Training load calculator
Give it one honest working set. It estimates your one rep max, then works back to the weight you should actually be lifting in every muscle-building rep range — all at 1 rep in reserve.
Your working set
Use a set you took to roughly one rep short of failure, 15 reps or fewer. The closer to failure it was, the closer these numbers land.
Estimates — adjust to how the set actually feels.
How to run it
Start on the big number. At that load, the bottom of the rep range should be a hard set with about 1 rep left in you.
Add a rep, not weight. Same load next session, one more rep.
Top of the range on every set? Put the weight up and go back to the bottom of the range.
What the science actually says
- Mechanical tension is the driver
- Muscle growth is primarily caused by high mechanical tension on the muscle fibres — not by reps, sets, or the exact load on the bar.
- Proximity to failure beats rep range
- Training close to failure (0–3 RIR) recruits high-threshold motor units and matters more than whether you do 6 or 16 reps.
- Any sensible rep range works
- Roughly 5–30 reps per set builds muscle when taken close to failure. Use the range that fits the exercise and your recovery.
- Double progression: reps before weight
- Start at the bottom of the rep range with the suggested load. Each session, aim for 1 more rep at the same weight. Once you hit the top of the range across all working sets, increase the weight next session and reset to the bottom of the range.
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