How training blocks and the lighter week work

A block is a run of weeks with one plan: the effort goes up a little each week, and the last week is lighter. Mitta calls the build-up weeks work weeks and the last one the light week. Blocks are a Pro feature, and they start on a Monday.

Effort is set with reps in reserve (RIR): how many more reps you could have done on your last set. A block starts at 3 in reserve and moves a step closer to failure each week. The light week is a different kind of week, covered below. For the general idea behind it, see what a deload week is.

You pick 3, 4, 5 or 6 work weeks, and whether to end with a light week. Mitta suggests a default for your experience level:

The in-between weeks are rounded, which is why 3 to 1 over four weeks reads 3, 2, 2, 1. You can change the length and the light week before you start. The block card shows a bar for every week, with the reps in reserve for each.

Beginners are offered blocks after about 12 weeks of strength training. Before that, the card says blocks come later, because a beginner gets stronger almost every session anyway. You can still start one early. How your experience level changes your plan

In the light week, every exercise gets:

• The same weight as your last normal session (the heaviest weight you used).
• The bottom of the rep range as the rep target.
• Half the sets, rounded up, at least 1. Three sets become 2, five become 3.
• 3 to 4 reps in reserve, so every set should feel easy.

Example: you did 3 sets of 6 to 8 at 80 kg last week. In the light week the target is 80 kg × 6, for 2 sets.

Light-week sessions are left out when Mitta works out your next target, and they give no target for next time. Otherwise the lower numbers would look like you went backwards. The week after, your target comes from your last normal session. How Mitta sets your lift target

There is no trial that proves one block design is best, so treat the layout as coaching practice. What the research does show:

• 34 expert coaches took part in a consensus study on deloading. They defined it as a period of reduced training stress meant to ease fatigue and prepare you for the next training.¹
• In a survey of 246 competitive lifters, all of them deloaded. A deload lasted about 6 days and came about every 5.6 weeks. They cut volume and load and left more reps in reserve.² That is close to Mitta's 4 to 6 work weeks and the light week.
• A trial of 39 trained people compared 9 weeks of continuous training with a full week off in the middle. Muscle size, endurance and power did not differ. The group that kept training gained more strength.³ That is why the light week keeps you training instead of stopping.

Bringing the effort up a little each week is Mitta's own rule. It has not been tested against other ways of setting the weeks.

You do. Starting a new block closes the running one the day before. You can stop a block at any time, and both actions can be undone right after. When the last week comes, the card offers to set up the next block.

The weekly check can also suggest a light week (Pro, in a running block from week 2). It does when 2 or more exercises have stalled, or when your block is finished and has no light week. If you use it, the block is cut short after last week and this week becomes the light week. What to do when you stop progressing

If your Pro plan ends, a running or planned block no longer steers your training. Finished blocks stay, so old light weeks still show up correctly in your history.