For progressive overload
A progressive overload app that tells you what to lift next.
Logging your sets is the easy part. Arclift’s progression coach reads them, sets the weight and reps for every set of your next session, explains each call, and spots a plateau before you’ve lost a month to it. Logging is free; the coach is part of Arclift Pro, at $19.99 a year.
Why progressive overload stalls in practice.
The idea is simple: do a little more over time. Keeping it going, set after set and week after week, is where most training logs fall short.
The log knows what you did, not what to do
You open last week’s session and see 10, 10 and 9 reps at 60 kg on bench. Now you have to decide, tired and between sets: is it time to add weight, or should the third set reach 10 first? That decision comes up for every exercise, every session, and a guess either way costs you progress.
Spreadsheets break between sets
A spreadsheet can hold a perfect double progression formula, but it lives on a laptop. Between sets you’re on a phone, squinting at tiny cells and typing with chalky thumbs, so by the third week the sheet is half filled in and the formula is working from numbers you never entered.
A bad week looks like a plateau
Your squat hasn’t moved in three sessions. Maybe you slept five hours, maybe you’re genuinely stuck. Without a rule to tell the two apart, you either grind the same weight for another month or deload on a hunch, and both cost you weeks of training you don’t get back.
Warmups and drop sets muddy the numbers
Most logs treat every set the same, so a light warmup or a burnout drop set drags down your averages and confuses whatever you use to pick the next weight. You end up filtering your own history in your head before you can read it, which is exactly the work a tracker should do for you.
How Arclift handles progression.
Four pieces, set up once per exercise and then left to run. All of it is part of Arclift Pro.
Choose a rule for each exercise
Double progression adds reps until every set reaches the top of your range, 8 to 12 by default, then adds weight and drops back to the bottom. Linear adds weight every session you hit all your reps. Bodyweight and AMRAP work progresses by reps. Each exercise gets its own increment: 2.5 kg, 5 lb, or 1 kg if you have microplates.
Every set gets a target and a reason
During a workout, each exercise shows a short cue such as “Add 2.5 kg” or “Hold · aim 10 reps”, every set gets a recommended weight and reps, and a one-line reason says why: “All sets hit their reps at 80 kg. Go 82.5 kg.” Targets follow set position, so a pyramid keeps its shape, and warmup and drop sets never count.
Plateaus and deloads, called for you
If neither your top weight nor your estimated one-rep max has gone up in three sessions, Arclift calls a stall and backs the weight off by about 10% to the bottom of your rep range, with the reason spelled out: “Stalled 3 sessions at 100 kg. Back off to 90 kg × 8 to rebuild.” Climbing reps at the same weight don’t count as a stall.
Effort and recovery count too
Log RPE and the coach uses it: a set at RPE 7 or below earns a bigger jump, and one at 9.5 or above holds the weight. Connect Apple Health and a night of poor sleep, low HRV or a high resting heart rate holds today’s targets at last time’s numbers instead of pushing them up.
Double progression, worked through.
Bench press, 3 sets in an 8 to 12 rep range, adding 2.5 kg once every set reaches 12. This is the pattern the coach follows; the numbers are an example.
| Session | Weight | Reps per set | Next time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60 kg | 10, 9, 8 | Same weight, more reps |
| 2 | 60 kg | 11, 10, 9 | Same weight, more reps |
| 3 | 60 kg | 12, 11, 10 | Same weight, more reps |
| 4 | 60 kg | 12, 12, 11 | Same weight, more reps |
| 5 | 60 kg | 12, 12, 12 | Add 2.5 kg, back to 8 reps |
| 6 | 62.5 kg | 9, 8, 8 | Same weight, more reps |
Real weeks wobble. If your top weight and estimated max both stop rising for three sessions in a row, the coach deloads instead of asking for more.
Related
Progressive overload questions
What is progressive overload?
Progressive overload means making your training a little harder over time so your body keeps adapting: more weight, more reps, more sets or less rest. In practice most lifters do it by adding reps within a range and then adding weight, which is what a double progression rule tracks for you.
How do you progressively overload?
Pick a rep range for each exercise, such as 8 to 12. Add a rep where you can each session until every set reaches the top, then add the smallest weight jump you can load and start again from the bottom of the range. Log every set so you always know where you are.
What is the difference between double and linear progression?
Linear progression adds weight every session you hit your target reps, which suits beginners and the big barbell lifts. Double progression adds reps first and weight second, so it keeps working longer for intermediate lifters and smaller exercises. Arclift lets you pick either one for each exercise.
Is the progression coach free?
No, it is part of Arclift Pro, which costs $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year or $49.99 once. Logging, unlimited templates and your full history are free, and the Previous column shows what you lifted last time, so you can still progress by hand.
Do I need Apple Health for this?
No. The coach works from the sets you log. Apple Health is optional and only adds readiness: with it connected, poor sleep, low HRV or a high resting heart rate holds your targets for the day instead of raising them.
Guides
- Deload week: when to take one and how to run it
What a deload is, how to tell you need one, three ways to run it with sample weeks, and what the research actually shows.
- Push pull legs: a complete routine and how to run it
A complete push pull legs routine for three or six days a week, with sets, reps, rest, weekly volume per muscle and a rule for progressing it.
- How long should you rest between sets?
Rest times for building muscle, strength and endurance, by goal and by lift, what the studies found, and how to fit longer rests into a short session.
- How many sets per muscle group per week?
Weekly sets for building muscle, by experience and by muscle group, how to count compound lifts, and when to add or cut volume.
- Upper lower split: a complete 4-day routine
A complete four-day upper lower routine with sets, reps and rest, a beginner version, weekly volume per muscle and how it compares with other splits.
Let the next target set itself.
Arclift is free on iPhone for logging and templates. Add Pro when you want the progression coach to plan every set for you.
See what’s free and what Pro costs