What is an MVT?
MVT stands for Minimum Velocity Threshold, measured in metres per second (m/s). It is the barbell velocity at which an athlete is considered to be lifting their 1 rep max or the slowest speed they can move a maximal load. Perch uses each athlete's Load‑Velocity (LV) profile together with their MVT to calculate an Estimated 1RM: the point on their velocity curve that meets the MVT is treated as their 1RM.
All tracked exercises have MVTs set as default. You can customise your MVT to fine‑tune the Estimated 1RM for a specific exercise or specific athlete. Raising your athlete's MVT will decrease their estimated 1RM as the intercept of the LV curve moves left. Decreasing your athlete's MVT will increase their estimated 1RM as the intercept of the LV curve moves right
Custom MVT is a premium feature. If it is not included in your plan, the MVT fields are read‑only and show a lock icon.
How to set an exercise MVT
An exercise MVT applies to every athlete performing that exercise, unless an individual athlete has their own override. There are two places to set it.
From the exercise edit modal:
- Go to Org Admin > 1RMs and select the exercise from the exercise picker.
- Click the settings (gear) icon next to the exercise name to open the Edit exercise modal.
- In the Settings section, find the Entered MVT field. The greyed‑out placeholder shows the current default MVT the exercise falls back to.
- Type your value in m/s and click Save.
From the 1RM page toolbar:
- With a tracked exercise selected on the 1RMs page, an Entered MVT field appears inline in the toolbar.
- Enter a value in m/s and click Save.
- To remove your override and return to Perch's default, click Reset (“Reset to default MVT”).
How to set an athlete's MVT
An athlete MVT overrides the exercise default for that one athlete only. You can set it from the 1RM page or from the athlete's profile.
From the 1RM page:
- Go to Org Admin > 1RMs and select a tracked exercise. Each athlete appears as a row, with an Entered MVT column.
- To edit an athletes MVT double click their row or click the pencil icon on the left hand side.
- Enter the athlete's MVT in m/s and click Save.
- To remove the athlete MVT, clear the field. The athlete reverts to the exercise‑level MVT.
From the athlete profile:
- Open the athlete's profile and select the exercise tab, then find the Load Velocity Profile card.
- Turn on the MVT toggle above the chart to show the MVT line and reveal the Minimum Velocity Threshold editor.
- Enter a value in the Entered MVT field (in m/s). The MVT line and the Estimated 1 Rep Max update live on the chart as you type.
- Click Save to apply, or Reset to return to the exercise level MVT. When an MVT has been changed from the default, the Estimated 1RM is shown with an asterisk (*).
What is an Estimated 1RM?
Perch supports two kinds of 1 rep max:
- Entered 1RM - a training max you enter yourself (or upload in bulk via Upload 1RMs). This is a fixed, coach‑supplied number.
- Estimated 1RM - a value Perch calculates automatically from each athlete's Load‑Velocity profile and their MVT. It updates as the athlete lifts, so it reflects their current capability without you re‑testing a true max.
The 1 RM column on the 1RMs page shows the effective 1RM Perch actually uses when programming % weight in PLAN or on the tablet. Which value drives that number, entered or estimated , is controlled by the 1RM Setting.
How to set entered vs estimated at the exercise level
The exercise‑level setting is the default applied to every athlete on that exercise unless they have their own override.
- On the 1RMs page, use the Default %1RM Setting dropdown in the toolbar, or open the exercise edit modal and find the same setting in the Settings section.
- Choose one of: Entered (use the training max you enter), Estimated (use Perch's calculated max), or Linked (derive from another exercise's 1RM by a percentage).
- Estimated 1RMs are only selectable for tracked exercises.
- If you choose Linked, pick a Linked Exercise and enter a % Linked. The changes save when you confirm.
How to set entered vs estimated at the athlete level
You can override the exercise default for an individual athlete from the 1RM Setting column on the 1RMs page.
- Go to Org Admin > 1RMs and select the exercise. Each athlete row has a 1RM Setting cell. If the athlete has no override, it shows the exercise default greyed out.
- Click the Edit (pencil) action on the row, then choose Entered, Estimated, or Linked from the dropdown.
- As at the exercise level, Estimated is disabled if it is not on your plan or the exercise is untracked.
- Click Save. To remove the athlete's override and revert to the exercise default, clear the setting.
Note: Selecting a Linked Exercise for an athlete automatically sets that athlete's 1RM Setting to Linked.