I really feel like I’m gonna have a hard time with RPE. Right.l now I’m nearing the end of LP. I’m naturally lazy but ill work my ass off in the gym because I’m competitive. I feel as if RPE would be a way out for me saying the weight feels like 8 when’s it’s really a 6. So percentages would almost force me to use the right weights.
does this make sense to anyone else. ?
and is there a way I can purchase the bridge or some other program using percentages ? Thanks.
Hello! It’s a learned skill, for sure, however it’s not actually that hard to learn. And if you already push yourself, I would HIGHLY doubt that you’d under-rate your RPE, as this type of person, particularly coming of SSLP, tends to over-rate it assuming that they should be grinding out more work than they should be.
You could try the free Bridge program and then templates for sale include percentage ranges with the RPE if that’s helpful for you as you start out.
I’d like to point out that using percentages doesn’t mean you can’t still use autoregulation. I’m not much a fan of rpe, I like using percentages way more. With that being said , it’s important to not be stubborn about the specific weights that day. For example if I’m supposed to be using 70% for sets of 8, let’s say 70% is 400. And after I finish the first set I’m like there’s no way in hell im doing this for multiple sets, you can drop the weight to 380 or whatever you feel works for you. As long as you’re completing the reps and sets and not grinding yourself into dust to do it.
The bigger issue with that scenario is losing precision for autoregulation. We prefer using the RPE or RIR tools, as they are designed for this.
I have been doing starting strength for the last 5 weeks. And I feel like every set is a grind but I am slowly adding weight each time . Am I slowing my progress like that?
I don’t think it has any bearing on what you’ll be lifting a year from now outside of the method you’re using likely increasing risk of injury. We would not recommend the current program you’re on, but rather would prefer this one: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog…-prescription/
Thanks a lot. I’ve been thinking about buying one of your programs but was gonna wait to become an “Intermediate”. I’ll start here.