How long did it take you to adapt to higher rep sets (e.g. 10 reps)?

Other Discussions Training Discussion
1

I hail from the land of 5 RMs and am finding the 10 rep sets very tough (in other words my RPEs are way higher relative to my true 1RMs than they should be).

How long does this last?

2

For myself, I generally expect to feel “adapted” to a significant program change 2-3 weeks after starting it. Sets of 5 to sets of 10 is a significant change, and is probably also affected by your level of general conditioning (cardio/GPP/whatever you want to call it) to a greater extent than low-rep sets are.

3

Thanks. My HIIT conditioning is non-existent and I feel like I’ve just finished a maximal sprint after I do a 10 @ 8. I’m optimistic it’ll get easier and become a strength rather than an endurance stress.

4

Do you mean that if you use the template to predict your load/reps it’s accurate for 1-5 rep ranges but then the weight it says you should be able to do for 10 reps @ RPE8 feels more like RPE10?

Or do you mean you can do the weight and it feels like RPE8 but you’re gasping for breath at the end and aren’t ready to do another set 2-3 minutes later?

If the former I’m not sure general conditioning/HIIT will help.

5

Would probably take several weeks at least. My RPE with sets above 6 is based entirely on cardio rather than muscular failure.

6

I mean what Slightlyaboveaverge said. If I work up to and correctly predict my 10 @ 8 it will be much much lower than what the table would suggest based on my true 1 RM. I feel like I’ve run a sprint afterward.

ETA - I just threw the bit about HIIT out there as I thought there would be some correlation, but regardless wasn’t planning to add HIIT or anything.

7

For me it’s generally a bit lower at the beginning and as the training cycle moves along the % of 1rm i’m using for the given RPE increases. I would just go by what you can do cardiovascularly as you really have no other choice. If you can’t complete the suggested weight then you can’t complete it, doesn’t matter why.

Part of the purpose of doing high rep sets is to train your conditioning, so let it do that. You’ll get better over time and your 10 rep max will better represent your 1rm.