How IP mode works

IP mode is Overachiever's planner for the IP Method (Infinite Progression) developed and taught by coach Jon Walland. The ideas below are his; we've turned what he explains publicly in his videos into a plan generator. For the full picture, watch him explain it.

The ideas

• Progress movement patterns, not exercises. Six patterns: horizontal press, horizontal pull, vertical press, vertical pull, squat and hinge. An exercise is a tool for progressing its pattern.
• Every exercise has a lifecycle. Fast early gains, a productive stretch, then a plateau. The aim is to ride the productive part and move on just before it stalls.
• One key movement per pattern at a time, with a short roster of variations to rotate through.

Each key movement, each week

1. Leading set — your heaviest, hardest set, taken to technical failure (stop when the next rep would need form breakdown).
2. Two back-off sets at about 80% of the leading-set load — slow and controlled, to target-muscle failure.

The leading-set load goes up by a fixed jump every week — 1.25–2.5 kg (about 2.5–5 lb) — whatever the reps did. You start at the top of the rep range and fight to hold it as the load climbs; after a few weeks the reps drift down.

When to swap

When the leading set's reps reach the bottom of the rep range, that variation's lifecycle is over. Note how many weeks it lasted and how much your estimated 1RM rose, then rotate to the next variation in the same pattern and start again at the top of the range. Leaving an exercise at the end of its lifecycle takes the place of a planned deload.

How Overachiever sets it up

• Rep ranges: 6–12 for stable lifts, 8–14 for less stable lifts and for beginners, and 5–10 for strength or bone-health goals and lifters 40+.
• Weekly jumps: +2.5 kg on barbell squats and hinges, +1.25 kg on other barbell and machine lifts, +1 kg on dumbbells (+5 / +2.5 lb).
• Starting load: from a recent hard set you enter (Epley e1RM → load for the top of the range), or a conservative estimate from your profile. The first week on a new variation calibrates it.
• Roster: up to three variations per pattern that fit your equipment and limits, e.g. Bench Press → Close-Grip Bench → Incline Bench.
• Plan preview: the planned weeks assume you beat the bottom of the range each week and show a predicted rotation. Log your real leading sets in the IP tracker and it tells you next week's load or when to swap.
• Accessories use standard double progression.
• Liftosaur: the auto-progressing export includes a script that applies the weekly jump and rotates variations for you.

Watch Jon explain it

• ▶ The IP Method (Infinite Progression)
• ▶ The Infinite Progression model: systemising growth and extending lifecycles
• ▶ Why exercises die: the anatomy of a plateau
• ▶ The IP Method: identify & reinforce weak points
• ▶ Anchor → Reinforce → Transfer: how to fix weak points

More on his channel: youtube.com/@jonwallandcoach.

Overachiever is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jon Walland. “IP Method” and “Infinite Progression” refer to his work; any errors in our interpretation are ours. His coaching clients get tools (such as his load-jump calculator) that are not reproduced here.