A percentage of 1RM assumes the athlete is as strong today as on the day they tested. They rarely are. Sleep, stress, travel and the previous session all move daily readiness up and down. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) lets the athlete’s actual state set the load.
The reps-in-reserve scale
For strength training, the most useful version of RPE ties each number to how many more reps the athlete could have done:
- RPE 10: maximal. No more reps possible.
- RPE 9.5: could not do another rep, but could have added a little load.
- RPE 9: one rep left in the tank.
- RPE 8: two reps left.
- RPE 7: three reps left.
- RPE 6 and below: speed work, warm-ups and technique sets. Hard to rate precisely.
Teaching athletes to rate
Newer athletes usually underestimate how many reps they have left. Ratings get more accurate with practice, especially closer to failure and on lower-rep sets. A few ways to speed this up:
- Ask for a rating after every working set, not just the top set, so it becomes a habit.
- Occasionally take a set to a true RPE 10 on a safe exercise, so the athlete knows what that feels like.
- Compare their rating with bar speed or video when you are there in person.
Programming with RPE
The simplest pattern is a top set at a target RPE followed by back-off sets. For example: work up to a single set of 3 at RPE 8, then do 3 sets of 3 at 90% of that load. On a good day the top set is heavier; on a bad day it is lighter. Either way the stimulus stays about the same.
RPE ranges such as 7–8 give the athlete room on a rough day and still keep them away from failure.
In PeakPlan, turn on RPE tracking for an exercise to prescribe a target RPE or a range and have athletes log the RPE of each set. Their ratings sit next to the loads you prescribed when you review the session.