Q: Is the sensation of falling RPE common? Might it indicate RPE rating in my early work sets is unreliable?
For example: in my work sets of squats on Friday here are my notes relating to RPE: 365x5(7), 405x5(8), 405x5(8.5), 405x5(9), 405x5(8), 405x5(8), 455x3(8.5). (this was after a warm up ladder of 5 reps at 45,95,135,185,225,275,and 315 with about 60 seconds between warm up sets).
After that 4th work set with 405x5 at a 9 I was debating internally if the 9 RPE meant I should move on to pressing, but I knew I wanted more volume so I got back under the bar for another set at 405 and the bar just moved fast. it was an easy 5 reps that I rated an 8. so I did another and it moved great too. so I upped the weight and had a good triple to finish the session.
Background: I’m under-trained. As I’ve read and listened to BBM content I’ve progressed from 3x5 / Texas land into more volume and am trying to incorporate RPE to stay productive with the volume.
FWIW, I’m (now) quite used to my second and third sets @8 feeling better than the first. I almost always perceive the first set as heavier, to the point where I just expect that now. In terms of fatigue, it’s very counterintuitive so I’ve often wondered if it’s something that I’ve tricked myself into believing
You are accumulating stress in each set, so yes it is totally normal to get RPE creep between sets. I see nothing out of the norm in what you listed. If you are supposed to be doing sets across at 8 and you hit a set at 9 before you’ve completed all your sets for the day, I would just pull 3-5% off the bar and finish out your sets at the reduced weight. There’s nothing wrong with this at all. I would not however add more weight to the bar and go down to triples like you did there, unless that was in your program to begin with.
Well, what I’m actually experiencing is that after that 9, when I didn’t drop weight, I did another set and the barspeed was faster and the weight moved easier, so I scored an 8, and then did another set which also seemed easier and moved faster. Scored it an 8 too. I’m still trying to get the hang of RPE scoring, but I had two great sets after the 9, at the same weight, which if I had followed SOP I would have been done at 385 instead of 405. (Which probably doesn’t make that big of a difference in the long run, but still). I want to attribute this to mental frame as much as anything. I score the 9, which I wanted to have been an 8, so I get a little pissed, focus a little more on my set up, form, and lift, and then the result is faster barspeed and a lower RPE… But, I think that is why Tuchscherer says RPE works once you understand your body and have an aggressive frame of mind. I think it is just something that I need to be mindful of as I train, that I may score something a 9 because I didn’t approach the set with the right frame of mind and NOT because the weight was too heavy… Does that make any sense or should I really just back the weight off once I hit a 9?
I think the problem is you aren’t rating your warm ups, specifically your @7’s and @8’s. Your top sets for the day can and should be determined by your subjective performance during your warm ups, otherwise what’s the point of using RPE, you know?
