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When should I add weight?
A simple rule that works · Last checked November 2026
When you hit the top of your rep range on every set, add the smallest step you can: about 2–2.5 kg (5 lb). Miss even one set? Keep the same weight next time. This is called double progression: first more reps, then more weight.
The rule, step by step
Say your plan is 3 sets of 8–10 reps on the squat, at 60 kg:
- Session 1: 10, 9, 8. Not every set at 10, so stay at 60 kg.
- Session 2: 10, 10, 9. Stay.
- Session 3: 10, 10, 10. Every set at the top, so next time 62.5 kg.
- Session 4: 8, 8, 8 at 62.5 kg. That’s normal. Build the reps back up and repeat.
Why small steps
The American College of Sports Medicine recommends adding 2–10% once you can do one or two reps more than your target. 2.5 kg on 60 kg is about 4%. Small steps keep your form, and you’ll still be adding weight months from now.
Reps count as progress too
In an 8-week study of trained lifters, adding reps at the same weight built muscle as well as adding weight did. So on bodyweight moves, or when the next plate is too big a jump, add reps instead.
When the weight goes up for no reason
Be wary of a plan that:
- adds weight after you missed reps,
- jumps more than about 10% at once,
- or hands you your old weights after weeks off. (See Coming back after weeks off.)
When you stall
No progress for three sessions in a row? Drop the weight about 10%, then build back past where you were. It feels like a step back, but it usually gets you moving again.
How BECOME does it
- Stop each set 2–3 reps before you’d fail. Main lifts use 8–10 reps, accessories 10–12.
- Every set at the top of the range: the workout screen suggests +2.5 kg on barbell lifts and +2 kg on dumbbells and machines (+5 lb). Fall short, and it keeps the weight.
- Bodyweight: +2 reps per set. Holds: +10 seconds.
- After 14 days or more off, the weight holds instead of going up.
- Stuck for three sessions? It suggests a 10% reset, and you choose “Reset the weight” or keep your plan.
Sources
- American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults (position stand). Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009. doi:10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181915670
- Plotkin D. et al. Progressive overload without progressing load? The effects of load or repetition progression on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 2022. PMC9528903
General guidance, not medical advice.
Related: Coming back after weeks off