How to Read Your Progress Charts
Volume, estimated 1RM, and trend lines — what each chart is really telling you, and which one to trust when they disagree.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Read time
- 6 min
Charts are only useful if you know what question each one answers. Bikkel gives you three main views, and each has a job.
Estimated 1RM: are you getting stronger?
Estimated one-rep max turns any set of weight and reps into a single strength number, so a heavy triple and a lighter set of ten become comparable. Watch its trend, not any single point — a rising line over weeks means real strength, even if today’s session felt bad.
Volume: are you doing enough work?
Total volume — sets times reps times weight — tracks how much work you are accumulating. Flat or falling volume next to a stalled 1RM usually means you are under-doing it. Spiking volume next to worse performance means the opposite.
One session is a data point. Only the trend line is the truth.
When charts disagree
- Strength up, volume flat: efficient progress — keep going.
- Volume up, strength flat: check recovery before adding more work.
- Both falling: you are due a deload, not a harder week.
Read the charts weekly, decide monthly, and let the trend — never a single bad day — drive the next block.
Put it into practice.
Open your logbook and turn this guide into a real, logged session.