Write your sets in one line: 10x40, 6x60x50x40 and the rest

Most people who log their training on paper or in a notes app end up with the same habit: one line per set, reps and weight joined by an x. 10x40. 8x50. It is fast, it fits on a phone screen, and you can read it back months later.

The trouble starts with anything that is not a plain set. Where does a drop set go? How do you write a pull-up with a belt, or the assisted machine? This guide sets out one way to write all of them, the same way Liftorra reads them.

Reps first, then weight

The order is always reps x weight:

• 10x40 is 10 reps at 40 kg.
• 8x42,5 is 8 reps at 42.5 kg. A decimal comma is fine.
• 10x100lb is 10 reps at 100 lb, if you want to be explicit about the unit.

Reps first matters because it keeps the next rule simple: everything after the first x is a weight.

Drop sets: keep adding weights

A drop set is one set where you lower the weight and keep going without a real rest. Write the weights one after another:

• 6x60x50x40 is 6 reps at 60 kg, then a drop to 50 kg, then to 40 kg.

When you type a single set like this on the keypad and the drops have no rep count of their own, Liftorra gives each drop the same reps as the set: 6, 6 and 6 in this example. If your drops had different reps, or you are entering several sets at once, write each part as reps x weight, joined by an arrow:

• 6x60->8x50->10x40 is 6 at 60, then 8 at 50, then 10 at 40.

Bodyweight, added weight and assistance

For pull-ups, dips, push-ups and similar, the “weight” is what you add to or take off your bodyweight:

• 12xbw (or just 12) is 12 reps at bodyweight.
• 10xbw+10 is 10 reps with 10 kg added, on a belt or in a vest.
• 8x-20 is 8 reps with 20 kg of assistance, on an assisted pull-up or dip machine.

Writing assistance as a negative number keeps the maths honest: an assisted rep with less help is progress, and the number goes up towards zero as you get stronger.

Several sets at once

Separate sets with a comma, a semicolon or a new line:

10x40, 8x50, 6x60->6x50->6x40

That is three sets, the last one with two drops. When you enter several sets at once, give the drops their reps with the arrow form (6x60->6x50->6x40) so each drop counts towards your volume. Anything you write after a set, like 10x40 slow, is kept as that set’s note.

Why a shorthand at all

Because the fastest log is the one you actually keep. A tap on a prefilled row is quicker still, which is why Liftorra fills in what you did last time. But when the numbers change, typing 6x60x50x40 is quicker than four fields and two taps on “add drop”.

You can try it without an account in the logging demo on the home page, see every format in the docs, or work out what 6 x 60 is worth as a one-rep max with the 1RM calculator.

How this post was made. Every claim links to its source. Drafts may be written with AI help; each one is checked against the linked studies and reviewed by the person who runs Liftorra before it is published. Spotted a mistake? Write to hello@liftorra.com.