A moderate pace protects training quality and makes course correction easier. The useful question is not what looks most impressive on paper. It is what decision you can make today and still support next week.
Start here
Use roughly 0.5% of body weight per week as a moderate starting point, then watch energy, training, hunger, and mood.
Use this as a starting experiment rather than a permanent rule. Record what you did, how it felt, and whether performance and recovery remain steady. That information is more valuable than chasing false precision.
Make the smallest useful change, keep it long enough to observe, and adjust from evidence rather than emotion.
A practical example
At 80 kg, that is about 0.4 kg per week—not a requirement to hit exactly every week.
A useful plan leaves room for normal variation. Some sessions will feel unusually easy or hard. Judge the direction across several exposures instead of treating one day as a verdict.
What to watch
A faster rate that damages training or wellbeing is not automatically better.
Sharp pain, chest pain, faintness, neurological symptoms, or unusual shortness of breath are not programming puzzles. Stop and seek appropriate qualified care.
The bottom line
Choose the slowest rate that still feels meaningful and sustainable.
Want STHENO to build this around your schedule, equipment, and starting point?
Build my free plan →