Exercise suggestion guide
How Totality suggests workout weights, reps, and RIR
A useful workout tracker should do more than store a previous set. Totality uses your estimated strength, target reps, and effort target to suggest the missing number while still letting you make the final call in the gym.
Quick answer
Totality solves the missing training variable from estimated 1RM and effort.
If you know two of the three key values, weight, reps, and RIR, Totality can suggest the third. The suggestion is a training target, not an order. It is meant to reduce guesswork, keep progressive overload tied to your actual history, and give you a useful external target when motivation is low.
How we calculate it
The RIR model is an Epley-style 1RM estimate with effort added to reps.
Totality stores both a true 1RM estimate and an effort-adjusted estimated 1RM. The true estimate uses only completed reps. The effort-adjusted estimate treats reps in reserve as reps you likely could have completed if the set had gone to failure.
True 1RM
True 1RM = weight x (1 + reps / 30)
Estimated 1RM with RIR
Estimated 1RM = weight x (1 + (reps + RIR) / 30)
Suggested weight
Suggested weight = estimated 1RM / (1 + (target reps + target RIR) / 30)
The same relationship can be inverted to suggest reps from weight and RIR, or RIR from weight and reps. In percentage mode, Totality converts percentages into absolute load for the calculation, then converts the answer back into a percentage. For unilateral exercises, left and right sides use their own 1RM history so one side does not hide the other.
In RPE mode, Totality uses a percentage table for supported reps and RPE values, then chooses the closest matching rep or RPE target when one field is missing. If you are deciding which effort metric to use, read the RIR vs RPE strength training guide.
Benefits
Exercise suggestions are most useful when they make the next set easier to choose.
Less guessing between blocks
A current estimated 1RM gives the app a better starting point than simply copying last week.
Effort-aware progression
RIR helps separate a casual set of five from a true five-rep max, which keeps suggestions from overreacting.
Better session intent
A clear target can make the next set feel concrete, especially when PRs, history, and feedback are visible.
Downfalls
The formula is useful, but it cannot know everything about today's set.
Automatic suggestions are limited by the quality of the inputs. RIR is subjective, high-rep estimates can drift, technical changes can alter true capacity, and fatigue, sleep, injury, or unfamiliar equipment can make a clean mathematical target too aggressive or too conservative.
That is why Totality treats suggestions as editable information. A good app should help you decide faster, not remove judgment from training.
External motivation and performance
Feedback can improve performance, but the best feedback still preserves control.
Exercise suggestions create an external cue: a visible target based on your own history. Research on augmented feedback in resistance training has found that feedback can improve acute training outputs, motivation, and competitiveness, with high-frequency visual feedback showing strong effects in the reviewed studies.
The broader motivation literature is more nuanced. Self-determination research generally favors autonomous motivation for long-term adherence, while incentives and rewards can help short-term behavior when designed carefully. For a workout app, the practical lesson is to show targets, PR context, and progress feedback without making the lifter feel punished for overriding the number.
Common questions
Questions this guide is built to answer
- workout app that suggests weight based on 1RM
- how to calculate workout weights from RIR
- RIR based workout tracker
- 1RM based workout weight calculator
- auto suggest reps weight RIR workout app
- strength training app with exercise recommendations
- workout tracker with external motivation and PR feedback
- app that suggests weights from previous workouts
FAQ
Common questions about automatic exercise suggestions
How does Totality calculate workout weight suggestions?
Totality uses your estimated one-rep max, target reps, and RIR to solve the missing training variable. In RIR mode, the estimated 1RM is weight times 1 plus reps plus RIR divided by 30; suggested weight is the inverse of that same relationship.
Are exercise suggestions the same as a workout prescription?
No. Suggestions are calculated targets that help you decide the next weight, rep count, or effort value. They are not medical advice, injury guidance, or a replacement for judgment during the session.
What are the benefits of RIR-based exercise suggestions?
RIR-based suggestions account for effort. A set of five reps with three reps in reserve should not be treated the same as a true five-rep max, so Totality separates true 1RM from effort-adjusted estimated 1RM.
What are the downsides of automatic workout suggestions?
Any formula can be wrong when fatigue, technique, injury, exercise selection, or inaccurate RIR changes the real difficulty of a set. Totality keeps suggestions visible but editable so lifters can override the number.
Can external motivation improve workout performance?
Research on augmented feedback in resistance training suggests that timely feedback can improve acute performance, motivation, and competitiveness. The best use is feedback that informs the lifter without making the number feel compulsory.
Research checked
Sources behind the motivation discussion
- Weakley et al., 2023: feedback in resistance training systematic review and meta-analysis
- Teixeira et al., 2012: exercise, physical activity, and self-determination theory systematic review
- Mitchell et al., 2013: incentives and exercise behavior systematic review of randomized trials
- Deci, Koestner, and Ryan, 1999: extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation meta-analysis
Try Totality
Use suggestions as targets, then train with judgment.
Log workouts, review PRs, estimate 1RM, track RIR, and let Totality suggest the next useful number.