How your weights go up

Updated 28 September 2026

Liftspan uses double progression: your reps climb inside a range, and once you own the top of the range, the weight goes up and the reps start again at the bottom. You never have to decide when to add weight. You just log what you did.

When it happens

Once a week, when the new week starts on Monday, Liftspan looks at what you logged for each exercise the week before and sets this week's target for it. Each exercise moves on its own. Anything you did not train last week stays exactly where it was.

The four things that can happen to a lift

Last week	This week
You hit the top of the rep range on every set	The weight goes up one step, and the reps go back to the bottom of the range
You did some reps but not all the way to the top	Same weight, and the rep target moves up toward the top
Most sets were rated Hard and you did not reach the top	Same weight and target again, to consolidate
A set fell below the bottom of the range	The weight drops by about 10 percent, and the reps reset to the bottom

Your effort ratings change the size of the jump. If most of your rated sets were Easy, the next jump is bigger. If most were Hard, it is smaller. See doing a workout for the rating buttons.

How big the steps are

A typical step is 5 pounds for most lifts and 10 pounds for barbell and machine leg lifts. In joint-friendly mode the steps are halved where your equipment allows it. Liftspan always rounds to a weight you can actually load.

If your equipment moves in bigger or smaller jumps, tell it: 🏅 You → Training → Fine-tune → Smallest jump you can load, with separate settings for dumbbells, the barbell and machines. If you change it, some weights move down to the nearest weight you can load, and Liftspan makes it up in reps.

When the next weight is too big a jump

Going from 40 to 45 pound dumbbells is a jump of more than 10 percent, and most people cannot do the same reps with it the next week. When that happens, Liftspan holds the weight and lets your reps climb past the top of the range, up to a few more reps, until the heavier weight is earned. You will see a note on the exercise like "📈 Holding 40 lb. The next weight you can load is 45 lb, a jump of 13%, so the reps climb until it is earned."

Liftspan explainer titled How the weight goes up, describing reps climbing inside a range before the weight increases — The same explanation lives in the app: Plan tab, then the ⓘ next to How the weight goes up.

Sets

The number of sets comes from the How did that feel? question at the end of each workout. Easy, more adds a set to every move on that day the next week, Wrecked me takes one off, and About right leaves it alone. Sets never go below two, and there is a cap so volume cannot run away.

Training blocks and deload weeks

Your training runs in blocks. Each block is a run of working weeks followed by one deload week: five working weeks and a deload, or three and a deload if joint-friendly mode was on when you finished setup. Today shows the whole block as a strip along the top, with the deload at the end.

In a deload week the sessions are the same, with about half the sets, lighter weights and reps at the bottom of the range. It feels easy on purpose: it lets fatigue clear so the next block goes better. Your daily streak keeps going as long as you log something each day. There is more on why this works in the guide What is a deload week?

When a block ends, Liftspan shows a Block complete summary. Tap Jump right back in → to start the next block at Week 1 with every weight you have earned.

Weeks follow the calendar

The week moves on every Monday whether or not you finished every session. Nothing is owed or carried over, and a missed session never holds you back on the same week. If you finish all your sessions early, anything else you do that week is a bonus.

Coming back after time away? Your lifts pick up at the weights you left them. If they feel heavy, rate the sets Hard and Liftspan will ease the next steps.

Changes that start your weights over

On the Liftspan plan, changing your goal, days per week or lifting experience on the You tab, or tapping 🔀 Reroll on Today (Pro), builds a brand new plan with fresh starting weights. Changing the muscles you train, the joints you work around or where you train keeps every weight you have earned, and so does switching programs. One exception: on the Block complete screen, 🎯 Change what I train also starts your weights over. To change your muscles and keep your weights, tap Jump right back in, then change them on the You tab.

Common questions

Why didn't my weight go up this week?

Usually because at least one set last week finished below the top of your rep range, so the reps are still climbing. It can also be holding because the next weight you can load is a big jump, in which case the exercise shows a note saying so.

Why did my weight go down?

A set last week fell below the bottom of your rep range, so Liftspan dropped the weight about 10 percent to get your reps back into range. It will climb again from there.

Can I change the weight myself?

For a session, yes: type a different weight on the workout screen before you tick the set, and Liftspan adjusts the reps for the rest of that session. Next week's target still builds on the planned weight and the reps you logged, so if the planned weights are consistently too light or too heavy, rate your sets Easy or Hard and the steps will speed up or slow down.