Linear progression vs double progression

Linear progression means the weight goes up every session, by the same small step, and the reps stay fixed. A typical version is 3 sets of 5 reps on the squat, with 2.5 kg more on the bar each time you train. If you hit all your reps, you add weight. If you miss, you repeat the weight.

Double progression works in two steps instead: you add reps at the same weight until every set reaches the top of your rep range, and only then add weight. The target changes every session either way. The difference is what changes: with linear progression always the weight, with double progression first the reps.

Take a barbell squat at 60 kg with 3 sets. Double progression and Mitta use a rep range of 6 to 10; the linear column is a fixed 3 × 8. Here is the next target after the same session under three rules. Mitta’s column is its beginner rule (more on that below), with no RIR logged.

Linear progression asks the least thinking and gives the fastest rise on the bar. It also asks the most of your body: the weight climbs by the same amount whether the last session felt easy or hard. Double progression is slower per session. It only moves the weight when your reps say you are ready.

Over time that adds up. With a 6 to 10 range, one rep more per session takes about four to five sessions per weight jump. Linear progression makes a jump every session, until it stops working.

New lifters get stronger fast, and not mainly because of bigger muscles. The first gains in strength are thought to come largely from the nervous system getting better at the movement.³ That kind of gain comes quickly, so a beginner can often add weight every session for a while.

It slows down. A meta-analysis of 140 studies found that untrained and trained people respond best to different training doses, with trained people gaining most at a higher intensity.² The ACSM position stand also describes different progression models for novice, intermediate and advanced lifters, and it says to raise the load by 2 to 10% once you can do one or two reps over the target.¹ Notice what triggers the jump: reps you can already do, not the calendar.

When you can no longer add weight every session, you have two options: smaller steps or more reps first. Adding reps first is a sound choice. In an 8-week trial with 43 people who had trained for at least a year, adding reps and adding weight gave similar muscle and strength results.⁴

A rough guide, based on common coaching practice rather than a trial that compares the two:

• New to lifting, or back after a long break: faster jumps are fine. Your weights can go up often, and your technique is the thing to watch.
• A few months in, and the jumps stop coming: if you miss your reps for two or three sessions in a row, you have used up the easy gains. Switch to adding reps first.
• More than about a year of training: double progression, or something slower still. Plan progress per week or per month, not per session.

The exercise matters too. A big lift like the squat or deadlift can take bigger jumps than a lateral raise, where 2.5 kg is a large share of the weight. If you stall for longer, see what to do when you stop progressing.

Yes, and it is what Mitta does for beginners. It is not plain linear progression: the weight does not go up every session. It is double progression with an earlier jump. The weight goes up when every set reaches the middle of the rep range, not the top. With a range of 6 to 10 the middle is 8. You also jump straight away if all sets had 3 or more reps in reserve.

On barbell or machine squats and hinges (deadlifts and similar) the jump is two steps, so 5 kg instead of 2.5 kg. This stops when one step would be more than 10% of the weight, or when you were below the bottom of the range twice in your last 6 sessions. From then on you get plain double progression, with no switch to make. How your experience level changes your plan shows the rest of what changes with your level.