Workout Shorthand Explained: How to Read Gym Notation

Workout shorthand is a compact way to record what you lifted using numbers and symbols like 3x5, @, and RPE 8 instead of full sentences, and the most common piece, 3x5, simply means three sets of five reps. Learn a small handful of these symbols and you can log an entire session in a few seconds, then still understand exactly what you did weeks later.

If you keep your training in a notebook or your phone's notes app, you already write some version of this. Maybe it looks like Bench 60x5,5,5 or SQ 100 3x5-8. It feels obvious in the moment and then, three weeks later, you stare at RDL 80 4x8 @7 and wonder what the last number meant. This guide fixes that. It decodes the gym notation you already see on program sheets and in your own logs, so your shorthand stays fast to write and easy to read back.

What Workout Shorthand Means: Sets, Reps, and Weight

Almost all workout shorthand is built on one core pattern: sets, reps, and load. Get these three and you can read most of what any coach or app throws at you.

Sets times reps: what 3x5 means

The number x number format is sets times reps. In 3x5, the first number is the number of sets and the second is the reps per set, so it means three sets of five reps. The x just stands for "of." A 4x12 is four sets of twelve.

There is one honest wrinkle worth knowing. Sets almost always come first, but a small group of old-school lifters write it the other way (reps first), so 5x3 in their notation means five sets of three. As the coaches at Testify Strength & Conditioning point out, the reliable convention is that reps are the second number. Pick one order, write it the same way every time, and your history stays readable.

You will also see a rep range instead of a single number. This is exactly what a search like 3x5-8 means: three sets of five to eight reps. It tells you to stay in that window and add weight once you can hit the top of the range on every set.

Adding weight: the @ and x symbols

Load usually gets tacked on with @ or another x. All of these say the same thing:

• Bench 3x5 @ 60kg means three sets of five at 60kg.
• Bench 60 3x5 puts the weight first, still three sets of five at 60.
• Bench 60x5,5,5 lists each set's reps after the weight, which is handy when your reps drop set to set.

That last style, listing actual reps per set, is the most useful for tracking, because it records what really happened rather than the plan. Squat 100x5,5,4 tells the true story: the last set fell short, which is a signal for next week.

The Workout Shorthand Cheat Sheet

Here is the notation you will meet most often, in one place. Keep this glossary handy until the symbols feel automatic.

Intensity Shorthand: RPE, RIR, AMRAP, and Failure

Beyond sets and reps, most shorthand exists to record how hard a set was. This is the part people forget the meaning of, so it is worth nailing.

RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion. It is a 1 to 10 scale for how hard a set felt, originally developed by Swedish researcher Gunnar Borg in the 1960s, as explained by NASM. In the gym, an RPE 10 means you could not have done another rep, and every point below that is one more rep you had left. RPE 8 means roughly two reps in the tank.

RIR (reps in reserve) is the same idea stated directly: the number of clean reps you could still have done at the end of a set. RIR 2 equals RPE 8. Gauging effort this way is a validated method for managing training intensity, according to a study in the journal published on PubMed Central, and most working sets sit around RPE 7 to 9 (one to three reps in reserve).

AMRAP means as many reps as possible: do a single set and rep out until you cannot maintain form. It usually appears as 1xAMRAP and is a common way to test progress. The related to F or to failure note simply flags that a set was pushed until the rep failed.

Programming Shorthand: Supersets, Drop Sets, and Tempo

The last cluster of notation describes how sets are arranged.

• Supersets pair two exercises with no rest between them. You will see them written as SS, or as A1/A2 (and B1/B2), where matching letters are performed back to back.
• Drop sets (DS) mean you hit a set, immediately strip weight, and keep going. 3x12 DS is three sets of twelve, each followed by a drop.
• Rep schemes like 21-15-9 or 5/3/1 list the reps for successive sets. The popular 5/3/1 program, for example, prescribes top sets of five, then three, then one across a training week.
• Tempo is written as three or four digits, one per phase of a rep, in seconds. 4010 on a squat means four seconds down, zero pause at the bottom, one second up, zero pause at the top.

You do not need to memorize all of these at once. Learn the sets-and-reps core, add RPE, and pick up the rest as your programs use them.

