Can't spell Rippetoe without RPE

I'm squatting 150kgs and deadlifting 162 kgs after 8 months of training. I know nobody cares, but nonetheless I'm trying to update you guys periodically.

"Rating Pussified Emotions"

The way most experienced lifters use RPE is this: You have a predetermined weight, say squat of 200 kilos for 3 sets of 3. You have programmed that day to be around an RPE 8. You take the first set, and after you finish, either by feel or by looking at the video you just took you determine your RPE. If it was an RPE 9 or 10 you lower the weight for the next 2 sets. This isn't a good day for you and maxing out on a random volume day is a bad idea. If it was an RPE 6 or 7 you increase the weight. Another way is this (and this is how most advanced lifters and/or heavyweights train): say you want to work up to a top set at an RPE 9. You approximate the weight based on past performances and how you feel during warmups, and say you take 230 kilos for a double on the squat. You are having a great day and are making strides in your training and it was an RPE 8. You now add 5-10 kilos and take another set, thus achieving the RPE 9 you had planned. Another way: You take a predetermined top set, maybe a single, and based on its RPE you determine the weight for your back-off sets. (this is immensely useful tactic for all kind of lifters from the intermediate stage onward) RPE is just a numerically specific way to say how hard a set WAS. Programming based on RPE doesn't necessarily mean you select weights based on RPE, it is a way to dynamically regulate your programming from week to week. The problem you guys have is with the premade programs that have RPE as a way to predetermine weight, because there is a ton of guesswork involved, and that is a very valid point (those program are basically really lazy with weight selection and leave it to the lifter to make their own choices).

I love how rip’s counterargument is always just to posit a scenario where everything goes great and you never miss a rep

This reminds me of what Greg Lemond said regarding training for bicycle racing - "It never gets easier, you just go faster."

So as I became intermediate I started having issues over training and getting hurt. I started using rpe, in more of a rir fashion to make sure I keep a couple reps in the tank. It's helped me get stronger and I feel better, not getting hurt nearly as much. My question is. If I'm not using rpe. Then what tool should I use to make sure I'm not going balls to the wall?

Every time I film a difficult set, it looks WAY easier than it felt. They key IMO to lifting big weights is to unlock the brain's circuit breaker and just not give a fuck about getting hurt. You would be surprised at how much you can strain if form is correct FOR YOU.

Lol, I train hard, but use RPE, my coach is a senior coach for USAPL. Seen great improvement and I have read your book and like a lot of it. Your way, is not the only way though lol.

Can I become a starting strength coach in the UK?

This video is going to get people hurt

okay so I get that... but what if the video shows a slower bar speed?

As the old saying goes "if Mike Tuchscherer had only trained himself, he'd still have trained more world class athletes than Rip"

I'm in phase 1 on Starting strength program.My squat went up to 176 lbs and deadlift 210 lbs very quick.I was doing 10 lbs jumps.I do wonder when should i switch to 5 lbs jumps on deadlifts and squats.Is it all about the feeling and personal strength level or can you tell me estimated limit like "after 235 lbs deadlifts you may need to switch"

Strawman argument baby lets go

At 7:35 did he say "rest 10 or 12 minutes"? as an older guy I've been feeling guilty about four or five... should I really be taking 10 or 12 minute breaks as a 60 plus mid-NLP?

What if my first concentric took 2.3 seconds while the fifth 3.3?

If I feel like crap on my warm up, I say to myself: well, today’s lift is gonna suck

RPE works for olympic lifts, where you either catch the bar and complete the rep, or you miss it and fail. The weight of the last successful rep is then used to calculate the volume - load and reps and sets - of your back-off sets, For powerlifting, especially in novice lifters, it sucks. I've had many training sessions where I thought the weight was heavy, did 6 reps, then added 10kg and went all out. Result was ... 11 reps, which means the previous set was not even close to failure, despite me rating it at 7. The only difference was CNS activation.

8:13 when Rip mentally forces the pen to come to him.

