Using The RPE Scale

First off for those that don’t know what RPE is it is “The Rate of Perceived Exertion it takes to move a weight an amount of reps” RPE is a very powerful tool to use instead of say percentages in your weight training.

Whats wrong with percentage based programs?

– well nothing is so to say “wrong” with them. They do work and they work for a lot of people thats why percentage based training is all the rage right now. The one thing percentage based training does not account for those is how you are feeling the day, hour, minute and second that u are lifting the weight. For example lets say you are on a percentage based program using a 5×5 on squats. Your percentage today for your working sets is 80%. Well lets now say you just are tired today, you did not sleep the best the night before this workout and your energy is just off. This guy is going to push himself to do this 80% workload even tho he is not feeling it at all. in fact his chance of injury has just gone way up. Your probably saying well he could just lower the weight for that day then, and you are correct he could but then when he did he would probably feel bad about it later that he could not do 80% that day even tho he could do it fine the week before. That kind of thing will really mess with your head. Lets now say this same guy was using an RPE scale instead of percentage based. On this guys schedule he has an 5×5 of an RPE of 8-9. That means he has to choose a weight that will allow him to get his 5 reps but also allow him to know he could have also went for a rep or more extra each set. Do you noticed something different here? you should. Instead of a set weight amount that was determined from his one rep max he is using the weight that will allow him to complete the program and still feel good doing it. So even if he had a rough night and was not feeling this workout he could use the RPE to his benefit and lower the weight and still feel he had a fantastic workout instead of being disappointed about the percentage.

Sounds good on paper but is it as effective as Percentage based programs?

– The big thing with RPE training is that you have to be completely honest with yourself. This type of training will not work for those people that just want to lift heavy as freaking possible despite bad form every workout and it will also not work for people that are timid and scared to get under some real working weight. You have to be completely honest with how you are feeling at the time you are doing the set. You must know your body very well for this to work. In my opinion Percentage based training is what everyone should start with but as you get more comfortable with heavier weights you can switch to more of an RPE style of training.

Can beginners use this?

Like i said above beginners can use it but u must be honest with how you feel every workout to make gains from this. For that reason i still recommend people start with a percentage based program till they get more of a feel for training and making progressive gains.

The RPE Scale that i use myself (higher the number the more intense the set is)

• RPE 10 (you hit absolute failure, no chance in hell you could get another rep, if you tried to chances are you would fail)
• RPE 9 (You are so close to failure but u might have one more rep in the tank if you absolutely had too)
• RPE 8 (Could have done 2-3 more reps but still very challenging)
• RPE 7 (Bar Speed is quick and snappy with maximal force applied) (good for de-loads)
• RPE 6 and below are warm up weights
• anything lower does not matter

Using this scale will allow you too always make the most of your workout program even when you are not feeling your best or when you did not get enough sleep because you wanted to stay up later watching your favorite TV shows (come on i know I’m not the only one :D). This type of training will really teach you how far “you” can go and not what a percentage thinks “you” can do.

How do i log this in my workout journal?

– this is very simple and a lot easier and less writing that a percentage based program. I simply use this format.

• Ex: – Squats 5×5 200lbs RPE 9
  see how simple that is :D

Can you use this method for bodybuilding as well as powerlifting?

– Yep you sure can. RPE is just you being honest with yourself at the Rate of Perceived Exertion it takes to move a weight in a given set. If your doing 10 reps or 3 reps it can be used the same way. For example a simple bodybuilding Exercise would be say “lateral raises” well then your working sets would probably be around 4×8-10 reps and you would want your RPE to be about 8-10RPE for muscle growth (specially on hypertrophy days where you want to train more toward failure) you can also use it on drop sets and back drops as well.

What About De-Load Weeks? How does that work with RPE. With percentages its just easy, you simply drop to 50%

– De-loads are the same and can be treated the same as your hard training cycles. Above you might have noticed how i outlined in the scale above what a de-load RPE would be. simple to say a 7 RPE would be a good place for a de-load workout which would be “Bar Speed is quick and snappy with minimal force applied”. If you wanted to up the work on a de-load you could boost it to an RPE 8 but remember a de-load is to recover, so don’t try and push to an RPE 9 on a de-load unless its a conservative max set.

You will notice that once you log your RPE’s longer and longer you will start to see patterns arise and with those patterns you will learn your body more and more and get stronger at the same time. All while still lifting an amount you safely can do when the time comes. For any other questions you might have on RPE training just shoot me an email at fausey14@gmail.com or leave a comment below.