Walk into most sessions intending to beat last time. Not every lift every day — but the workout as a whole should trend up.
1. Double progression (default)
Pick a rep range. Add reps at a fixed load until you hit the top of the range on your sets, then add load and reset to the bottom.
Example (bench): 4×5 @ 195 → grind reps up to 4×8 @ 195 → move to 205, back to ~5s → repeat.
If you lose reps across sets (5 → 4 → 3), that's fine — progress the set total.
2. Create room for progression
On big lifts, start ~10% below your true max for the rep scheme so you can add the minimum jump for several weeks straight. Setting the bar a little low is what lets you raise it higher later.
If Barbell Bench Press stalls for a couple of weeks but your secondary lifts climb — you're still growing, and the bench will catch up. Only worry when the entire session stalls.
Late-workout isolations may top out on load — doing the same after doing more earlier is itself progress.