Progress is a decision about the next demand, not a reward for finishing the calendar week. Sometimes the next useful step is to follow the planned increase. Sometimes it is to repeat, reduce, pause or get advice.

Start with the plan you are using

A reviewed Training plan already sets out its sequence, easier weeks and starting requirements. Follow that structure rather than adding a separate percentage rule or extra session. More distance, more time, more speed and more days are all changes in demand; adding several together can make the step hard to interpret.

Before moving on, ask:

• Did I complete enough of the current work to understand how it fits me?
• Was the intended easy effort actually easy?
• Am I recovering between sessions and managing the rest of my week?
• Is pain, illness or another concern changing the decision?
• Does the next step still serve the goal I chose?

These questions do not produce a medical clearance or a universal formula. They help you identify which decision needs more attention.

Four valid decisions

Continue when the plan still fits and the next step is understandable.

Repeat when another exposure would give you useful practice or the week was too disrupted to judge. Repeating is not a punishment.

Change when the routine, route, plan or goal no longer matches your circumstances. Use the plan’s own guidance or choose a better-fitting plan rather than rewriting isolated sessions at random.

Pause and get advice when symptoms, injury, illness or uncertainty about suitability need individual assessment. The healthdirect exercise guide gives general warning signs, but it cannot assess your situation.

Imagine you complete most of a week but every easy outing becomes hard because of heat and poor sleep. The calendar says progress; your observations suggest first changing the conditions and seeing whether the current work is manageable. That is a reasoned decision, not lost progress.

Your next step: before the next increase, write one word — continue, repeat, change or pause — and one sentence explaining the evidence for it. If you are using an RGN schedule, make the decision with the full plan open in Training.