Auto Progression: know exactly what to lift next session
Boostcamp reads every set you log and sets your next weight and reps for you, so you keep getting stronger without the guesswork.
What is Auto Progression?
Auto Progression is Boostcamp Pro's built-in progression coach. After every session it reads what you lifted, the reps you hit and, if you log it, how hard it felt, then sets your next weight and reps exercise by exercise. Beat your targets and the weight goes up; fall short and it eases off, so every workout stays challenging and achievable.
No more guessing
Your targets are waiting when you open the workout, worked out from your last session. As the app puts it: "We set the bar, you beat it, we raise it."
Handles bad days
Log an RPE above target and the weight holds. Miss your reps and it eases to a load you can hit, so one rough session doesn't derail the plan.
Tuned to every lift
Set the step size and how often it can go up per exercise: small jumps on lateral raises, bigger ones on squats and deadlifts.
- Methods
- Linear progression and double progression (rep ranges)
- How often
- Once a week (default) or every session
- Step size
- Default is twice your smallest plate; set per exercise from 1 to 25 lb or 0.5 to 15 kg
- Price
- Boostcamp Pro
How Auto Progression decides your next weight
- 1
Hit every target, and the weight goes up
If every working set reached its target (a fixed rep count, or the top of a rep range), the next session adds one step of weight and resets reps to the bottom of the range. In the app: "You hit all 8 reps, so the weight goes up."
- 2
On a rep range, reps climb first
With double progression, reps go up by one at the same weight until every set reaches the top of the range, then the weight goes up and reps start over. The weakest set sets the next rep target, and the range's own top is the ceiling.
- 3
Too hard? It holds or eases off
If you logged an RPE above the prescribed RPE, the weight holds. If no set reached the bottom of the range, Boostcamp estimates a weight you can hit for that many reps and suggests it instead.
- 4
Tune it per exercise
Choose how often weights can go up (once a week or every session) and a step size. Each exercise can have its own step and cadence, or have Auto Progression switched off while the rest of the workout keeps it.
What is double progression?
Double progression is a way to apply progressive overload by increasing two things in order: first reps, then weight. You train in a rep range, such as 3 sets of 8 to 12, and keep the same weight until every set reaches the top of the range; then you add a small amount of weight and start again near the bottom.
Linear progression is the simpler alternative. You train at a fixed rep target, such as 3 sets of 5, and add weight every time you complete it. It suits beginners on compound lifts, who can often add weight session to session, but fixed jumps eventually outpace how fast a lifter adapts, especially on smaller exercises where 5 lb is a large share of the load.
Double progression fills the gap between weight increases with reps. A lifter who can't yet handle another 5 lb for 8 reps can still progress by adding a rep, so the eventual weight jump lands on a lifter who has already grown into it. Many coaches use it for accessory and hypertrophy work.
Boostcamp's Auto Progression applies linear progression to fixed-rep sets and double progression to rep-range sets, based on what you logged last session.
Double progression on 3 × 8 to 12, session by session
One exercise programmed as 3 sets of 8 to 12 at a prescribed RPE of 8, starting at 135 lb with a 5 lb step size. Assumes the Every session cadence (or a lift trained once a week on the default Once a week cadence). Reps are listed per set, and RPE was left blank unless shown.
| Session | You logged | What Auto Progression sees | Next suggestion |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 135 lb × 9, 8, 8 | Weakest set did 8, so reps go up by one | 135 lb × 9 |
| 2 | 135 lb × 10, 9, 9 | Weakest set did 9 | 135 lb × 10 |
| 3 | 135 lb × 11, 10, 10 | Weakest set did 10 | 135 lb × 11 |
| 4 | 135 lb × 12, 12, 11 | One set is still short of 12, so the weight holds | 135 lb × 12 |
| 5 | 135 lb × 12, 12, 12 | Every set reached the top of the range: weight goes up one step, reps reset to the bottom | 140 lb × 8 |
| 6 | 140 lb × 9, 8, 8, last set at RPE 9 | RPE 9 is above the prescribed 8, so the weight holds and reps don't rise | 140 lb × 8 |
| 7 | 140 lb × 7, 6, 6 | Best set (7) missed the bottom of the range. 140 × 7 implies a 168 lb 1RM, which gives about 135.3 lb for 8 reps, rounded down to 135 lb | 135 lb × 8 |
Which exercises it covers
Auto Progression works on sets you load yourself. Sets whose weight the program already calculates follow the program instead.
| Set type | Auto Progression |
|---|---|
| Fixed reps or a rep range at a weight you choose | Yes |
| Sets prescribed as % of 1RM or from last week's weight | No, the program sets the weight |
| Bodyweight and cardio exercises | No |
| Time, distance and AMRAP targets | No |
| An exercise with no logged session yet | Not until after the first session |
Tips for using Auto Progression
- Match the step size to the exercise A 5 lb step is about 4% on a 135 lb lift but 25% on a 20 lb lateral raise. Use a smaller step or a wider rep range on light exercises.
- Log RPE when a set felt harder than prescribed Logging an RPE above the program's target holds the weight. Leaving RPE blank never holds it, so log it on the sets where effort ran high.
- Log the reps you actually did Suggestions are built from your logged reps and weight. Rounding reps up moves the weight up before you're ready, and a missed set logged honestly brings the weight back to something you can lift.
- Pick the cadence that fits how often you train a lift Once a week allows one step in reps or weight per week; Every session allows a step each time. Lifts trained twice a week progress faster on Every session.
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Frequently asked questions
Double progression is a method where you add reps at the same weight until every set reaches the top of a rep range, then add weight and start again at the bottom. Boostcamp's Auto Progression uses it for rep-range sets.
No. Auto Progression is part of Boostcamp Pro. Free programs still progress the way their author wrote them, for example through percentages of your one-rep max.
Linear progression adds weight whenever you hit every target. Double progression works on a rep range: you add reps at the same weight until every set reaches the top of the range, then add weight and start again at the bottom.
Yes, as a brake. If you log an RPE higher than the program prescribed, Boostcamp's Auto Progression holds the weight instead of raising it. Leaving RPE blank never holds the weight.
If your best set falls short of the target, or of the bottom of a rep range, Boostcamp's Auto Progression estimates the weight you can lift for the target reps and suggests it, rounded down to your step size. If only some sets fall short, the weight holds.
Yes. Switch Auto Progression off for a single exercise and the others keep getting suggestions.