Understanding RIR and RPE: Autoregulation for More Effective Training

Introduction

If your strength training program doesn't include either RIR or RPE, it probably should. Without one or the other, your training plan is incomplete, and this article will explain why.

RIR is an abbreviation for Reps In Reserve, meaning how many reps shy of failure you are stopping. For example, 2 RIR is stopping when you think you could've done two more reps.

RPE is Rate of Perceived Exertion. In the powerlifting world, it is generally a value on a scale of 1 through 10, where RPE 10/10 is maximal. RPE is often used similarly to reps in reserve, so RPE 10 means you couldn't have done another rep if you tried, RPE 9 means you could've done one more, RPE 8 means you could've done two more, etc. So RPE is basically ten minus the number of reps left in the tank. However, not everyone uses RPE this way - some people simply use it as a one through ten subjective difficulty rating, so you should always make sure you know which definition is being used when discussing RPE or following a training plan based around it.

RIR is my personal preference for two reasons. First, there's no possible confusion as to which version of the RPE scale you're using (subjective difficulty or reps remaining). Second, if you're describing how many more reps you think you could do, why not keep it simple and just say that value rather than complicating it and saying ten minus the reps remaining? RIR wins for simplicity.

Many people's first response to RIR/RPE is something like "Aw dude, that sounds complicated," but I promise it isn't. Whether you realize it or not, you've used RPE before. Your first day ever in the gym, you grabbed a weight and went "Woah, that was a little too heavy" or "Yeah, I could go up a bit more." These are both perceived exertion. RPE/RIR just aims to quantify and clarify this in a way that can be easily communicated between people.

Benefits of RIR/RPE

Here's why every training plan should have either RIR or RPE - they are prescriptions of difficulty. They tell you how hard the set should be.

You may be wondering, "Can't I just use percent of one rep max for that?" But no, it isn't the same. Percent 1RM simply prescribes a specific weight, not a desired difficulty level. There may be an assumption behind that percentage of how hard it will be, but there are some factors that can influence whether or not it actually is the intended difficulty.

For example, imagine you went on a really long and tiring hike yesterday, stayed up all night preparing for a presentation, and/or your significant other broke up with you and you're distraught - all of these things may impact your performance in the gym (likely negatively). Conversely, imagine you are super well rested, fed, and relaxed, because you've been having a perfect week - you might be ready to perform extra well. If your training plan only includes percentage of one rep max (1RM), you're expected to do the same weight regardless of which of these two situations you are in, even though the difficulty of that set would likely be different in the two scenarios.

In the negative scenario, you would probably want to dial it back a little bit since you likely won't be performing your best. In the positive scenario, you may be able to push a little extra if the weights are moving really well. This is the concept of autoregulation - having your training adjust to your performance on that given day.

RIR and RPE allow for autoregulation because we are saying how challenging of a set we want rather than what specific weight to use. Your set of three reps with 2 RIR may be 350 lbs on a good day, but could be adjusted down to 330 lbs on a bad one. This gets the desired training effect even on that day you are fatigued, rather than using a fixed weight that would've been extra hard compared to intended. Furthermore, if you are having a rough day but force the fixed percentage weight, you're beating yourself up with a harder than intended session and fatiguing yourself even further, potentially making the situation worse.

It's important to realize though that autoregulation should be done based on performance and not emotions. There have been many days where I felt tired or just not 100% when going into the gym so I may have expected to dial back, but then the weights still moved amazingly well so I stuck to the plan or even pushed it. There have been other days where I was excited to train but the weights just weren't moving as quickly or easily as normal, so I had to pull back a little bit. Make sure you're autoregulating based on how lifting is feeling rather than on your generalized emotional feelings. We want to adjust training IF factors outside the gym are reducing performance, not on the assumption that they will, because oftentimes you'll still perform okay. Therefore, regardless of how you expect the session to go, it is important that you pay attention to how your warmup sets are actually moving so that you can make the right call for what weight to use for your work sets. The very first few light warmups sets are much less important, but as you get closer and closer to your working weight the warmup sets should get more telling as to how the day will be.

There are a few other benefits to RIR/RPE beyond just autoregulation. First, you won't know your 1RM for every exercise. You likely have some idea on squat, bench, and deadlift, but how about variations like a floor press or a tempo squat with a 4 count lowering and 2 count pause? We don't need to know a 1RM for every exercise and variation, and we definitely don't need to test it every time before programming a new exercise - instead we can just prescribe a desired difficulty with RIR or RPE.