BAHHHCKK IN MAH DAY BOIIII ILL TELL YOU WAAHHHT

I really enjoyed, and used, starting strength to begin strength training, but come on with this 😂. RPE serves a very strong function to help guide accumulated load in life and a training plan, it's used in all sorts of sports. If anything, most people UNDER estimate RPE, and are doing RPE 9 when they should be doing 8, and are always gaining excess fatigue workout to workout. Bar speed is also not data, people move weight at the same speed for singles until they just can't; it's a strength (force) sport, not a power sport. RPE isn't for beginners but it has a firm place as a methodology.

Ive done PR's multiple times when I have felt like shit, when the warm ups have felt like RPE9 and I felt weak and sluggish, yet when it came down to it, I was able to outperform myself. Ive also underperfomed when I have felt great and ready to slay some weights. RPE means jack shit

Plot twist. The video is sped up.

Bruh 1 min into the video and Rip is throwing shots at Barbell Medicine with there templates and online coaching WOW

As RPE lifter myself, if it feels difficult I just put all the weights on one side on the 2nd set and then the RPE is only half because you only have to lift half the bar. I wouldn’t recommend with bosu ball. That was scary!

I think you’re confusing rating perceived exertion with rating perceived comfort. RPE isn’t about rating whether you feel like shit; you might. It’s about rating how much physical effort/exertion was required to complete a set. You might feel like shit but know that a set did not require a lot of effort; the RPE would still be low.

Jim Wendler’s 5-3-1 advises lifters to “leave one in the tank” at the end of amrap sets, which is another way of saying RPE 9. Your first day doing SS involves either you or a coach titrating the weight up until the bar path “looks slow” to the coach or “feels heavy” to the lifter - in other words, subjective measurements and not hard numbers. I think RPE is pretty useful for figuring out weights for assistance exercises, because using percentages makes it harder to set the weight around the strengths and weaknesses an individual lifter, whereas RPE by its very nature will adjust itself accordingly. I don’t disagree that RPE can be used as an excuse for a lazy lifter to avoid progressive overload. But I’ll have to agree to disagree on it not being useful at all.

Ripatoe is alright. If only he loved the trap bar.

RPE is a tool. What it is intended to do is to create some kind of quantifiable metric for exertion, to create a language with which the trainee can think about how hard they are going on their exercises. The smart way to do this, in my mind, is to have RPE compared to a scale of reps in reserve (RIR), so 10 RPE is your 1 rep max, 9 RPE you're leaving 1 rep in the tank, 8 RPE you have 2 left in the tank, and so forth. You certainly don't want to be going purely off your subjective feelings, that can easily lead you astray as Rip notes. A useful way to go about this is to occasionally do a set at a weight to failure, and try to estimate how many reps you have before failure. Sometimes I've done one of these calibrating sets, thought I had 2 reps left, and pushed out 3 or 4 more instead. What RPE is useful for, as a tool, is giving the lifter an idea of how much exertion they should expect on an exercise, and to give you an idea of when to adjust the weight. You're supposed to be doing a set of 5 and you can only do 2 reps before failure? Maybe you need to adjust that weight lower and build that up more gradually. Other times, I've gone to do a set of an exercise, aiming for RPE 8 for example, and finding that the weight feels pretty light and is more like a 5 or a 6, I increase the weight for the remaining sets. I've found this works pretty well for me and keeps my lifts progressing in the right direction. All tools can be used badly though. You know, we don't give up on bench presses just because there are gymbros who mono-focus on bench press and always skip leg day. We don't throw out hammers because there are idiots who can't use a hammer properly. If you're using RPE as your excuse to not push yourself, yeah that's bad training, but that's the individual and they would likely be doing that in any system they were using, including Starting Strength or Texas Method. Lots of gymbros skip leg days for any excuse, many of whom don't use RPE. All weight training systems can only be as good as the individual's adherence to them is. The perfect system is useless if someone doesn't follow it or use it correctly.

I am glad Rippetoe comments on training while having a baby, after having raised so many children.

