RPE and Press progression

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hey guys,

Thanks to you guys and in particular Alan Thrall, I’ve gotten into using RPE in my programming. I have some issues when it comes to the press, namely that (probably) due to my working weight being so much lower than the other main lifts (bench, squat, deadlift), I have issues with something like
x reps @RPE6
x reps @RPE7
x reps @RPE8

The smallest incremental jump I can add to the bar is 5 lbs (2x 2.5 plates), yet I feel like when I go from RPE7 to RPE8, adding 5 lbs to what feels like my RPE7 seems to make a target set @RPE8 feel closer to RPE9/10. In this case, is it better for me to just not add weight for those final sets?

For example, today I had this
95x6 @RPE6 - this set felt quite easy
100x6 @RPE7 - this set felt heavier, but I still felt like I had 3 left in the tank
105x6 @RPE9.5 - not quite sure if I had one left

Since I’m working out at home, would it be worth it to buy some 1lb plates? I get that in general the plates could be off by that much, but since I’m working with the same plates each time, the progression will at least be consistent.

2

Frank,

Thanks for the post. You can definitely get some microplates or some washers with a 50mm ID so you can make the jumps less dramatic. Alternatively, you could plan on doing something like this:

90 x 6
95 x 6
100 x 7-8 (shooting for an @ 8-9 RPE). Once you hit 100 x 8 @ 8, aim go up to 105 the following week and hit something in the 6-8 range again shooting for RPE 8-9 :slight_smile:

2 Likes
3

Awesome, thanks for the response!