RPE training

Other Discussions Training Discussion
1

I have been trying to hit the prescribed percentages and some days it feels like prescribed RPE and sometimes it doesn’t. After watching Allan Thrall’s video on RPE I realized I might be doing it all wrong. After reading the bridge ebook, I think I may have figured it out. Just wanted to confirm this is sort of the concept.

  1. warmup with empty bar.
  2. Continue warmup adding 10 to 40 pounds each set until it feels like RPE 6
  3. Add 5% for RPE 7
  4. Add 5% for RPE 8

This is going off the 7 week hypertrophy prescriptions. I think I have stuck too much to percentages and not enough to feel other than knowing the RPE was say higher than 7 but sticking to the percentage for 8 anyway and it turns into 9 or 10 on some days. So whether than using the numbers as the set weight for the day, it should be more of a guideline and if I feel a higher RPE before that adjust? Also if say for the 3 sets at RPE if the weight feels like RPE should I decrease 5% for the next set?

2

Your target should always be the prescribed RPE score. The percentages are just a guideline for when you’re not sure what weight to aim for.

Doing more sets at a certain prescribed RPE does not always need an adjustment in weight. It all depends on how accurate you hit the target RPE the previous set and how much rest you take between sets.
For sets @8 and 3~5 minutes rest you should be able to do sets across.
For sets >@8 or very short rest-periods this could be much more challenging.

3

If your first set is RPE 6, then your first working set really is your last warmup set. So you don’t have to be super anal about doing a ton of warmup sets to find RPE 6. I would just do 3-5 warmup sets with the same rep range you’re using with no rest in between, then attempt your planned RPE 6. If it feels heavy or light, adjust weight for your next set accordingly. The only time you need to do the full warmup routine you’re explaining is if it’s a new variation for you, or a variation you have not done in a long time, and you have no idea the ballpark that your RPE 6 will be in. Then you kind of have to do a crap load of warmups to feel it out. So long as you have an idea of about what it should be on that lift, it’s ok to take an educated guess and adjust accordingly for the sets following. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? Your RPE 6 set comes in at RPE 7?