I have a question regarding RPE which I have been using for a year now and with your programs. Have made great progress.
What would you suggest someone do if a full training cycle or longer there 1 @ rpe 8 (or whatever the prescribed rep set RPE is) weight used doesn’t change would you suggest a AMRAP set to allow them to realise that what they have been Comfortable with for a period of time is actually not RPE 8?
now this has not happened to me but want to know how you would go about it if someone did.
and another question would you ever consider someone plug numbers into your programs before they start? For example start at week 10 with your goal for that cycle and work backwards ? So say deadlift e1rm is 200kg at the start but you want at the end of the 10 weeks for it to be 210kg.
I don’t think I would automatically think someone needs to recalibrate their RPE scale using AMRAP sets if their 1 @ 8 doesn’t respond well to whatever program they’re running. I don’t think that I’d pre-plan numbers for multiple weeks in advance, no.
I thought I’d share my experience here since, admittedly, I did an AMRAP set last month in this exact scenario, in the middle of the GPP/Hypertrophy 4 day template. I suspected my RPE of 8 was somehow “off” so I hit an AMRAP set of squats. A few things I learned.
#1. Don’t do this. I was so sore after that session that I couldn’t sleep or catch up recovery-wise over my next couple of weeks. Since I was pushing the edge of the volume due to the challenging program, I suspect this put me way over the top on fatigue.
#2 - if I think something’s an RPE 8, I stick with it, even if perhaps the true reps in reserve is more than two. My brain is telling me that the set is an RPE 8 for a reason, and that reason may be accumulated fatigue.
#3. It still was kind of awesome to crush a new rep PR on squats. Stupid, and I won’t do it again, but kind of awesome in the moment anyway.