# What is double progression? > Pick a rep range, add reps at the same weight until every set reaches the top, then add weight and start again at the bottom. Here is how double progression works, with numbers, and when to use it. Canonical: https://peakhealth.es/en/blog/double-progression Last updated: 2026-11-02 Double progression is the simplest way to apply progressive overload: pick a rep range, such as 8–12, and keep the same weight until you reach the top of the range on every working set. Then add a small amount of weight, drop back to the bottom of the range, and climb again. You progress two things, reps first and then weight. That is where the name comes from. It works for beginners and for lifters with years of training, and it removes the guesswork from "should I go up today?" ## Why not just add weight every session? Adding weight every session is called linear progression. It works very well for a few months on the big barbell lifts. A new lifter can add 2.5 kg to the squat every session for a long time. Then it stops working, and it stops sooner on smaller exercises. A jump from 12 kg to 14 kg dumbbells is about 17% more weight. Nobody gets 17% stronger in one week on a lateral raise. With linear progression, you either miss reps or your form breaks down. Double progression solves this. Reps are a smaller step than weight. You can add one rep to one set this week, even when you cannot add 2 kg. ## Does adding reps work as well as adding weight? The research says yes. In a study of trained lifters, one group added weight and kept the reps the same, and the other group kept the weight and added reps, for 8 weeks ([Plotkin et al., 2022](https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14142)). Muscle growth and strength gains were very similar in both groups. A 10-week study in new lifters found the same: both ways of progressing gave the same strength and muscle gains ([Chaves et al., 2024](https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2256-5857)). So more reps at the same weight is real progress, not a consolation prize. Double progression just puts the two methods in order. ## How it works, with numbers Say you do dumbbell bench press, 3 sets of 8–12 reps, with 26 kg dumbbells. - **Week 1:** 12, 10, 9. The first set reached the top, the others did not. Keep 26 kg. - **Week 2:** 12, 11, 10. Keep 26 kg. - **Week 3:** 12, 12, 11. Close. Keep 26 kg. - **Week 4:** 12, 12, 12. Every set is at the top of the range. Next session, go up. - **Week 5:** 28 kg: 9, 8, 8. You are back near the bottom of the range. Climb again. Three rules make it work: 1. **All sets, not one.** Go up only when every working set reaches the top of the range. One good first set does not count. 2. **Same effort, same form.** A rep counts only if it looks like the others. Stop each set at the same effort, for example 1–2 [reps in reserve](https://peakhealth.es/en/blog/rir-beats-percentages). If you go to failure one week and stop early the next, you can't compare the numbers. 3. **Smallest jump available.** Add the smallest step you can: 2.5 kg on a barbell, the next dumbbell, one pin on a machine. If the new weight drops you below the bottom of the range, the jump was too big. Go back and use a smaller one, or stay at the old weight longer. ## Picking a rep range The range should be wide enough to climb. A range of 8–10 gives you only two reps to climb before the next jump. A range of 8–12 or 10–15 gives you more steps, which suits small muscles and big dumbbell jumps. - **Heavy compound lifts** (squat, deadlift, bench press): 5–8 or 6–10. - **Dumbbell and machine compound exercises:** 8–12. - **Isolation exercises** (curls, lateral raises, leg extensions): 10–15 or 12–20. Muscle growth is similar across a wide range of loads when sets are hard. In one study, lifters trained one arm or leg with 8–12 reps and the other with 20–25 reps, both to failure, and both grew by the same amount ([Lees et al., 2025](https://doi.org/10.1113/JP289684)). So choose the range that feels safe and repeatable for the exercise. Fifteen reps are easier to control on a curl than on a deadlift. ## When it stalls Double progression is not magic. At some point you will stay at the same reps for three or four sessions in a row. Check these first: - **Sleep, food and stress.** They hold back progress more often than the plan does. - **Rest between sets.** If the last set always falls short, you may be [resting too little](https://peakhealth.es/en/blog/rest-between-sets). - **Too many hard weeks.** A [deload](https://peakhealth.es/en/blog/deloads-arent-vacations) often unlocks the next step. If none of those is the cause, change the exercise or the rep range for a few weeks, then come back. ## The part most people skip: writing it down Double progression depends on one thing: knowing what you did last time on every set. "I think I got 11 last week" is not enough. The rule is "every set at the top", so you need every set. Peak Health shows last time next to the set you are on, so you can see the number to beat. In the routine you can choose "Add reps, then weight" for an exercise. The app then raises the reps, and adds the weight when every working set reaches the top of the range. That automatic progression is part of [Premium](https://peakhealth.es/en/pricing). ## The short version - Pick a rep range, such as 8–12. - Keep the weight until every working set reaches the top of the range. - Then add the smallest weight step and start again at the bottom. - Keep the effort the same from week to week, so the numbers mean something. - Log every set. You can't beat a number you don't remember. ## Related - [Training notes | Peak Health](https://peakhealth.es/en/blog)