The RPE scale for coaches, with reps in reserve and how to use it

The lifting RPE scale ties each number to reps in reserve (RIR): how many more good reps the client could have done when the set ended. That anchor makes the number checkable. The client answers a concrete question, and the coach can compare the answer with bar speed. The RIR-based scale was described and tested in experienced and novice squatters by Zourdos et al., 2016 (opens in a new tab).

Use whole numbers with new clients, and add half points once their ratings match what you see. Estimates are less accurate far from failure and on high-rep sets: RPE 6 on a set of 15 is a rough guess, while RPE 9 on a set of 3 is usually close.

Set RPE steers today's load. Session RPE tracks fatigue across weeks. Both take seconds, so collect both.

Ask session RPE with the same words every time. Asked the moment the session ends, the last hard set dominates the answer; about 30 minutes later the number is steadier.

An RPE prescription names the reps and the effort and lets the load float: 3×5 at RPE 8 means three sets of five, each ending with about two reps left. It suits clients whose strength moves with sleep and stress, which is most of them.

1. 1

   Write the target and a load range

   Back squat 3×5 at RPE 8, around 205-225 lb based on last week.

2. 2

   Ramp in the warm-up

   Take three or four jumps, the last at about RPE 6-7 for five reps.

3. 3

   Test the first working set

   Rated RPE 8: keep the load. RPE 7 or lower: add 5-10 lb. RPE 9 or higher: take 5-10% off.

4. 4

   Hold the load for the remaining sets

   Expect the rating to drift up about half a point per set. A set a full point over target means dropping 5% for the rest.

5. 5

   Log the load and the rating together

   The pair is next week's starting point.

A top set with back-off sets works the same way: 1×5 at RPE 8, then 2×5 at 90% of that load.

For the first few weeks, ask how many more reps the client could have done and convert the answer yourself. Compare it with bar speed and form on the last rep.

RPE turns double progression into a rule a client can follow. Keep the load until every set reaches the top of the rep range at RPE 8 or less, then add load and return to the bottom. The cap stops clients adding weight after grinding out the top reps. The 4-day upper lower split uses this rule.

Session RPE catches fatigue the set numbers can hide. When sessions planned around RPE 6-7 come back at 8-9 three times in a row at unchanged loads, fatigue is building: cut volume for a week and ask about sleep and stress. The guide to adjusting a workout for low readiness sets out the order of changes.

In RaiNGE, the last five session RPEs are one of the inputs the adjustment check reads when a client submits a readiness check-in, alongside the seven-day readiness trend and pain from about the last 36 hours. Nothing the check proposes changes the plan until a coach approves it.

One client benches 3×6-8 with double progression and an RPE 8 cap, starting at 135 lb. Here is what the log shows and what the coach decides each week.

Through week 4 the client's sessions rated 6-7 against a plan of 7. In week 5 the last five session RPEs read 7, 7, 8, 8, 9 at unchanged loads, and bench fell to 6, 5, 5 reps at 140 lb, RPE 9-9.5. That is a fatigue pattern: the coach drops bench to 130 lb for the week, cuts one set per lift, and asks about sleep and stress before changing the program.