Free tool

Training load progression calculator

Put in the set your client actually did. Get four weeks of loads, calculated from their estimated one rep max and rounded to plates you can really load. Nothing to sign up for, and every term is explained underneath.

Sample client · last block, top sets
Back Squat · their last set100kg1×25 1×15 per side
LiftWhat they liftedWeek 1weight in kgWeek 2weight in kgWeek 3weight in kgDeloadweight in kg
Back Squat
kg ×reps at
Bench Press
kg ×reps at
Deadlift
kg ×reps at
Barbell Row
kg ×reps at

These are real numbers from a real set. Type your own client's in, then press the button.

Swipe the table sideways
RPE
How hard a set felt, from 6 to 10. RPE 8 means they could have done about two more reps. It is how coaches record effort without guessing at a max.
Block
A run of training weeks that build on each other. Four weeks is the usual length, and then you start again from a higher number.
Deload
The lighter week at the end of a block. Same movements, less weight, so your client recovers and comes back stronger.

How this works

Three numbers go in: the weight, the reps, and how hard it felt on the RPE scale. RPE 10 means there was nothing left. RPE 8 means about two more reps were there.

We add those leftover reps to the set, because 5 reps at RPE 8 shows more strength than 5 reps at RPE 10. Then we estimate a one rep max with the Epley formula, and take percentages of it for each week.

The default shape is 70 percent, 75 percent, 80 percent, then a lighter week at 60 percent. Every result is rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg or 5 lb, so the number on the page is a number that can actually go on the bar.

What it is not

An estimated one rep max is an estimate. It is close enough to program from and it is a lot safer than testing a true max every month, but it is not a measurement. Treat a sudden 15 percent jump as a data problem, not as progress.

Doing this for a whole roster

One lift takes about two minutes. A four day block has sixteen. Across twenty clients that is most of a working day, every month, spent on arithmetic.

CoachBlocks does the whole block at once, remembers each client, and sends it to their phone. Free for your first client.

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