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They are definitely not equally poor. The max effort singles approach year round is a much worse approach.
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So lets say I was going to do 5x5@75%, but decided to try 5x5@RPE8. There would not be fixed weight, but something like this:
1st set of 5 (felt more like @7) = add some weight for next set.
2nd set @8 = keep this weight.
3rd set @8 or 8.5 not sure = reduce some weight for next set.
4th set @8 = keep this weight.
5th set @8.5 done.
Am I getting this right? I have read a lot off stuff from rts site and here about rpe, so I kinda get idea...
Last edited by Sami L; 07-18-2017 at 02:12 PM. Reason: Wrong letter/number on sentence
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If you're talking about RTS specifically, I don't think the programming would look like that. For a percentage as low as 75% you'd probably do x1@8, then 75%x5x5. Since RPE is hard to rate at that low intensity, percentages would be used based on a heavy single.Originally Posted by Sami L
x5@8 is ~81%, so quite a bit higher percentage of 1RM than your 75% example. If you did want to do something at that higher intensity, probably something more like x5@6, x5@7, x5@8, then repeat the same weight for 5 reps for a few more sets. Drop weight on the next set if RPE greater than or equal to 9 using the rule of thumb that a 5% drop is about 1 RPE and you want to drop back down to about an 8 RPE.
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In principle, then yes...in reality, it's probably more like Manveer's approach above.
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Thanks for responses guys!
I didnt mean specifically rts. So basically I would try to use rpe as a guide for volume work (and forget about %), wheter its 5x5, 5x3 or whatever and keep it "around rpe8-9", so that prevents me doing rpe10 at any set, which could happen if I was using fixed % or adding 2.5kg every week. It will probably take some trial and error, but would be "rpe training"/autoregulating?
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Depends what percentage range you're talking about. Like I said, you wouldn't use RPE if your work was in a low percentage range because low RPEs are hard to rate accurately. Also depends on the overall program design...
Member
Yeah, got it. But isn't rpe all about forgetting fixed loads and percentages and making decicions based on how well you can/can't perform today?
Let's say I was gonna squat 5x5 today and my program tells me to use 160kg. I would just do my fahves with that weight, no matter if it's lightish or a grind.
But now my programming says 3-5x5@rpe8, it could look something like:
160kgx5 @7, wow must be a good day, I should take advantage of this. So I add weight ->
167.5kgx5 @8, thats more like it.. and so on until Im done my five sets. Obviously I could have an awful day and need to reduce load to manage fatique, but I would still get some volume in with appropriate weight for that day..
This just hypothetical and I know.. it depents.
Member
In you first example, where you do a set @7, bump weight up to hit the prescribed @8, do another set that felt like an @8.5, then drop the weight to get @8 again... it usually doesn't work like that. If you feel like one set is @8 and the next set is @8.5, I probably wouldn't worry and drop the weight immediately.
When I bench, for example, it's very common for my 2nd, 3rd or sometimes even 4th sets to feel much easier than my first set, or first two sets.
In your most recent example, if you're having an awful day, it's still not very likely that you'd have to drop weight throughout the course of your sets. I think that's where the drop comes in when you do your top set. If you do a top set prescribed @8 for example, you should be able to do a 5% drop for your work sets if that's what's prescribed, even if you're having a bad day or feeling like shit. Maybe you would just drop a set instead of actually dropping the weight if it was really that bad.
Last edited by marcf; 07-18-2017 at 03:53 PM.
Member
Allright, thanks!
I've been using volume cycling a'la Andy Baker lately and been rating rpe's just for practice and noticed something similar.
Does people who train with rpe's still use those rts style work ups like 3@7, 3@8, 3@9(initial) and fatique% load drops or repeats?
Member
Things have changed for RTS and Mike T doesn't use fatigue drops anymore. Say you have a top single at RPE 8 and you do a 5% drop, you'll only have 4-6 sets depending on where you are in the cycle, etc. You don't do 5-7% drop sets until you hit that RPE again. Volume is more set and all percentage drops are 5%. That's what I learned at the RTS seminar.
But not all people who train using RPEs use RTS's style of training. RPE is a tool, RTS is a system.
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