I think you’d use bar speed as part of your RPE assessment

😂 that was fun , but I agree totally 💯 Awesome motivation!! Strangely enough, sometimes when you feel tired, you go for it, you can have a better workout than you thought.. 🔥

It's telling how they have built up so much apathy that they don't care to agree on some definition of the thing they're talking about prior to discussing it for 8 minutes. I suppose for a format like this, which aims to combine information and entertainment, there comes the point where one is bound to overtake the other.

Does anyone ever give themselves permission to put even more weight on the bar than their working set because warm ups felt easy ?

Many successful lifters have used RPE and many successful lifters never used it. It is very subjective in nature and highly dependent upon your accuracy of judgement. It can easily be misused to your detriment or positively in your favor. Beginners and even many intermediate level people cannot use it accurately. It is linked to percentage based traditional system using charts/tables that are available on internet easily. So it is basically using traditional system on back end. I personally don't use it in my programming. I like concrete calculations like rep maxes, or %, or RM, etc.

Never mind all the empirical evidence in favor of using RPE as a tool from competitive and recreational lifters. It works. RPE isn't contrary to progressive overload, and it doesn't mean you determine everything on a whim according to some random warm up, or that you never ever try weights you're uncertain you can do, or that you never do hard sets. It's clear you guys don't understand it and don't care to. Lol. Pointless.

Imagine making a 10 minute video just to say you don't know how RPE works.

Rip has a fetish for being made foolish - look at his exposed fanfic for proof of that. RPE/RIR is terrific.

People sometimes forget that the CNS is an intergrated system. Your thoughts and feelings might mislead you for your own damn good.

I'm genuinely curious is Rip, as a coach, would tell one of his athletes that they are a "blank-blank" if they presented and commented in such a fashion. I know, over the internet, it is very easy, but I am just curious if this is a case of internet-speak, and not reality.

Rating of perceived exertion (RPE)

Wrong as always Rip'. All the top level PLer's use it. Rather use RPE instead of your crappy starting strength gimmick lol.

Remember kids, if you train like Rip, you're going to end up looking like him. Don't say you weren't warned.

Meanwhile the powerlifters breaking records and winning comps all use RPE lol

I thought rpe was based on bar speed not how hard it was

I remember a SEAL, years ago, saying most people give up at 40% of their potential. The rest requires grit and mind-over-matter.

Your strength in pulling, pushing or tossing for functional real life situations is not gonna give a fuck whether you bench 315 for fahve or you chest press 205 HIT style slow controlled... Trust me lol.. IT DOESN'T MATTER. LEAVE ENERGY AND TIME FOR OTHER QUALITIES OF LIFE. AND LOOK LIKE YOU ACTUALLY LIFT. Look into HIT, Mike Mentzer, Arthur Jones and Jay Vincent. Live life and enjoy it... AMEN...

My postmodern 2 self identifies as a 10

No one moving the bar at the same speed and saying they feel like shit. If the bar isnt slowing down, it's quite obvious for any lifter with more than 3 months worth of training. Your argument on RPE is garbage. Now here's a better argument for RPE: I recently was stuck at the deadlift for 350 for around 5 for too long (covid lockdowns, finding proper lower back extension, and inconsistent training) . What happened over the last little while is that I have refined my deadlift form and became drastically more efficient - 1rm over the last 2 months has shot up 120lbs. Now, as oppose to just adding 5lbs per week and actually making slower progress, I was adding 15 to 20lbs per week depending on how my top set went for that week. With taking into account how easy these DL reps were in relation to my perceived exertion, it was quite obvious I needed to add more weight and continuing to do so at this current rate.

My 10 pound dumbells identify as 100's

Mike Tuchscherer uses RPE. But that guy's super weak, so what does he know.

Everybody thinks the BBM guys split off of SS over RPE, but it was really TomC's spat with Rip over the J.J. Abrams "Star Trek" movies.

I woke up this morning feeling beat up and my warm up sets for squats felt like shit, but I did them. Then I put on my planned work-set weight and did my planned sets. Every rep felt like shit. Now I feel good and I will go up 5 lbs next time.

