I’m coming up on a year of RPE based training in November. I ran the Beginner program for about 6 months, ran PowerBuilding I and am currently running through PowerBuilding I a second time. I believe I have been misjudging my RPE perceptions most of the time I’ve trained under RPE. For example, what I’ve considered an RPE 8, has likely been closer to an RPE 6 (or maybe even an RPE 5 in some cases). Lately, I’ve pushed myself harder than I’m used to and I’ve found that if I really focus and push myself, I have more reps in the tank than I thought I had, even while maintaining good form. I think the source of some of this misjudgment has been mental intimidation in that a TRUE RPE 8 is quite a bit more taxing and mentally challenging than the misjudged RPE 8 that I have previously going off of. With that said, have I left gains on the table and hindered my progress by not using accurate RPEs during training up to this point?
Hi WK,
Good observations here, and it sounds like you’ve made progress. Right? So you’re stronger, a better lifter, know more about training, and can judge your abilities far more accurately now, right? All of those things add up to GREAT progress and gains, likely setting you up for more ahead.
I don’t think there is utility in worrying about whether you could have advanced faster in previous sessions, and that time is not lost or invaluable. You get to keep going!
Leah, thanks for your feedback and insight. Whether or not I’m stronger is a bit complicated as I lost about 30 pounds from April to August and dropped my waist from 37 to 31 inches. I got very aggressive with my calorie deficit and lost a lot of strength in the process. I do feel like my bench and ohp are getting close to what they were before my weight loss but my squat and deadlift have a ways to go. For whatever reason, the squat and deadlift seem to be my weakness which is strange because I was always told that those were the lifts that should advance the fastest.
With respect to judging RPE better, I really feel like this has only come about in the last two weeks. For whatever reason, I started to feel like I could be lifting more and decided to push it. This wasn’t pleasant mentally but it showed me I could actually be doing more. I’m hoping this has been a breakthrough and that my lifts will really start to go up and I’ll start seeing the progress I want to see.
Well, it is clear that you have made progress on several fronts, and seeing that you have more in your training now is a good thing. I’d enjoy the process ahead and if you want video feedback our Facebook group is very active for things like that.