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Mini-Set Planner (Myo-rep style)
Plan one activation set plus short mini-sets on brief rests, log what you actually did, and get next session's load. Good for machines and isolation work when time is short.
Intermediate Advanced
Dumbbells and machines often move in small or uneven steps. If the next jump is too big, keep adding reps first, or add a set. Remembered per exercise on this device.
Your set
Log what you did
How it works
- Activation set: pick a load you can lift about 8–15 times. Stop with 1–2 reps still in the tank. Don't grind to failure.
- Short rest: 20–30 seconds, about 3–5 deep breaths. Much longer and the effect fades, so the timer warns you at 30 s.
- Mini-sets: 2–5 reps each, again stopping 1–2 reps short of failure, for up to 4–6 mini-sets. Stop as soon as a mini-set falls below 2 reps or you can't keep good form.
- Mini-set rep target is our own rule of thumb: activation reps ÷ 4, rounded and kept between 2 and 5.
- Next session: whatever method you pick, if activation reps drop more than 5% against last time, start 5–10% lighter. (With RPE / RIR or waves, the check also compares with your target when you didn't log last time.) With double progression (the default), reaching the activation target means one load jump next time; below it, keep the load and add reps. Linear works the same way with fixed targets. With RPE / RIR or percentage waves, extra reps convert to load using the rough rule that about 5% more load costs about 2 reps (capped at 10%).
- Weekly volume: one activation set plus mini-sets counts as about 3 regular sets. In the weekly sets calculator, enter 3 sets per session for each set planned here.
- Best for: lifters with solid training experience, on machines, cables and isolation lifts. Short-rest sets feel a lot harder than regular sets, so beginners are usually better off building technique with regular sets first. Heavy barbell squats, deadlifts and Olympic lifts are better done with regular sets and full rest.
- What the research says so far: in the one published trial that tested Myo-reps by name, trained men gained about as much size and strength as with regular sets, in shorter sessions with roughly 30% less total weight lifted. It was a small, 8-week study, so treat it as promising rather than settled.
Myo-reps method developed by Borge Fagerli; not affiliated. This page uses its own wording and rules of thumb.
Not medical advice. General fitness education only. Check with a qualified professional if you have an injury or medical condition.
Research behind this tool
Summaries are in our own words. Links go to the original papers; no author or journal endorses Trainer App Stack.
- Training all the way to failure gave little or no extra growth compared with stopping a little short, so leaving reps in reserve is a reasonable default. Refalo et al. 2023, Sports Med · CC BY 4.0, summarized
- In 22 trained men over 8 weeks, Myo-reps and regular sets produced similar size and strength gains, with shorter sessions and about 30% less total weight lifted. It's one small study. Bradshaw et al. 2026, J Strength Cond Res
- Bodybuilders rated rest-pause sessions much harder than regular sets (about 8.5 vs 6 out of 10) and enjoyed them less. The authors suggest these methods suit more experienced lifters. Front Sports Act Living 2024 (rest-pause in bodybuilders) · CC BY 4.0, summarized
- Advanced techniques such as rest-pause and cluster sets may add a training stimulus and save time, but the evidence is too thin for precise volume or effort rules. Krzysztofik et al. 2019, IJERPH · CC BY 4.0, summarized
- In trained lifters over 6 weeks, rest-pause gave similar max-strength gains to traditional sets, with more leg-press endurance and thigh muscle thickness. Prestes et al. 2019, J Strength Cond Res
- When total volume was matched, rest-pause, drop sets and traditional sets built similar amounts of muscle in trained men. Enes et al. 2021, Appl Physiol Nutr Metab