Training guides

The terms behind every good plan, explained in plain language — the same concepts the seto app uses to build and adjust your training.

RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion

RPE — Rate of Perceived Exertion — is a 1–10 score for how hard a set actually was. It lets a plan adapt to your day instead of pretending every day is the same.

e1RM: estimated one-rep max

Your e1RM is what a hard set says your single-rep maximum would be right now. It turns every workout into a strength measurement — without ever loading a true max.

Progressive overload

Muscles adapt to what they are asked to do — then stop. Progressive overload is the practice of asking slightly more over time, and it is the single non-negotiable behind every result.

Tempo: the 4-digit notation

Tempo prescriptions like 3-1-1-0 look cryptic and are read in one breath: seconds down, pause, seconds up, pause. They exist because how fast you move the weight changes what the set trains.

Deload weeks

A deload is a planned easy week. It is not lost progress — it is when the progress you already built becomes visible, because accumulated fatigue stops masking it.

Weekly volume: sets per muscle

Count hard sets per muscle per week. Beginners grow on 6–10, most people do well on 10–15, and usually only advanced lifters need more — up to about 20.

Rest between sets

2–3 minutes for heavy strength work, 60–90 seconds for muscle growth, 45–60 seconds for endurance. Rest is part of the dose: it decides how much of your strength is back for the next set.

Your first month in the gym

Train the whole body two or three times a week, learn five or six basic exercises and start lighter than you think. By the end of the month you should be adding weight almost every week.

How seto rates exercises

Every exercise page carries numbers. This page says where each one comes from, how it is calculated and what it should not be used for.