Direction to take to get better with 1@8's.

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

After having run the bridge 1.0 once, GPP Hypertrophy once, and now on the second run of the bridge 1.0, I have noticed that I need to get better at doing singles. Now obviously, this is one of the reasons we do singles, to practice them and get comfortable with them - but I have noticed lately that while i can judge something like a 4@8 (or any >1@8) pretty consistently and make that number go up about 5lb almost every week - the 1@8 are harder to judge. What the RPE table tells me should be an 8, feels more like a 9 when it comes to singles.

Now I understand it is rather nuanced as to why that is - many factors at play. But I was curious as to what direction to take.

Psychologically, there is likely something at play here - while I do not feel overly intimidated by the weight on the bar (since I am comforted by what the table says the weight should feel like - ie “oh this weight should ideally just be an 8 anyways if considering last weeks weight 4@8 and the warm ups have been going well”). But then it moves slow, and while not a grinder, feels more like a 9 than an 8 (can only do 1 more if i had to).

Am I going about this wrong by the way? Using last weeks numbers to roughly guide the next sessions numbers? I have had success with it so far when it comes to rep schemes >1, being able to add to my E1RM pretty consistently week to week. Or should I let the RPE of that day be the main dictator of the session?

On one hand, I like the placebo-esque effect of prescribing my weights. Obviously I can make small adjustments based on the RPE getting closer to the working weight - but I find far more often than not when I prescribe a weight @8 it well feel like an 8. And on the other hand, where some concern lies; If I let the 1@8 dictate the following working sets, they may be lower (say than the previous few weeks) and the e1RM can go down relatively significantly.

So should I just stick to it and look at ways to improve the skill of 1@8’s?
Should I use the singles RPE to dictate the remainder of that day’s session - letting it humble me?
Should I rework my understanding of RPE and listen to all of the programming podcasts again and review the article on the importance of singles?
All of the above, none of the above? Looking for some direction.

2

What does your warm up prior to the single look like?

3

For something like the squat:
First about 5 sets of 5 just the barbell then…
95x4
135 x4
165 x4
195 x4
225 x4
245 x3
275 x3
295 x2
315 x2
325 x1
340 x1

4

This is way, way too much warmup for a 340 lb single.

5

Uh, yea that’s way too much warm up.

Here is what my warm up for a 340lb single might look like. Before this, I’d do the bar for maybe 4-5 sets or more of 5 depending on how creaky I happen to feel.

These are just rough numbers as far as weight. They, of course, don’t need to be that exact.

Reps Weight
5 115
3 170
1 230
1 275
1 315
1 340
6

Might I suggest

Empty bar x lots
135 x 5 x 2 sets
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 1-2
315 x 1
340 x 1

7

Thanks! Makes sense so ill try this out!