Smart Progression is Arc's intelligent system for applying progressive overload, a proven method for building strength and muscle by gradually increasing the demands on your body. After each workout, Arc evaluates your performance and adjusts your plan in real time. This includes swapping in similar exercises to challenge muscles in new ways, increasing weights when you're ready, and fine-tuning your reps and sets for optimal growth. By keeping your workouts fresh and consistently challenging, Smart Progression helps you avoid plateaus and stay on track to hit your fitness goals faster and more efficiently. Whether you're training for strength, aesthetics, or endurance, Arc ensures your routine is always pushing you toward progress.
How Does Smart Progression Adjust My Workouts?
Smart Progression looks at your logged performance after every session and decides whether to increase intensity. It can adjust three main variables:
Weight: When you consistently hit your target reps, Arc bumps the load so your muscles face a new challenge.
Reps: If adding weight isn't practical yet, Arc increases reps within your target range to build volume.
Sets: Arc may add or reduce sets to match your current capacity. Most plans start with 3 to 5 sets per exercise depending on your goal. If you're handling the workload well, Arc may add a set. If you're underperforming or adapting to a higher intensity, Arc may reduce sets (but never below 2 per exercise) so you can focus on quality reps at the right weight.
Why Did My Set Count Change?
If you notice fewer (or more) sets than before, that's Smart Progression adjusting your training volume. Common reasons:
Fewer sets: Arc reduced volume because you recently progressed in weight or reps. Fewer sets at a harder load keeps total effort manageable while you adapt.
More sets: You've been consistently hitting your targets, so Arc added volume to keep driving progress.
Minimum of 2 sets: Arc will never drop an exercise below 2 sets. If you're seeing only 1 set per exercise, something else may be going on. Reach out and we'll investigate.
You can always manually add or remove sets during a workout if you want to override the suggestion.
Can I Control Which Variables Change?
Right now, Smart Progression manages weight, reps, and sets together to find the optimal path forward. We've heard feedback from users who prefer to keep their set count fixed and only progress through weight and reps. This is a popular request and something we're actively considering for a future update. In the meantime, you can always manually adjust your sets during a workout if you'd prefer to stick with a specific number.
Does Smart Progression Work for Bodyweight and Assisted Exercises?
Smart Progression currently applies to exercises that use standard external weight (barbells, dumbbells, cables, machines). It does not automatically adjust the following exercise types:
Bodyweight exercises (push ups, pull ups, dips without added weight): These progress through reps only. Arc tracks your performance and ranks, but won't auto-increase difficulty between sessions.
Assisted exercises (assisted pull up, assisted dip on a machine): The assistance weight is not adjusted automatically. To progress, manually reduce the assistance weight over time as you get stronger. Lower assistance = harder exercise.
Weighted bodyweight exercises (weighted dips, weighted pull ups): These also don't use Smart Progression yet. You can manually increase the added weight as you improve.
For all these exercise types, Arc still tracks your sets, reps, and weight in your workout history, and you'll still earn Strength Ranks where available.