If you’ve been training for a while, you are familiar with percentage work and 1 RM (the maximum amount of weight that you can lift for 1 repetition of an exercise) to choose the appropriate weight for an exercise based on the desired intensity or percentage for the day.
This can be a helpful way to train most of the time but it’s not the end all/be all. There are circumstances that will dictate when just doing percentage work isn’t the most optimal way to train. This is where two training tools I’d like to address can be VERY beneficial to your training program
When we train, some of us know or ask, what should this feel like? A coach might respond with 8/10 on difficulty or roughly 80% (sometimes) There is much more to maximizing our training than just using percentages of our 1 RM (Rep Max) or “give me 50% Effort.” Some people might not be able to quantify what 50% might feel like. (Trust me, I tell people to do 70% and they do closer to 90% at times) This isn’t their fault, they just need to be taught a better way to quantify things. That’s where RPE and RIR will come into play.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) and RIR (Reps in Reserve), never heard of them? Don’t worry because I will give you the rundown of them today. Have heard of them, but never utilized them, well after reading this today, you will have a better understanding of how to implement them into your training regimen.
Now let’s say I don’t know my 1RM for a certain exercise, but you want to make sure you are making the proper progress then RIR is a quick and relatively easy way to choose the right weight to help you reach your goals.
What is RIR exactly?
Reps in Reserve (RIR) is a method to measure the intensity of a lift or how many more reps you could do after you've finished your prescribed number in any given working set or hitting technical failure.
RIR is not static, which allows us to maintain the prescribed volume of training and to develop greater awareness of training and perception of the limitations and capacities of the body.
RIR Example:
If your program prescribed 4 sets of 12 reps with a suggested RIR of 3 but you struggle to complete the first set, (you couldn’t do another rep) let alone 3.
This is a good indication that you need to reduce the weight on subsequent sets to ensure you can complete all 4 sets and hit your volume target WITH RIR.
Now, time for RPE
RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion is a subjective measure of how hard something feels both physically and mentally for you in that specific workout on that specific day. You might perceive the same effort as harder or easier on a different day for any number of reasons—your fatigue level, illness, weather, or mental fatigue even makes a workout feel harder.
Like RIR, it’s a method used to measure exercise intensity. The RPE scale typically runs from 0 to 10, with zero being nothing and 10 being the hardest you could possibly exert yourself. The difference is that the lifter reports how they feel (RPE) versus the number of repetitions they could still perform (RIR). We do this utilizing physical cues such as breathing, heart rate, sweating, and muscle fatigue.
Although the RPE measure was originally used for cardio workouts, it is also used to help lifters determine their intensity of effort.
Side Note:
On the cardio side of things, your coach might give you target paces or heart rate zones to hit. RPE provides a more universal scale to measure exercise exertion. Think of those days the tempo workout feels like an all-out sprint! That’s where RPE can come in handy as an additional piece of information to check your intensity (see table 1B below)
When we train, some of us know or ask, “what should this feel like?” A coach might respond with 8/10 on difficulty or roughly 80%(sometimes) There is much more to maximizing our training than just using percentages of our 1 RM (Rep Max) or “give me 50% Effort.” Some people might not be able to quantify what 50% might feel like. (Trust me, I tell people to do 70% and they do closer to 90% at times) This isn’t their fault, they just need to be taught a better way to quantify things. That’s where RPE and RIR will come into play.
Applying RPE and RIR
Now that we have a base understanding let's see how we can apply utilizing RPE and RIR together. Example: You get your program from your coach, and it says, “Do 4 sets of 10 with 8 RPE and 2 reps RIR.”
Written might look like this:
"XYZ EXERCISE" 4 X 10; 8 RPE / 2 RIR
WEEK 1 you do 100lbs. x 10 with no issues and know you can do 2 more reps for a total of 12 (2 RIR).
WEEK 2 you try to do 100lbs but instead of easily getting 10 reps you barely get them done (0 RIR)
Then, in this case, the weight at 100lbs isn't 8 RPE but now 10 RPE. this means you would have to do less weight to adhere to the 8 RPE & 2 RIR.
Here is a visual guide to the relationship between RPE, RIR, and the EFFORT that coincides with them when it pertains to resistance training:
Table 1A: Resistance Training
Table 1B: Cardiovascular
What does this mean for you?
Now that you understand how both RPE and RIR work, let’s review why you should use this training method.
First, utilizing RPE and RIR will be subjective. It will adjust to how hard something feels both physically and mentally for you, in that specific workout on that specific day. (Remember the example given above?)
They are an Autoregulation method to alter your training intensity based on how you feel on a particular day. You have listened to yourself based on the feedback provided by your body and altered the workout intensity accordingly.
Since these elements will vary from time to time, a flat percentage-based program can be inadequate as it doesn’t take the full picture into consideration. This does not mean that you don’t try to follow as prescribed, but a more complete program utilizing these two tools will get you closer to your goals since it is almost impossible for progress to be constantly linear.
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