RIR/RPE also adjusts for progress in a way that %1RM doesn't, which is especially helpful for beginners who may make rapid progress as they start lifting. Similarly, even if you aren't new to training but you start doing an exercise you haven't done much before, you may make lots of progress on it quickly. In either of these scenarios, the RIR/RPE is a target difficulty rather than a specific weight, so it adjusts with your changing strength level.

Additionally, there is some individual variance in terms of what %1RM someone can do for different rep ranges. Some people are better at higher reps, and others better at lower reps. For example, newer lifters tend to be disproportionately good at higher rep ranges because their lower rep, heavier weight sets are still limited by their developing coordination and movement patterns rather than true strength output. RIR and RPE can adjust for these individual differences in ability at various rep ranges because we are prescribing a desired difficulty for the set rather than weight.

If you plan to compete in powerlifting, another benefit of using RIR/RPE is that it teaches you to be reflective of how much more you think you've got. This is incredibly helpful on meet day when you need to choose a weight for your next attempt.

How to Use RIR/RPE

So how do you know what weight to use for a target RIR/RPE?

Well, how do you know what weight to use on any exercise? You estimate it based on what weight you've done before, how many reps that was versus how many you're after today, and how hard it was the last time versus the target difficulty today.

Here are a few useful pointers. Generally, 1 RIR or RPE point is going to be about 3-4% of 1RM. To illustrate this, your max double is probably about 96-97% of your 1RM, your max triple is probably about 92-93%, and so on.

So if you did a set of three reps at 3 RIR last week, and you're after a set of three at 2 RIR today, you can likely go up about 3% of 1RM.

Also, there are charts for getting a rough estimate of what weight might be about right for your rep range and RIR/RPE target, like this one.

However, it is important that you don't rely only on a chart like this for determining what weight to use every time. If you do, you are just turning the RIR/RPE back into a percentage based program and losing all the benefits that we have already covered. This type of chart is intended as a tool, not a crutch. Use it to get a rough idea what weight might be right to use, but then adjust based on your performance.

The key to getting better with RIR or RPE, like most things, is practice. That requires you take a second to reflect after each set, including warmups. Right after you set the bar down, take a split second to think about how well it was moving (speed, ease, and cleanliness of the reps) and how many more you think you could've done.

Sometimes you will "overshoot" and choose a weight that was heavier than intended, and after the set when you reflect you'll realize you probably couldn't have done as many more reps as the target RIR. However, you live and you learn for next time.

Other times you may "undershoot" and the weight you chose was easier than planned. If it was within about one point of the target and you feel fatigued, you can call it close enough and move on. Just know to go up a little more the next week. If you don't feel too fatigued and/or it was more than one point away from the target, then just add weight and take another set to hit the target difficulty.

Starting with RIR/RPE

Every set you do has an RIR/RPE and is also a percentage of a one rep max, regardless of whether you choose to pay attention to one or both of these. I got this concept from Thomas Lilley of ZeroW and I love it. Just because you aren't programming with RIR/RPE doesn't mean that they aren't there, and the same goes for percentages. They will both always be present.

If you want to use RIR/RPE for the benefits we've discussed, the simplest way to get started is to begin paying attention to it. If you're using a percentage based program you can continue following it, but take a moment after each set to reflect and score it on the RIR or RPE scale. Then, as you get better over time at assessing this, you can decide if you'd like to switch to a program centered around RIR/RPE rather than percentages.

Conclusion

RIR and RPE are prescriptions of difficulty rather than weight, so they allow for adjusting loads in order to get the desired stimulus of the day. They let you autoregulate for fatigue and fluctuations in strength. They adjust for individual variances in strength at different rep ranges, account for rapid progress on movements you're new to, and can be used on movements where you don't know your 1RM. And as a bonus, using them gets you better at reflecting on how much more you have in the tank for when you need to pick attempts on meet day. If you're used to using %1RM for your training plan, RIR or RPE could be what you need to take your training to the next level!

Feel free to reach out if you have questions. Also, if you're interested in trying an RIR based training plan, you can check out my Powerlifting Fundamentals Program. It has all the key elements we discussed in this article built into it to help you become a better lifter. Or if you want something tailored to you, to best suit your goals and needs, I also offer online coaching and custom training plans.

Best,

Michael Elrod-Erickson

Founder and Head Coach, Premier Power & Performance