How Method suggests a load: the calculation, the inputs, and when it stays quiet

The calculation

Two steps, both using the same estimated 1RM formula described in Estimated 1RM.

e1RM      = source weight × (1 + (source reps + source RIR) / 30)
suggested = e1RM ÷ (1 + (target reps + target RIR) / 30)

The source set is one you already did. The target reps and target RIR come from the prescription of the set you are about to do. If the prescription is written in RPE, Method converts it to reps in reserve first using the resistance-training RPE scale where RPE 10 is 0 RIR [2]. Decimals are allowed throughout, so a 1.5 RIR target works. Estimating a one rep max from a multiple-rep set is well established and most accurate from lower-rep sets, with prediction error growing beyond about 10 reps [1], which is one reason the suggestion reads your most recent working or back-off set rather than a high-rep one.

Worked example. Your last eligible bench set was 100 kg for 8 at 2 RIR. Today's set asks for 6 reps at 1 RIR.

e1RM      = 100 × (1 + 10 / 30) = 133.33 kg
suggested = 133.33 ÷ (1 + 7 / 30) = 108.11 kg

Method shows 108.11 kg and the sentence "Based on 100 kg x 8 @ 2 RIR on 2026-08-01, 6 reps @ 1 RIR suggests 108.11 kg." The number and the sentence come from the same calculation.

Which set Method reads

Inside the current session first. If you have already completed an eligible set of the same exercise in this workout, the latest one is the source. That keeps the second and third sets anchored to what you just did.

Otherwise, the most recent session with eligible data. Method finds the newest completed workout that contains an eligible set for the exercise and reads from that session only. An older set can never outrank the newest session, even if it matched the prescription better. Within that session, Method prefers a set of the same type, then the same set position, then the closest rep count.

Eligible means weight above zero, reps above zero, reps in reserve recorded, and set type working or backoff. Warm-up, drop, and failure sets are not used as sources.

The search respects your history window, so a free account reads from the last 30 days.

Rounding and units

The calculation runs in kilograms and converts to your display unit, kilograms or pounds. The result is rounded to two decimal places. Method does not round to the nearest plate or to 2.5 kg. That is a deliberate choice. Plate rounding depends on the bar and the plates in front of you, and rounding early would hide the true estimate.

When no suggestion is shown

Method stays quiet rather than guessing. You will see no suggested load when any of these hold.

• The setting is off. Suggested loads are off by default and are turned on in workout preferences; they also need Advanced tracking.
• The exercise is not a weight-and-reps exercise. Bodyweight reps, time, and distance exercises have no load to suggest.
• There is no eligible source set for the exercise, in this session or in your visible history. The first time through a movement, you set the number.
• You have already typed a weight for the set.
• You rejected the suggestion for this set.
• The set is prescribed as a percentage of another set. Those sets use the relative instruction instead.

Relative load instructions are different

A prescription can say "90% of the top set" or "the same as the previous set". That is a load instruction relative to another set in the same session, and it is resolved from what you log today. It is not a percentage of your estimated 1RM. Method has no percent-of-1RM prescription; the estimated 1RM is an analytics number, not a programming input.

What the suggestion is not

It is not a recommendation about whether to go heavier. It does not know how you slept. It does not adjust for how the last set felt beyond the reps in reserve you logged. It is a consistent, explainable arithmetic on your own numbers, meant to remove the setup step of remembering last week. You remain the one who decides the load.