Double progression is a simple, time-proven workout programming strategy that anyone can use to get fitter and stronger.
It works with any exercise, workout routine, and fitness goal.
The term “double progression” was first coined by author, businessman, and bodybuilding pioneer Alan Calvert in a pamphlet he published in 1911. Now, over 100 years later, it’s still one of the most effective ways to keep gaining muscle and strength whether you’re a newbie in the iron game or a hard-nosed veteran.
Read on to learn what double progression is, how it works, and how to use it in your training.
What Is Double Progression?
Double progression is a method of regulating how to increase the volume and intensity of your training.
It works like this: you work in a certain rep range (4-to-6, for example), and once you hit the top of that rep range for a certain number of sets (one, two, or three, usually), you increase the weight (normally by 5 or 10 pounds).
Then, if you can at least hit the bottom of your rep range with the new, heavier weight, you work with it until you reach the progression rep and set targets again, increase the weight again, and so forth.
In other words, you strive to first increase reps (volume) and then “cash in” that progress to increase weight (intensity). Hence, “double progression.”
Double Progression vs. Single Progression
Single progression is what many people do when they first start lifting weights—they try to regularly add weight to an exercise while doing the same number of reps and sets in each workout. Only the weight goes up, hence, “single progression.”
Here’s how this could look for someone doing three sets of squats in a workout once per week:
Week 1: 185 x 5, 185 x 5, 185 x 5
Week 2: 195 x 5, 195 x 5, 195 x 5
Week 3: 205 x 5, 205 x 5, 205 x 5
This linear approach works well for people who are new to weightlifting, and it can be found in several successful strength training programs like Starting Strength, 5×5, and others.
The problem with single progression, though, is it starts to miscarry after your first 6-to-12 months of weightlifting (once your newbie gains dry up). Eventually, you can’t consistently add even small amounts of weight to the bar anymore without missing rep targets (getting 2 or 3 reps per set instead of 5, for instance).
Some people try to ignore this fact and force progression by redoubling their efforts. More pre-workout, louder music, and grittier grunting. This doesn’t work for long. Within a couple of weeks, they’re missing sets again, their technique is tottering, and their body is hurting. If they ignore these signs and press on, they land up ragged or injured.
Often, these people recover and repeat the cycle, perhaps peaking at a slightly higher weight than last time before backsliding again. And after rolling their proverbial rock up the hill several times like this, many conclude that they just don’t have the genetics/recovery ability/willpower to keep getting bigger and stronger.
This is almost never the case. The reason they’re stuck in the doldrums is poor programming, not a DNA or dedication deficiency. And one of the easiest ways to put wind back in their sails is to graduate from single progression to double progression.
This shift is easy to make, too. At bottom, all you’re doing is giving yourself a range of reps to work with instead of a set number, which makes your training more effective by implementing two elements of progressive overload instead of one—reps (volume) and weight (intensity), as opposed to just weight.
Let’s review a few examples to see how this works in practice.
Double Progression Method Examples
Let’s say you’re bench pressing in the 4-to-6-rep range for 3 sets, and on your first set, you get 6 reps with 135 pounds.
Your program calls for just one “top-rep set” to progress, so it’s time to increase the weight. You add 10 pounds to the bar (145 pounds), rest a few minutes, and get 4 reps on your next two sets of the exercise in that workout.
Because you’re still within your target rep range (4-to-6 reps) with 145 pounds, you’d keep working with it until you get 6 reps for one set, and then you’d increase the weight to 155 pounds.
Here’s how this could look over the course of 4 weeks.
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