Tools
Next-set calculator for double progression
Enter the sets from your last session, your rep range and how many reps you had left on your best set. The calculator gives the weight and reps to aim for next time, and the reason in one sentence. The rule is double progression: add reps up to the top of your range, then add the smallest step and start again at the bottom.
How the rule decides
The calculator reads one set: the best working set of your last session. It asks two things of it. Did it reach the top of your rep range? Did you have enough reps left?
| Last time, on your best set | Next time |
|---|---|
| Below the top of the range | Same weight, one more rep |
| Top of the range, enough reps left | Add one step, start at the bottom of the range |
| Top of the range, too few reps left | Same weight, same reps |
"Enough" is one rep unless you change it under the rule's settings. If you did not note the reps you had left, the rule takes it that you had enough. The Masheen app does the same for a set logged without an effort rating.
The sentence under the result follows the one the Masheen app shows for the same suggestion.
Which set it reads
Sets are ranked by estimated one-rep max, using the Epley formula: weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30). [3] So 100 kg for 8 reps ranks above 105 kg for 5, because 126.67 is more than 122.5. When two sets tie, the earlier one counts.
Leave warm-up sets out. The app skips them by their tag, and this page has no tag to read.
How sure is "a rep to spare"
Reps left in the tank is a guess, and people tend to guess low. A 2022 review pooled 12 studies with 414 participants and found they under-predicted the reps they had left by 0.95 of a rep on average. [2] The guesses were a little better close to the end of a set and in sets of 12 reps or fewer.
So when you log one rep to spare, you probably had it. When the guess is wrong, the cost is one more session at the same weight.
How big the step should be
The step is the smallest jump your equipment allows. On a bar that is two of your lightest plates, one for each side: 1.25 kg plates make a 2.5 kg step, and 2.5 lb plates make a 5 lb step. The Masheen app starts at 2.5 kg for upper-body lifts and 5 kg for lower-body lifts, and you can pick a different step for any exercise.
For scale, the American College of Sports Medicine's 2009 position stand recommends a 2–10% increase in load once you can do one to two repetitions over the target number. [1] A 2.5 kg step is 2.5% of 100 kg and 6.3% of 40 kg: the lighter the lift, the bigger the same step is.
If your smallest step is too big a jump, widen the rep range. A 6–8 range has two rep steps at each weight and an 8–12 range has four, so the wider range gives you more sessions before the weight moves.
Rounding to the bar
With a bar picked, the answer is rounded to the nearest weight that bar and the standard plates can make: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 kg, or 45, 35, 25, 10, 5 and 2.5 lb. A tie goes to the lighter weight. The app rounds to the bar and plates you set under Plates and bar, and when it adds weight the rounded weight is always above last time's. With No bar picked nothing is rounded.
The drawing shows the bar for next time. Plates that were on it last time are pale. The plates that go on are drawn as one marked group.
When a lift stalls
A stall has one meaning here, the app's: your best estimated one-rep max this session is no higher than the best of the two sessions before it. Add those two sessions under "Check for a stall" to run the check.
For a stalled lift the calculator shows a weight to restart from: 10% off your best set's weight, rounded to your step, at the bottom of your range. From there the same rule builds back up. In the app the coach also offers the other way out: swap in a close variation for a few weeks.
What this page leaves out
The app's coach reads one more thing: the readiness check-in you can fill in before a workout. After a rough check-in it holds the weight even when you earned a step. After a drained one it takes 5% off and asks for the bottom of the range. This page has no check-in, so it always answers for a normal day.
The page works in the unit you pick. The app stores every weight in kilograms and converts for display, so an answer in pounds can differ from the app's by a rounding step.
Sources
The rule is Masheen's own; it is the coach in the app, not a published programme. The outside facts on this page come from these, read on 12 November 2026.
- American College of Sports Medicine. Position stand: Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 2009; 41(3): 687–708. The abstract: a 2–10% increase in load when the current workload can be done for one to two repetitions over the desired number.
- Halperin I, Malleron T, Har-Nir I, Androulakis-Korakakis P, Wolf M, Fisher J, Steele J. Accuracy in predicting repetitions to task failure in resistance exercise: a scoping review and exploratory meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 2022; 52(2): 377–390. The abstract: 12 studies, 414 participants, repetitions to failure under-predicted by 0.95 (95% confidence interval 0.17 to 1.73); better closer to failure and at 12 repetitions or fewer.
- One-repetition maximum. Wikipedia. The Epley formula written as weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30).
Questions
When should I add weight in double progression?
When your best set reaches the top of your rep range and you had at least one rep left. Then add the smallest step you can and start again at the bottom of the range. Below the top of the range, keep the weight and aim for one more rep.
How much weight should I add?
The smallest step your equipment allows. On a bar that is two of your lightest plates, one for each side. For scale, the American College of Sports Medicine's 2009 position stand recommends a 2–10% increase once you can do one to two repetitions over your target.
What if I reach the top of the range with nothing left?
Repeat the same weight and the same reps next time. The rule adds weight only when the top of the range came with a rep to spare.
Which set does the calculator read?
The set with the highest estimated one-rep max, by the Epley formula: weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30). Enter your working sets and leave warm-up sets out.
Is this a progressive overload calculator?
It works out one kind of progressive overload: more reps first, then more weight. It gives the next target for one exercise. It does not plan how many sets to do or which exercises to pick.
What does the calculator do when a lift stalls?
Give it your best set from each of your last three sessions. If the newest session set no new best estimated max, it shows a restart weight 10% lighter, rounded to your step. The same rule builds back up from there.