RİP İS BASED AF

Nah bro. If it feels like shit, there is a reason. That doesn't mean you stop the session, that means something needs to be adjusted. It's usually calories, sleep, or other stressors that accumulate. The name is throwing you off. It should be rate of percieved fatigue during exertion because its being used to measure fatigue. You could use it as an excuse to skip training, but that isn't what it is intended for. RPE is for completely different types of programs. Particularly ones with more use of novelty, and/or phase potentiation. It's all about what you intend to use it for. You haven't found a problem with its validated uses, you found a problem with its potential for misuse. You should have another talk with Dr Mike about it.

DR Austin baraki and DR Jordan feigenbaum are absolutely right about RPE

Just do your fives!

😂😂😂😂

Many successful lifters have used RPE and many successful lifters never used it. It is very subjective in nature and highly dependent upon your accuracy of judgement. It can easily be misused to your detriment or positively in your favor. Beginners and even many intermediate level people cannot use it accurately. It is linked to percentage based traditional system using charts/tables that are available on internet easily. So, although I am not against it, but

I don't use RPE but from what I know is RPE is failure at 10. or 1lb more and it would be failed attempt. So RPE 9 is meant to be just below failure. And so every day going to failure would be different every day depending on stress, sleep, and food. If you did your one rep max once a week the numbers would be slightly different depending on sleep, stress and FOOD. You're not gonna hit that 600lb squat every time you attempted. Just thoughts, again I don't use RPE either.

Rip, if you don't understand RPE then just say that 🙄🤦🏽‍♂️honestly sucks that people will see this video and really think this is an accurate representation of RPE. Meanwhile, elite lifters are using RPE. Train with someone who actually understands RPE and trust me you'll get stronger if programming is right. You'll train hard and smart.

This is how you construct a straw man argument. Classic!

It is called Starting Strength, not intermediate strength. RPE is a tool for intermediate and advanced lifters, who don't need to be told to add 5 pounds to the bar, because they are already striving to do that anyways. However, this rant does seem to be a jab at guys like Alan Thrall and the Barbell Medicine guys, who openly mutinied from Rip's affiliation and endorse RPE programming. I love Rip and crew, but he does seem to be the one who is offended here.

Totally agree!!

The podcast is shite now it’s not on KZfaq, no1 listens to it and no one comments

Angry old man !!

Hex Bar Gang

RPE is post set analysis of how much effort you put into that set, that's it. Mark, I have followed you for a long time but come one dude, you have to catch up with the modern science of human movement.

Pretty funny how people that are actually strong have totally disassociated with Rip and his crew of weak fat guys.

I used to think Mark was good but overtime I’m realizing he’s more close minded then I thought and a load of shit. This video proves he doesn’t understand how RPE actually works in practice. Assuming you accelerate every rep as much as possible (YOU SHOULD BE DOING IT!), it becomes easy for the lifter to gauge how much they can do on a given day as they warm up. Bar speed is a good indicator but I wouldn’t rely on it 100% of the time. RPE becomes more accurate overtime so that a lifter is better able to select weights. Each RPE value is assigned to a certain % of 1RM, so it is very easy to gauge progress without forcing more weight on the bar. To counter his last statement, why would you limit yourself if the weights feel light? Why not add more than originally planned? Starting Strength is decent for beginners, but after you hit a plateau, you better look at how you train again. In 16 months I’ve gone from 200lbs@125 to 430@162. I plan on hitting 500 in competition by early January while staying under 165lbs of bodyweight. I would LOVE to see any Starting Strength lifter try to replicate this without having injuries, or even reach 500lbs at all while staying under 200lbs

I think RPE works fine for body building style sets of 10 or more. In those you really can tell how many reps you have left. For sets of 5? I have done sets of five that felt as if they were going to crush me from rep one. And I probably could have done one or two more reps. Lifting heavy is hard.

