What to record
For each exercise, write down the weight, the reps and the number of sets you actually completed. Note anything that changes the comparison: a different machine, a paused rep, or a set cut short. Those three numbers are enough to see whether you are doing more than last time.
Pick a rep range, then fill it
A rep range makes the next step obvious. Say you work in 8–12 reps. Keep the weight the same and add reps each session until you reach 12 on every set. Then add the smallest weight step available and start again near 8. This is often called double progression.
An example: 60 kg for 3 × 9, then 3 × 10, then 12, 11, 11, then 3 × 12. Next session, 62.5 kg for 3 × 8.
Use the smallest weight step you can
On a barbell that is often 2.5 kg (1.25 kg each side) or less with smaller plates. Dumbbells usually go up 2–2.5 kg at a time, which is a bigger jump for a lighter exercise. When the next dumbbell is too big a step, add reps or a set first.
Compare sets that do not look the same
One week you do 80 kg for 8, the next 85 kg for 6. Which is better? An estimated one-rep max puts both on one scale: about 101 kg and 102 kg with the Epley formula, so the second set is slightly stronger. Understanding your lifting progress explains how to read these numbers.
A stall, or a bad day?
One poor session is noise: sleep, stress and timing all show up in a single workout. Look at the same lift over three or four sessions. If it is flat across all of them while you are training as normal, it has stalled, and that is the time to change something: the rep range, the exercise variation, or the volume around it.
Tracking it in Kit
Kit records the weight and reps of every set you complete and fills in each set from your recent sessions. It usually adds reps within the range first and moves the weight up once you have reached the top of the range. When your heaviest available weight is the limit, it progresses another way, with more reps or a harder variation. Exercise charts show estimated one-rep max, heaviest weight and volume over time, and personal records update after each workout. See how to log a workout in Kit.
