How progression suggestions work (Premium)

Short answer

Progression suggestions are a SmartWorkout Premium feature: in your next workout from a template or plan, they tell you whether to add a rep, add weight or stay at your current target. They look at weight, reps, RIR and the exercise's history, and with a rep range such as 6-8, they add reps first and weight second.

What the suggestion card tells you

When you start a workout from a template or plan, a card with today's target appears above the exercise's sets, for example "Try increasing the load to 50 kg." The suggestion uses the targets saved in your template or plan, that is the rep range and the target RIR, plus your previous workouts of that exercise.

Add reps: the same weight and one more rep in the first sets or in every set.
Increase load: the next weight step, usually back toward the bottom of the rep range.
Maintain: you stay at your current weight and reps.
Reduce load: when your sets fell below the range or were harder than the target.
Add a set: for some compound exercises, when your results have stalled. At most 2 sets above the plan, and never in an exercise group.
Calibration or starting load: for an exercise with no history and at the start of a new plan or block.

For some suggestions, the card also shows a confidence level: high, medium or low.

Reps first, then weight

With a rep range, suggestions follow double progression. With a 6-8 range, they add reps first. Once you do 8 reps in every set with the same weight and your reps in reserve match the target, the suggestion increases the weight and you drop back toward 6 reps.

With a fixed rep count, such as 5 × 5, suggestions check whether you can add weight and still do the planned reps. The next weight step is often too big for that, and the card tells you so. A rep range gives suggestions more room.

The weight step depends on the equipment: 2.5 kg (5 lb) for barbells and machines, 2 kg (5 lb) for dumbbells. If you usually increase the weight of an exercise by the same step in recent workouts, such as 5 kg, suggestions use that step. From the weights you log, the app also recognizes dumbbells that go up in 2.5 kg steps.
When a full step is too big, the card can offer the "Smaller load increment" alternative, such as small plates on both sides of the bar or an add-on weight on a machine's stack.
The step you set for the +/− buttons on the log keyboard doesn't change the step in suggestions.

Calibration for new exercises

When an exercise has no history yet, the suggestion starts with calibration, for example "Pick a weight for 8 reps, leaving 2 reps in reserve." Do all main sets with the same weight and log RIR or RPE in every set. From the next workout on, suggestions are based on your results.

When you start a new plan or a new block of a plan and the exercise is already in your history with RIR or RPE logged, the card gives you a starting load right away.

Without workouts from previous weeks, calibration takes longer. In the first week, suggestions mainly help you keep the reps in reserve and the rep range from your plan.

Top set and back-off sets

If you do one heavier set (a top set) followed by lighter back-off sets, suggestions recognize this structure and give separate guidance for each role. The card then shows separate targets: "Set 1" for the top set and the following ones for the back-off sets.

This works best when you repeat the same structure from workout to workout. Mark warm-ups as warm-up sets, not working sets, because a lighter working set at the start changes the structure suggestions see.

More in our guides: Top set and back-off sets

Logging RIR makes suggestions more certain

RIR is the number of reps you had left in reserve. The same result, such as 8 reps at 60 kg, can mean 3 reps left or none, and that decides whether the suggestion adds weight. Suggestions work without RIR too, but the card then says the suggestion is less certain. If you use RPE, log RPE: the app converts it to RIR.

Confidence also drops when you do the same exercise twice on one day, or when, two workouts in a row, your reps drop sharply from set to set at the same weight while the RIR you log stays the same. The card then asks you to check your RIR, rest periods and technique.

When there's no suggestion card

The workout wasn't started from a template or plan.
The exercise has no rep target in the template or plan.
The last workout of that exercise included a drop set.
The last workout of the exercise had rest-pause, cluster sets or myo-reps logged as short sets. The app recognizes them by at least 2 sets with less than 45 seconds of rest, counted from when you complete each set. In an exercise group, short rests are normal, so the app doesn't check this there.

These techniques need a different way of choosing the weight, so there you pick the weight and reps without the card. Once you do regular sets in a later workout, the card comes back.

How to use a suggestion during a workout

Start a workout from a template or a plan.
Read the suggestion card above the exercise's sets.
Tap "Apply": the weight and reps from the suggestion go into your sets as today's target.
If the card shows an alternative, such as a smaller load increment, you can tap "Apply alternative" instead.
If you want to train your own way today, tap "Hide".

Turn suggestions on or off in Profile › Settings › Workout Settings with the "Smart Progression Suggestions" switch. You can also turn them off from the card's menu: "Turn off progression suggestions".

Progression suggestions in Premium

With Premium, you know what to do in your next workout: add a rep, add weight or stay at your current target. Premium also shows MV, MEV, MAV and MRV volume zones, which tell you whether the number of weekly sets for each muscle group is in a good range.

Suggestions support your training decisions, but they don't replace a well-built plan and proper recovery. They work best when you train regularly and injury-free, prioritize recovery and eat for your goal.

What's free, and what do Pro and Premium add? →