Masheen

Progress

Double progression

Also called double progression method, rep progression

Double progression is a rule for progressing in two steps that take turns: reps go up at the same weight to the top of a range, then the weight goes up.

60 kg × 1060 kg × 1160 kg × 1262.5 kg × 8
62.5 kg for 8. Barbell row in an 8–12 range: 60 kg × 10, 60 × 11, 60 × 12, then 62.5 × 8. A rep added each session, then 2.5 kg.

In plain words

Two numbers take turns, and that is where the name comes from. You pick a rep range, say 8–12, and a weight you can hold at the bottom of it. Each session you try for one more rep at that same weight. When you reach the top of the range, the weight goes up one step and the reps drop back to the bottom. The ACSM's 2009 position stand puts the same idea as a rule: add 2 to 10% to the load once you can do one or two reps over the target. Add weight when the top rep comes with at least one rep in reserve, not when it takes everything.

An example

A barbell row with a range of 8–12 and a step of 2.5 kg. Session one: 60 kg for 10 reps. Session two: 60 for 11. Session three: 60 for 12, the top of the range, so the weight moves. Session four: 62.5 kg for 8, the bottom of the range again. Sessions two and three added one rep each; the fourth added 2.5 kg and gave back four reps.

Often confused with

Linear progression Linear progression adds weight every session at fixed reps; double progression adds reps first and weight only when the range is filled. Progressive overload Progressive overload is the principle that training must get harder; double progression is one way to do it.
Progressive overload Progressive overload is the principle that training has to get a little harder over time: more weight, more reps or more sets than before.
Linear progression Linear progression means adding the same small amount of weight to a lift every session, with the sets and reps left alone.
Rep range A rep range is a low and a high number of reps to aim between on each set, written with a dash, such as 8–12.
RIR RIR, or reps in reserve, is the number of good reps you could still have done when you stopped a set.
Micro-loading Micro-loading is adding weight in steps smaller than your gym's usual smallest jump, using very light plates of 0.25 to 1 kg.

Go deeper

Double progression: reps first, then weight Double progression explained with numbers. Add reps to the top of your range, then add the smallest plate. The rule as a table, a worked example, and the sums. Updated

Sources

  1. ACSM 2009. Position stand: Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc 41(3):687–708 Read

Updated . How these pages are researched and corrected: editorial policy. Every term in the glossary.