RPE vs Percentages 101

With our second 101 episode we’re diving into a topic that is foundational to the way we design training: autoregulation. That’s a slightly sciencey word, but it’s a very simple concept. You’ve likely heard of either rate of perceived exertion (RPE) or reps in reserve (RIR) - both of which we discuss in this episode - and these are both popular autoregulation strategies.

The focus of this strategy is to account for the many ways stress from our lives outside the gym influences our performance in the gym. It turns out the research suggests that subjective evaluations of readiness and fatigue are actually more accurate than trying to be objective with things like percentages of one rep max and traditional methods of tracking training volume. 

If you train with us on our Long & Strong program, you’ll have seen plenty of this already. If you’re interested in trying it out for yourself we are offering one week free trials!

Borg RPE Scale

Reliability of 1RMs

Subjective vs Objective Athlete Monitoring

Barbell Medicine RPE Explainer