Hi,
So I, like a lot of other early-ish intermediate lifters (I assume) occasionally find myself in the middle of a working set with a weight that doesn’t feel like it’s supposed to at all. My question is if a lifter in that situation should do the amount of reps to get the correct RPE, or do the intended amount of reps no matter what.
Say I’m supposed to do squats for 6 reps @8 RPE, but I’m on the 4th rep and it already feels like an 8. Should I grind out the other 2 reps, or just stop?
I don’t think it’s a good idea to get in the habit of assessing RPE mid set. That brings a level of consciousness and assessment to the set WHILE YOU’RE DOING IT that influences your performance. Rather, I think the feedback you get prior to that set of 6 @ 8, presumably from the sets @ 6 and @ 7 help you determine your weight for @8. At that point I’d just commit to doing the set @ 8 and not think about it too much. If you end up rating the set @9 or @ 10, that tells you that next time you see this movement and rep scheme you should take a bit more care in the jumps you take.
That said, sometimes it’s not possible to avoid the feeling you describe. I don’t think there’s a right answer here that works 100% of the time, but my rule of thumb is that if the performance that day is of utmost performance, e.g. there’s a meet around the corner and you need to hit the set to feel confident, then finish the set. If not, abort the rest of the set, back off the weight and hit the prescribed number of reps.
To answer your question, volume and intensity are both very important.
Thanks for the info. I will try to stop assessing RPE mid-set.