An app that tells you when to add weight.

The problem with guessing load

Most lifters decide whether to add weight in one of two ways: they go by feel in the moment, or they follow a fixed weekly increment written into a spreadsheet. Both approaches break down.

Going by feel sounds reasonable until you realise how unreliable that feel is. Sleep, stress, caffeine, and even ambient temperature shift your perception of effort by enough to push the wrong decision — adding weight when you needed another session at the same load, or staying put when you were ready to progress two workouts ago. Over a year, those errors compound into meaningfully slower results.

Fixed increments — add 2.5 kg every week — work for beginners during the first few months of training. Once you are no longer a beginner, the body adapts at an irregular pace. You need load progression tied to actual performance, not a calendar.

The solution is an objective rule that reads your real performance data and applies it consistently. That is what auto-regulated progression does, and it is what SammaGym automates for you. For a deeper look at the underlying principle, see our guide on how to track progressive overload.

What double progression actually is

Double progression is the method of advancing along two variables — reps first, then weight — in a defined sequence. It is one of the most well-supported approaches to intermediate programming, and it is the backbone of how SammaGym decides when to suggest a load increase.

The logic works like this. You pick a target rep range for an exercise — say, 8 to 12 reps per set. In your first session you might hit 8, 8, 8. You stay at the same weight next session and try to hit 9, 9, 8. When you can complete all sets at 12 reps with good technique and adequate effort, you add the smallest available increment to the bar and reset to the bottom of the range.

This approach has been advocated and formalised by researchers including Dr. Mike Israetel of Renaissance Periodization, whose MEV and MAV volume landmark framework underpins much of evidence-based hypertrophy programming today, and Jeff Nippard, whose evidence-based programming content has brought peer-reviewed training research to a broad audience. The key advantage over linear progression is that it keeps training productive across the full range of recovery states — if you had a rough week, you still accumulate volume and can still hit the same weight; you just stay put on reps until you are ready.

For more on how to structure this in a real program, see our post on when to increase weight lifting.

Reps-in-reserve: the missing input

Rep count alone does not tell the full story. Hitting 10 reps at a weight that felt close to failure is a very different stimulus from hitting 10 reps with four more clearly available. The missing variable is proximity to failure, and the practical tool for measuring it is reps-in-reserve (RIR).

RIR is simply your honest estimate of how many more reps you could have completed before reaching muscular failure. After each set, you assign a number: RIR 0 means you could not have done one more rep, RIR 2 means two reps were clearly available, and so on. This scale was formalised in training research — Dr. Brad Schoenfeld's work on proximity to failure and volume–load relationships establishes why it matters — and Jeff Nippard has popularised its practical application in evidence-based programming.

In a well-designed mesocycle, your target RIR typically sits around 2–3 early in the block and approaches 0–1 in the final sessions before a deload. If your RIR is consistently higher than your target, the weight is too light and progression should accelerate. If you are consistently hitting RIR 0 before completing your target reps, the weight has outpaced your recovery capacity and the load may need to hold or roll back.

Without an app, translating that RIR reading into a concrete next-session prescription requires you to do the mental arithmetic every time, across every exercise, in a state of post-set fatigue. Most lifters do not do it — which is why their progression stalls or oscillates.

How SammaGym puts it together

SammaGym automates the decision loop so you never have to run the calculation manually. Here is what the experience looks like in practice.

• 1Log your sets as normal. Weight, reps, and an RIR rating after each set. The previous session's data is shown in grey inline below each active set — you can see exactly what you did last time without leaving the logging screen.
• 2Rate your effort honestly. The RIR field is a single tap on a number from 0 to 4+. It takes under a second and is the only extra input beyond weight and reps.
• 3Finish the session. SammaGym reads your rep performance against your target range and your RIR ratings, then generates a suggestion for the next session on each exercise: add reps, increase weight, hold steady, or — when the signals indicate accumulated fatigue — flag a deload.
• 4See the suggestion at the top of each exercise next session. There is no dashboard to consult, no separate screen. The recommendation is surfaced exactly where you need it, at the moment you need it.

The underlying logic follows the double-progression method described above, weighted by your RIR data. If you consistently report RIR 3 or higher on a set where your target is RIR 2, the progression suggestion for that exercise will advance faster than the default double-progression pace. If you report RIR 0 without completing your target reps across multiple sessions, the app holds the load and surfaces a note.

SammaGym is available free at app.sammagym.com as a Progressive Web App. Install it from your browser in under a minute — no App Store account required. It works offline; all data lives on your device.

When the app flags a deload

One of the most underused tools in intermediate programming is the deload — a deliberate reduction in training volume or intensity to allow accumulated fatigue to dissipate before the next productive block. Most lifters skip deloads because they do not have a clear objective signal to trigger one. They either deload too early (wasting productive sessions) or too late (stacking fatigue until performance collapses).

SammaGym uses five objective signals drawn from your logged data to determine when a deload is warranted. These are not calendar-based — the app does not say 'every fourth week, deload'. Instead, it watches for patterns that indicate accumulated fatigue across the training block.

• Reps declining despite consistent RIR. If you are completing fewer reps per set but rating the effort just as high as in previous sessions, the weight has become disproportionately hard relative to your current recovery state.
• RIR drifting lower without load change. The same weight that felt like RIR 2 three sessions ago now feels like RIR 0. This is a classic sign of accumulated fatigue compressing your available reserve.
• Missed sets across multiple exercises in a single session. A one-off miss is noise. Misses across several exercises in the same session suggest systemic fatigue, not a bad day on one movement.
• Stalled progression across two or more consecutive sessions. When neither reps nor RIR is improving, continuing to push load does not generate a productive stimulus.
• Self-reported readiness below threshold. If you consistently rate your readiness low at the start of sessions, the app weights the other signals more heavily.

When three or more of these signals converge, SammaGym surfaces a deload recommendation with a brief explanation of which signals triggered it. You remain in control — the suggestion is never automatic. But having the objective read means you are not relying on motivation (which is highest when fatigue is highest) to make the call.

This approach aligns with the reactive deload framework described in Dr. Israetel's volume landmark work: deloads should be triggered by performance data, not by rigid periodisation schedules.

Everything else included free

Auto-regulated progression is the feature that most differentiates SammaGym from a basic log, but it ships alongside a complete toolkit — all free, no subscription.

• Previous set shown inline. Last session's weight and reps appear in grey directly under each active set as you log. The UX pattern that Hevy popularised, included here.
• Rest timer on the lock screen. The countdown stays visible without unlocking your phone. Start the next set the moment it hits zero.
• PRs flagged automatically. Personal records are detected and highlighted in the session log. No manual tracking needed.
• Volume charts by muscle group. See how your weekly sets per muscle group trend over time — the basis for MEV and MAV assessments.
• Cardio GPS. Log runs, walks, and rides with distance, pace, and a route map — all in the same app as your strength sessions.
• Progress photos. Stored offline on your device, timestamped, and linked to your training log.
• Offline-first. Everything works with no internet connection. Data lives on your device and syncs to the cloud when you connect.
• Coaching toolkit. Trainers can create programs for clients and track their logged sessions — included at no extra cost.

For a full breakdown of how the app compares with other free trackers, see our guide to the best free Hevy alternative. For a deeper look at progressive overload methodology, our progressive overload guide covers the science and the practical application in detail.