So much is wrong with this take. You don't account for when using RPE training and things are feeling good, and you can adjust to add more weight. It works in your favor and you end up doing more work than a prescribed set of 5s that SS would tell you, and then you'd have to wait until the prescribe weight jumps matched to where your strength actually is. Additionally, if your doing 3 sets of 5, and the barspeed looks the exact same for every rep, all 15. Then your programming sucks and you're most likely leaving more in the tank. What Mark likes to point out is this "feel like shit" mentality when bar speed is the same in actuality. For any somewhat experienced lifter, this doesn't happen. RPE will have you push more to adjust weight to your actual strength and progress from there. SS 5s will either limit how fast you can progress, or over train you and hurt you.

Old man struggling to comprehend phenomenology

Don't trust any strong, medically educated person in the s&c community. Trust a few sweaty fat guys who've never pulled more than 600

Beyond novice level, RPE is a vital tool. At this stage you should have some understanding of how your body operates and moves. Don't do a 375 squat, if you feel like 365. Better to move a little lighter this session, so you can go harder the next time. Rip seems like the kind of guy who didn't do warm up sets in his prime because that was "for pussies" and fucking paid for it later.

You have no clue what RPE is and are totally misrepresenting its purpose. I don't even use RPE.

Can anyone tell me what the "Pink Lives Matter" is about?

Rip is once again being disingenuous! RPE is not based solely on the perception of the warmups. I suggest that he considering re-reading Starting Strength and Practical Programing. In order to make the most out of the NLP, it is suggested to do things like going to microplates and going from sets of five to sets of three. How does not get to learn to make this adjustments to the training regiment? Um, by getting to understand the limits of your exertion. Although he might not like the term RPE, he does in fact make use of it in his own programing.

Don’t trust this guy. He’s not sorry.

I haven't had a bad gym day in years, and my life is dogshit. The gym triggers something in my brain that just revs up the motor.

RPE harms many more people than it helps. True it helps some very talented lifters at elite levels when measured properly. SS is making it simple for amateurs and beginners by telling them RPE is likely BS in their scenario.

I agree and disagree at the same time. It's unwise to always disregard signs of fatigue and it's also lazy to always heed them religiously. You're conscience knows whats what.

Hey, if you’re here I just want you to know that everything that was said by these gentleman was willfully obtuse, straw man versions of arguments. These people don’t know how RPE works, they don’t care to learn anything outside of their tiny box, and that’s why nobody gives a shit about Rippetoe anymore. So if you stumbled across this please go look for a better source for information.

RPE makes more sense for endurance training. RPE to me makes no sense for weight training

You don't know anything about RPE. Try learning something.

RPE works great for selling programs without needed to coach the client to see whether they are working hard enough or not.

Jesus Christ, what an awful, horrid, backwards, antiquated take.

It all feels like shit but I do it anyway lol

I just think the biggest issue with young people trying to using RPE is, they can't judge their own exertion rate. So they screw themselves up workout after workout.

I’m kind of disappointed in those doctors who were once SS guys that started their own training website. I always thought that doctors dealt in scientific facts ( like how much weight is on the bar) rather than how you “feel”..

Dude, why can't you just put the podcast on KZfaq like everyone else? I understand wanting subscribers to pay you directly, but why not do something similar to Ben Shapiro or Steven Crowder? Post most of the podcast on KZfaq and leave some extra content available only to starting strength radio subscribers.

The easiest way to debunk the RPE fraud is to compare Mike and Rip's clients. Rip has trillions of athletes breaking world records every other Tuesday, while Mike and his PRE have only a few dozens...

Haven't watched this yet, but I will. I just wanna write "SHOTS FIRED". I expect many comments from some powerlifting fanatics who bought half a dozen RPE programs from juiced-up lifters who made immense progress doing RPE and of course also intuitive eating, like the guys who lift 800 lbs shredded to the bone and eating a medium-sized sweet potato each day with a can of tuna and get some shake that's now 10% off.

Good reasoning. For a 5-year old.

For beginners and the average commercial gym schmuck, RPE is useless. They have no idea how to gauge it.

Just do some distance running, and realize that lifting weights is incredibly easy in comparison. If mostly lift now, but used to be a distance runner. WAY more mental effort required to do that.

No thank you. RPE sounds like way too much thinking at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Barbell medicine in shambles