RPE 101
Breaking down Rate of Perceived Exertion and giving you some ideas on how to use it in a programme
Hello! Today we’re going to cover RPE, the Rate of Perceived Exertion. I’ll explain what this is and how you can incorporate it into your training, and more specifically to incorporate it into your progressive overload.
What is RPE?
RPE is a way of self-assessing your level of exertion on a scale of 1-10. I came across this concept when using the Strong app mid-workout (More on that here) and was a bit confused. The app gave a decent explanation but I wasn’t really aware of how or why you’d use it until recently.
This scale can be like this:
RPE 10 - Maximum Exertion (No more reps left, even if you had a gun to your head)
RPE 9 - 1 Rep in Reserve (RIR)
RPE 8 - 2 RIR
RPE 7 - 3 RIR
You get the idea.
One problem that may crop up with this is that beginners in particular (although more intermediate lifters might struggle with this too!) may not be able to accurately assess how hard they’re pushing themselves.
A good way to test how good your estimates are is to do what’s referred to as an RPE Test - It’s pretty simple.
Complete an exercise, and when you feel like you have 2 or 3 reps left, call out to a friend or, if you don’t have any of those, make a mental note of what your RPE Prediction is. Then, continue to failure. If your guess of how many reps to failure was on point, then continue to log RPE as you were, but if not, make a note of your perceived RPE vs. your actual RPE, and repeat this a few times over the coming days to make sure your guestimations are improving until you’re getting it in and around the right range.
How should you use this?
RPE is great for load prescription - that is, how much weight you should be lifting. A good range is around 6-8 RPE for most lifts, but I’d recommend giving my post on training intensity a read first, as it goes into a lot more detail about how hard you should be pushing.
You can also use it for progressive overload, increasing the RPE range every week rather than perhaps weight. This gives you a bit more flexibility, allowing you to autoregulate load to the present circumstances - if you had a bad night’s sleep the day before, you can reduce the weight a little, and conversely if you’re feeling particularly strong, you can up it a bit.
This method has actually been shown in scientific literature to elicit greater strength improvements than using a fixed programme, so this is definitely worth taking a look at applying to your training.
Conclusion
When making your next programme, consider using RPE as the focus metric for your progressive overload, as it might just improve your gains and keep you from both under and overtraining. Remember to test your RPE-savviness first using a couple tests with a fellow gym bro to make sure you’re training in the right range!
Check out some of my other posts for some more bodybuilding science, and do yourself a favour and subscribe to the Substack - you’ll get content like this multiple times a week, totally for free. It’s a win-win for both of us.
Anything in particular you found interesting or confusing? Let me know in the comments or reach out to me on Instagram!
Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon!
- Tom
Sources:
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/2021/09000/Autoregulation_by__Repetitions_in_Reserve__Leads.14.aspx
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cTkVBpeCMk
DISCLAIMER
The content provided in these posts are designed to be educational and informative. I am not a medical doctor, psychologist, therapist, nutritionist, or registered dietitian. The contents of these emails should not be seen as medical, psychological, dietary, nutritional, or healthcare advice of any kind. Always consult a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.