How to Write Down Workouts So You Can Read Them Back

Knowing the symbols is half the job. The other half is writing them consistently so your log is still useful in three months. A few habits make the difference:

1. Date every session. Put the date at the top before anything else. Without it, your numbers are trivia, not a trend.
2. Pick one order and never switch. Decide on sets-then-reps (or the reverse) and stick with it. Mixed notation is the fastest way to make old logs unreadable.
3. Record what happened, not the plan. Write 100x5,5,4, not 3x5, when the reps actually dropped. The real numbers are what tell you when to push and when to hold.
4. Note the load unit once. If you train in kg, do not randomly log a machine in lb without saying so.
5. Use the margin for context. A quick left knee tight or slept badly explains a bad session later far better than the numbers alone.

If you want a ready-made structure to drop this into, our free Apple Notes workout templates give you a clean plain-text layout for PPL, upper/lower, and full-body splits that already follows these rules.

Where should you keep your workout shorthand?

Shorthand works in any tool. The real question is what each tool does with it after you write it down.

The trade-off is consistent. Paper and notes apps let you write shorthand any way you like but never turn it into charts. Traditional gym apps produce charts but force you out of your shorthand and into their menus. The ideal is the freedom of plain text plus the analysis of an app.

From Shorthand to Trackable Data

If you already log in shorthand and it works for you, do not throw that habit away. The one thing your notebook or notes app cannot do is answer "is my bench actually going up?" without you flipping pages and adding numbers in your head.

That gap is exactly what Gym Note Plus is built to close. Instead of a routine builder, it reads the shorthand you already write. You paste or photograph a log like Bench 60x5,5,5, and it parses that into a structured session with volume, an estimated one-rep max, and a progress chart, without changing how you write anything.

What you get by keeping your shorthand and adding the data layer:

• No new interface to learn. Log the way you already do, in plain text.
• Automatic charts. See your squat or bench trend across months instead of guessing.
• Estimated 1RM. Common formulas such as Epley (weight x (1 + reps/30)) and Brzycki turn your working sets into a strength number, as documented on Wikipedia, so a search like 225x8 becomes a tracked estimate instead of a one-off calculation.
• A real backup. Your history is safe even if the notebook is not.

For a full walkthrough of the conversion, see our guide on how to convert your gym notes into trackable data.

TL;DR:

• Workout shorthand is sets, reps, and load written compactly: 3x5 means three sets of five, and 3x5-8 means three sets of five to eight reps.
• @ sets the weight or RPE; RPE 8 and RIR 2 both mean about two reps left in the tank; AMRAP means max reps in one set.
• Programming notation covers supersets (SS, A1/A2), drop sets (DS), rep schemes (5/3/1, 21-15-9), and tempo (4010).
• Write it consistently (date it, keep one order, log what happened) and any tool can store it, but only an app that reads your shorthand will chart it for you.

Final Takeaways

• Master the core first. Sets times reps, plus weight, covers the vast majority of what you will ever log.
• Learn RPE early. It is the single most useful piece of shorthand for tracking effort and knowing when to add weight.
• Consistency beats completeness. One notation, written the same way every session, is worth more than a perfect system you abandon.
• Do not re-enter your data. When you want charts and searchable history, use a tool that reads your existing shorthand rather than making you start over.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 3x5 mean in a workout?

3x5 means three sets of five reps. The first number is sets, the second is reps per set, and the x stands for "of." A variation like 3x5-8 means three sets of five to eight reps, staying inside that rep range.

Does the first number mean sets or reps?

By the standard convention, the first number is sets and the second is reps, so 4x8 is four sets of eight. A minority of lifters reverse it, so the safest rule is that reps are the second number. Whatever you choose, keep it identical across every log.

What does @ mean in workout notation?

@ means "at." It usually introduces the weight (3x5 @ 60kg) or the target effort (1x3 @ RPE 8). Some people use it for both in the same line, for example 3x5 @ 60kg @ RPE 8.

What is RPE in the gym?

RPE is rate of perceived exertion, a 1 to 10 scale for how hard a set felt. RPE 10 means no reps left, and each point lower means one more rep in reserve, so RPE 8 is about two reps short of failure.

How do I turn my workout shorthand into progress charts?

Use a tool that reads your existing notation instead of making you re-enter everything. Gym Note Plus lets you paste or photograph shorthand like Bench 60x5,5,5 and converts it into structured logs with volume, estimated one-rep max, and charts automatically.