Load-velocity & load-power profiles — Docs

A load-velocity profile is the relationship between load and bar speed. Light loads move fast, heavy loads move slow, and the slope of that line is unique to each lifter on each lift.

Metric builds your profiles automatically as you record sets. Profiles power e1RM, today’s load suggestions, velocity-based stop conditions, and readiness comparisons.

Where to find them

Performance → Profiles, or from the per-exercise page in your exercise library.

Each exercise with enough data shows:

A load-velocity chart — sets plotted as load vs mean velocity with a fitted line.
A load-power chart — same, but plotting power. Power peaks at a particular load — your “peak power load”.
Confidence indicators — based on how many sets, how wide a load range, and how recent.

How the profile is built

For each set:

Metric pulls the mean velocity from the set’s best rep.
Plots load vs velocity.
Fits a regression line through all points.
Updates as new sets land.

After 5–10 working sets across a meaningful load range, the line is robust enough that single-set noise doesn’t move it.

Why load range matters

A profile built only at 70–80% has a narrow data range. Extrapolating to 100% (for e1RM) introduces error proportional to the extrapolation distance.

Profiles built across 50–95% are tighter. Even one or two sets at 90%+ across a block significantly improves profile quality. No true 1RM test needed — heavy singles or doubles anchor the line.

How profiles change over time

Two patterns:

Profile shifts upward — entire line moves up across a productive training block. The strength-improvement signal.
Profile slope changes — the relationship between load and velocity itself shifts. Signals a technical change, equipment change, or that the profile was previously biased.

Metric weights recent data more heavily so profiles adapt to current performance rather than getting stuck on old data.

Load-power profile

Power = velocity × load × gravity. Plotted across loads, power forms an inverted U:

Light loads: high velocity, low load → moderate power.
Heavy loads: low velocity, high load → moderate power.
Mid loads → peak power.

The peak power load is where you produce the most power on a given lift. For most compound lifts, this sits around 30–60% of 1RM. Useful for power-development blocks.

Using profiles in programming

Velocity-targeted load. “Working set should be at the load where mean velocity is 0.6 m/s.” Read the load off the chart.

Velocity-loss programming. Set a stop condition (e.g. 20% velocity loss). The profile tells you the threshold for any load.

Peak power loads for power blocks. Read peak power off the load-power chart, prescribe that load for explosive work.

Tracking specific changes. Compare your profile from 3 months ago to today. The shape of the change tells you what improved.

Profile per exercise

Each exercise has its own profile. High-bar squat ≠ low-bar squat ≠ front squat. Don’t share a profile across variations.

Coach view

Coaches see each athlete’s profiles in the same format. Useful for:

Identifying athletes who’d benefit from heavier or lighter work based on where their peak power load sits.
Comparing slope changes across the roster after a block.
Building athlete-specific velocity prescriptions.

What’s not in the profile

Bodyweight changes. Metric doesn’t auto-correct. Large changes (moving up a weight class) may warrant rebuilding the profile from recent data only.
Equipment changes. A different bar (axle, SSB, log) creates a different profile. Treat each piece of equipment as a different lift.
Technical changes. Stance, grip, or technique changes shift the profile. Expect a few weeks of recalibration.