Who I am
I'm Arkadiusz Chrabąszczewski. Since 2020 I have been designing and programming SmartWorkout, an app for logging workouts and building gym training plans. The first version reached the App Store in September 2021, and today the app is available in 11 languages. I have been programming for about 10 years, have lifted for years and keep up with strength training research.
What I do in the knowledge base and the app
I read and approve every Polish article before it goes live. Versions in other languages are translated from the Polish one, with the same facts and sources.
In the app I am responsible for the rules it uses to count your training, and the articles describe the same rules:
- volume zones: a single table that applies to every muscle group and training level, from MV (2-4 sets per week) through MEV (4-10) and MAV (10-20) to MRV (20 or more); the weekly volume calculator shows the same zones;
- set counting: a set where the muscle group works directly counts as 1, a set where it only assists counts as 0.5;
- progression suggestions: after a workout the algorithm looks at weight, reps, RIR and the exercise history and suggests whether to add reps, add weight or stay at the current target. It is based on double progression, and an exercise with no history starts with a calibration: first targets that leave you some reps in reserve.
What my articles rely on
Every claim about what works cites a source in the text, most often a meta-analysis, review or position stand from PubMed. The volume zones rest on a meta-analysis of 67 studies, Pelland et al. 2025, and on the ACSM 2026 position stand.
| Basis | How we use it |
|---|---|
| Research | meta-analyses, reviews and position stands from PubMed first; I check every number in the paper itself and never take it from someone else's write-up |
| SmartWorkout log data | aggregate, anonymized statistics; every row covers at least 50 people; we describe associations, and claims about cause and effect come only from research |
| Our practice | advice without a citation always comes with a reason, e.g. RIR 1 on machines, because if you misjudge your reserve there and hit failure, nothing bad happens |
The data comes mostly from men in Poland who train at the gym, so it shows how that group trains, not a global average. How the texts are made and how we protect privacy in the data is described on the how we write page. All articles are in the knowledge base.
Log it in SmartWorkout
A free workout log for iPhone and Android: sets, RIR, tempo, exercise groups and plans.
Questions
Who created SmartWorkout?
I did, the author of this knowledge base. That is why the articles describe the same volume zones the app shows.
Where does the data in the SmartWorkout data boxes come from?
From anonymized training logs in the app, counted in aggregate. We never show a table row based on fewer than 50 people.
Do you write about your own training?
No. One person is too small a sample, so I base advice on research, on data from many people, or on a reason I give in the text.
See also
- How we write and where our numbers come fromKnowledge base articles rest first on meta-analyses and position stands, and every number from a study is checked in the paper itself. The author reads and approves every text before it goes live. Training log data is published only as aggregates of 50+ people.
- Strength training glossary: lifting terms from A to ZA strength training glossary collects short definitions of gym terms, from AMRAP to working sets. Each entry has 1-2 sentences: for example, tonnage is weight times reps, while training volume is the number of working sets per muscle group per week.
- Training volume: what it is and what MEV, MAV and MRV meanIn hypertrophy training, training volume is the number of working sets a muscle group gets per week. In a meta-analysis of 67 studies, growth was measurable from about 4 weekly sets, with each extra set adding less; the 2026 ACSM position stand links 10 or more weekly sets to more growth.
- How to count sets per muscle group: direct, indirect and warm-up setsCounting sets per muscle group (fractional set counting) means adding up a week's working sets: 1 for the muscle that mainly does the movement, 0.5 for a muscle that clearly assists, 0 for warm-up sets. In a meta-analysis of 67 studies, this matched muscle growth better than counting assisting muscles as 1 or 0.
- Drop sets: what they are, how to do them and how much weight to dropA drop set (also called a strip set or descending set) is a set taken to or near failure, then continued without rest after cutting the weight by about 20-30%. In meta-analyses, drop sets built about as much muscle as regular sets in less time. One drop on the last set is usually enough.
- Supersets in the gym: what they are, examples and superset vs compound setA superset is two exercises for different muscle groups done back to back with no rest in between; you rest only after both. Two exercises for the same muscle group are usually called a compound set. In a meta-analysis of 19 studies, supersets cut session time by about 37% with similar tonnage.
Sources
- Pelland JC, Remmert JF, Robinson ZP, et al. The Resistance Training Dose Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gains. Sports Med. 2026;56(2):481-505 (online 2025).
- Currier BS, D'Souza AC, Singh MAF, et al. American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2026;58(4):851-872.