The first four weeks of a client's program are the easy part. You built it from their intake. The harder question comes at the end of the block: what should the next four weeks look like?
The answer is already in the training log. Here is a simple way to read it and turn it into the next block.
Step 1: Check for anything that changes the plan first
Before any math, read the client's comments:
- New pain in a movement: remove that movement and anything that loads the area the same way, and pick a pain-free substitute for the same muscles. Recommend a physio or doctor if it continues. Don't add sets to similar movements until the client says they are pain-free.
- Chest pain, fainting or unusual breathlessness: pause training and have the client see a doctor before continuing.
- Compensation habits, like skipping meals after a missed workout or extra sessions to "burn it off": raise it privately and kindly, and don't praise extra training.
Step 2: Measure each main lift with an estimated 1RM
Comparing "80 kg for 6" with "70 kg for 7" is hard by eye. An estimated one-rep max puts different sets on the same scale. The common Epley formula is:
e1RM = load × (1 + reps ÷ 30)
Use it for sets of 1 to 10 reps, and compare the first week with the last full training week, not a lighter week. For example:
- Squat: 70 kg × 7 reps → 86.3 kg; 80 kg × 6 reps → 96.0 kg. Up 11.2%.
- Romanian deadlift: 70 kg × 10 → 93.3 kg; 72.5 kg × 8 → 91.8 kg. Down 1.6%.
If RPE was logged, check it too. A higher e1RM that came at RPE 9.5 instead of 8 may be effort, not strength.
Step 3: Give every lift a status
- Progressing: up about 2% or more.
- Stalled: less than about 2% change over two or more comparable sessions.
- Regressing: down, or the same weight and reps took clearly harder effort.
Step 4: Look at adherence and recovery
Count sessions done against sessions planned. If adherence was under about 75%, adding volume will not help. Find out what got in the way and make the program fit the week the client actually has, with fewer exercises or fewer days if needed.
Then check recovery: sleep, stress, soreness lasting more than two days, and RPE creeping up at the same loads. Several of these together mean the client needs less, not more.
Step 5: Change only what the log gives a reason to change
- Progressing lifts: keep them and keep progressing.
- Stalled lifts: change one thing, like the rep range, or add a set if recovery is good.
- Regressing with fatigue: cut volume first. Don't swap the exercise.
- Client complaints: solve them. If a goblet squat is getting awkward to hold, switch to a variation that loads better, rather than adding a pause.
- Stated goals: cover every one, even when volume can't go up, by replacing lower-priority work.
Keeping most of the program the same is a feature: it keeps progress measurable.
Step 6: Set starting loads that make sense
If the last working sets hit the top of the rep range at or below the target effort, add the smallest increment that keeps the jump within about 5%. Dumbbells come in bigger steps, so progress reps first and move up a size when every set is at the top of the range. When a client is at their heaviest dumbbell, use more reps, slower tempo, single-arm or single-leg work, or shorter rest.
Finally, check that every session still fits the client's time. A rough guide is 2 to 3 minutes per working set including rest, counting per-arm or per-leg sets twice, plus 5 to 10 minutes of warm-up.
Do this for every client without the spreadsheet
For the next session's numbers on a single lift, try our free progressive overload calculator, and check the weekly sets per muscle group with the free training volume calculator. If you coach with Claude, our Program Progression skill takes the program, the log and the client's comments and returns the e1RM table, stalled and regressing lifts, what changes and why, the next 4-week block with week 1 loads and time estimates, and a message to the client with their real numbers.
For the first block, see Intake to Program.