Progress Tracking

Visualize your strength journey with estimated rep max metrics and interactive charts.

E1RM and E10RM

Big Brain Barbell tracks your progress using two key metrics:

E1RM (Estimated 1-Rep Max) — Your predicted maximum weight for a single rep, calculated from your logged sets. This is the gold standard for measuring absolute strength.
E10RM (Estimated 10-Rep Max) — Your predicted maximum weight for 10 reps. This better reflects hypertrophy-range performance and is useful for bodybuilding goals.

How Estimated Rep Maxes Are Calculated

Big Brain Barbell uses well-established strength science formulas (Epley and Brzycki) to convert any set you perform into an estimated 1-rep or 10-rep max. At its core, the math relates three variables: weight, reps, and effort.

For example, if you bench press 200 lbs for 5 reps at RPE 9 (one rep left in the tank), the app estimates you could have done 6 total reps at that weight. It then applies the Epley formula to project your 1-rep max:

E1RM = Weight x (1 + Reps / 30)

This means every set you log contributes to your estimated max, not just heavy singles. A set of 8 at RPE 8 is just as informative as a set of 3 at RPE 9 — the math accounts for the difference.

Why RPE Matters for Accuracy

RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) tells the app how close to failure you were. Without RPE, the formula assumes every set was taken to failure, which overestimates your max for submaximal sets. When you log RPE accurately, the app adjusts the effective rep count to account for reps left in reserve, producing a much more accurate estimate.

For best results, log RPE on your working sets — especially your top sets for each exercise. Even approximate RPE values (like "RPE 7-8") significantly improve the accuracy of your E1RM and E10RM over time.

Tip: Sets performed closer to failure (RPE 8-10) produce the most reliable estimates. Very light warm-up sets at RPE 4-5 have wider error margins, so Big Brain Barbell weighs heavier efforts more heavily in its calculations.

Training Outlook

The Home tab features a Training Outlook section that shows how your training volume is trending. Based on your recent readiness check-ins and session feedback, the outlook displays the current volume direction — whether the adaptation system is trending toward increasing, maintaining, or reducing your volume for the next week.

This gives you an at-a-glance sense of how the app views your current training trajectory, along with adaptive messaging that explains why.

Progress Tab

The Progress tab is organized into two views, accessible via tabs at the top of the screen:

Current Program — A focused summary of how your active program's goals are progressing
All Progress — A full interactive chart for any exercise in your history, with saved views for quick access

Current Program

The Current Program tab gives you a quick overview of your active program's progress. It displays one chart per goal, automatically selecting the most representative exercise for each: the primary exercise for exercise-focused goals (like your main squat or bench variation), or the exercise with the highest estimated rep max for muscle-focused goals.

This distilled view lets you see at a glance whether each of your goals is trending in the right direction, without scrolling through every exercise in your program.

Current Program tab showing one progress chart per goal

All Progress

The All Progress tab provides a full-screen interactive chart for any exercise in your library — not just those in your current program. This is where you can dive deep into your training history and see exactly how your strength has changed over time.

Navigating the Chart

The chart plots your estimated rep max on the vertical axis against time on the horizontal axis. Each data point represents the best estimate from a single training session. To explore your data:

Pinch to zoom — Spread two fingers apart to zoom into a specific time period for finer detail, or pinch together to zoom out for a broader view.
Pan to scroll — Drag left or right to move through your training history.
Tap a data point — View the exact value, date, and the set that produced the estimate.
Metric toggle — Switch between E1RM and E10RM views to see how your maximal strength and hypertrophy-range strength compare over time.

Date Range Filters

Use the date range filter to focus on the time period that matters most. Big Brain Barbell offers six preset ranges plus a custom option:

4 Weeks — A zoomed-in look at the last month. Helpful for spotting short-term trends or monitoring recovery after a deload.
8 Weeks — A two-month view, useful for evaluating recent programming changes.
12 Weeks — Three months covering a full training block or mesocycle. The default view.
26 Weeks — Six months of data for medium-term trend analysis.
1 Year — A full year of training history for long-term progress tracking.
Custom Range — Set a specific start and end date to examine any period you choose. Great for comparing performance across specific training phases or competition prep cycles.

Phase Markers

For Strength and Powerbuilding programs, the chart displays vertical markers at the points where your training phase changed. These markers are labeled with the phase name (Hypertrophy, Strength, or Peaking) and help you correlate changes in your estimated max with changes in your programming.

Phase markers make it easy to answer questions like:

Did my E1RM increase during the Strength phase as expected?
How much did my estimated max drop during the high-volume Hypertrophy phase?
Did Peaking successfully bring my estimated max to a new high?

Understanding these patterns helps you evaluate whether your periodization is working and gives you confidence in the training process, even during phases where progress may temporarily stall or dip.

Saved Views

If you frequently check progress for specific exercises, you can create saved views that bookmark a specific exercise, metric, and date range for quick access from the All Progress tab.

Creating a Saved View

From the All Progress tab, configure the chart the way you want it — select an exercise, choose E1RM or E10RM, and set your preferred date range. Then tap Save View to bookmark that exact configuration. The saved view remembers the exercise, metric, and date range so you can return to it instantly.

Accessing Saved Views

Tap the saved views button on the All Progress tab to open a popover listing all your bookmarked views. Each entry shows the exercise name and its current estimated rep max value. Tap any entry to jump straight to that chart with the saved filters applied.

When viewing a saved view, a banner appears at the top of the chart showing which view you are looking at.

Editing a Saved View

To update a saved view, open it and then change any of the filters — the exercise, metric, or date range. When you make changes, the banner updates to offer two options: Revert to discard your changes and return to the saved configuration, or Update to save the new settings to this view.

Saved view banner showing revert and update options after changing filters

Managing Saved Views

Tap Manage Views from the saved views popover to reorder or delete your saved views. This lets you arrange your most important lifts at the top of the list and remove views you no longer need.

Tip: Create saved views for your main lifts (squat, bench, deadlift) so you can check progress at a glance without navigating through the exercise list each time.

Performance Trends

The adaptation system uses your E1RM trends to help make volume decisions:

Increasing: E1RM improved by more than 2% week-over-week — a sign your programming is working.
Decreasing: E1RM declined by more than 2% — may indicate accumulated fatigue or need for a deload.
Stable: Within 2% of previous week — normal during maintenance or consolidation phases.

See the Adaptation System guide for how these trends influence volume adjustments.