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Working Weights (Autoregulation)

HyperIron derives your working weight for every exercise from what you actually lift — there is nothing to set up, look up, or maintain. This page explains where the numbers on your grid and set cards come from.

The model in one paragraph​

Your logged sets are the single source of truth. For each exercise, the engine anchors on the best set of your most recent completed session (judged by estimated 1RM, so reps and RIR count — not just the heaviest bar). One rule projects forward from that anchor: hold the weight while your reps climb the range, then step up one increment when you top it out. The in-workout set card shows one application of the rule; the mesocycle grid is the same rule iterated over future weeks. Because both come from the same anchor and the same rule, the plan and the suggestion always agree.

There is nothing to enter​

  • Starting a program from a template is instant. No starting-weights screen — pick the template and go.
  • Exercises you've trained before (in any previous program) are anchored from that history immediately: week 1 of a new block suggests your real working weight.
  • A brand-new exercise (no logs anywhere) simply shows its rep range and RIR target. Pick a weight that lands in the range at about the target RIR — the gym is where you find it. From your first logged session on, the engine takes over.

How the anchor works​

QuestionAnswer
Which session?Your most recent completed session of that exercise on that workout day; week 1 of a new program falls back to your most recent session in any program
Which set within it?The best set by estimated 1RM (reps/RIR-aware — a 180×10 @2RIR beats a 200×5 grinder)
Skipped it last week?The anchor falls through to the session before — a skip can't erase your working weight
Logged only bodyweight?Same — sessions without a usable weight+reps set are skipped over
Is it stored anywhere?No. It's derived from your logs on demand, so it can never go stale

The progression rule​

With a rep range (e.g. 8–12):

below the top of the range → hold the weight, add one rep
at the top of the range    → step up one increment,
                             reps reset to the same-effort count at the heavier load

The reps reset uses the estimated-1RM relationship, so a step up is roughly one rep of overload — not last week's reps at a heavier weight. With a single rep target (e.g. "5"), the weight instead climbs a small ~2% each session with reps carried.

Lift more than planned and next week's plan follows you up. Lift less and it meets you where you are. A bad day self-corrects in one session: the next suggestion eases off, you recover, and the anchor climbs again.

What the RIR ramp does​

The weekly RIR target (3 → 2 → your min RIR across the block) is the effort instruction: how close to failure to take your sets this week. It's what makes the reps climb — and it can never prescribe a weight you can't lift, because the load always comes from what you actually did.

Deloads​

A deload week prescribes a percentage of your current working weight (the projected load at that point in the block), with reduced reps and a fixed low set count. Configuration is unchanged — see Deload Weeks.

Fallback starting weights (legacy)​

Behind the scenes, starting a program still records a per-exercise fallback weight estimated from your history. It is only used for exercises with no logged history and by older app versions; it is never shown, never needs editing, and is removed once all clients are on the current model. You can ignore it entirely.

FAQ​

How do I correct a wrong suggestion? Just lift what's right and log it — the next session anchors on what you did. There is no setting to fix.

I'm coming back from a break and the suggestion is too heavy. Load what feels right for set 1 and log it; everything re-anchors from that session.

Can I plan a specific weight for next week? The grid is a projection of the rule, not an editable plan. If you want a different load, lift it — the plan follows your actuals, not the other way around.

Where did "Set Reference Weights" go? Removed. It asked you to recall numbers the engine now derives better from your logs — and once autoregulation shipped, editing it had no effect on any exercise with history.