weight once every set reaches the top of the range. Both worked in an 8-week trial of 43 trained people, and the authors concluded that both are viable (Plotkin et al., 2022).
Does it work in kg and lb?
Yes. Switching the unit reads the same numbers in the other unit. In lb, a typed weight snaps to 0.5 lb and the answer lands on the nearest 5 lb step, the way ArchiFit shows a 2.5 kg step on an lb setting.
Does it fit the keep-current-body and lose-body-fat plans?
No. In the app, the lose-body-fat plan goes up a step only after two workouts in a row at the same weight reach the top of the range, and the keep-current-body plan needs one rep past the top in both. This calculator reads one workout, so it uses the build-muscle rule. Rule 3 lists every plan.
How does ArchiFit use this rule?
ArchiFit runs these rules on your phone from your own log. It uses this one before the first set of each exercise and rule 2 after every set. It needs no account, and records stay on the phone.
General fitness information, not medical advice.