How Much Weight To Use In The Gym? | RPE/RIR Explained
If you’ve ever asked yourself the following questions this article & video (CLICK HERE TO WATCH) WILL help you :)
Am I using enough weight?
Am I using too much weight?
How do I know how much weight to use in the gym?
Should I be training to failure?
Should I be training to failure on all my lifts?
Now, I can’t tell you the exact weight in pounds or kilos to lift but In this article, I will teach you & give you the tools & resources to figure it out so that you will be confidently choosing an appropriate weight for YOU, by the end of this article you will be 100% confident in your ability to be using the correct amount of weight.
& by the way, unless you want to get injured, I know you don’t. Always follow this rule: Form first, Load later: Get the form down first & once you’re confident in your form then you should start adding weight. This will ensure minimal risk of injury & it will ensure the best results for you, as most weight lifting injuries occur when someone is trying to lift WAY TOO MUCH weight before learning form at all. This is how I hurt my back trying to impress myself deadlifting 315 when I was 16, I didn’t even know proper deadlift technique.
BTW client or not; you can always send me a video of yourself performing an exercise &’ll let you know if you could improve something or if you’re doing a fantastic job I’ll tell you that.
Now, without further ado, I introduce to you…
RPE & RIR
RPE/RIR will become your best friends for gauging whether you’re going too heavy or too light
At first, you’ll be overwhelmed by these scales but then you’ll realize you’re never actually looking for an exact number but instead a range between three or four.
First, let’s go over what RPE & RIR stands for:
RPE - Rate Of Perceived Exertion: on a scale from 1 to 10 how much effort are you PUTTING IN, a 10 is lifting the heaviest amount of weight you can possibly lift or just going to failure, 1 is doing bicep curls with nothing in your hands.
RIR - Reps In Reserve: How much effort are you LEAVING OUT, aka how many reps are you LEAVING OUT, aka how many reps are you leaving in the tank. a 10 is doing bicep curls with nothing in your hands and a 0 is lifting the heaviest amount of weight you can possibly lift or just going to failure.
See the connection between the two now ;)
If you still don’t keep reading I told you by the end of this article/video you will be 100% confident in this, so don’t worry, you will be.
A 10 on the RPE scale is a 0 on the RIR scale. Why? because 10 RPE is an all-out effort to failure, so you wouldn’t be able to do any more reps which means…. yes, exactly you have no more reps left in the tank or no more reps left in reserve.
And a 0 on the RIR scale is a 10 on the RPE scale. Why? Because if you are leaving 0 reps in reserve or 0 reps left in the tank that means you are putting in maximum effort, or an RPE 10.
So a 9 on the RPE scale is a 1 on the RIR scale because if you’re doing say 10 reps and you finish those 10 reps & you believe you could only do maybe 1 more that would be 1 rep left in the tank or 1RIR.
And a 6-10 range on the RPE scale would be a 0-4 range on the RPE scale because if you believe you’re leaving somewhere between 0 & 4 reps left in the tank that means your effort or rate of perceived exertion, is going to be somewhere between 6-10.
For RPE & RIR what numbers do you want to be around?
RPE: You want to be anywhere around 6-10.
RIR: You want to be anywhere around 0-4.
Failure (RPE:10, RIR:0) on compound lifts: I do not recommend you going to failure consistently, more than once a month IF THAT, because it will be more taxing on your central nervous system, your muscles, & it will be harder to recover from, & you might increase your chances of being injured & no one wants to get injured. You can’t make much progress while you’re injured.
But going to Failure on your accessory/isolation lifts like Bicep curls, leg curls, tricep extensions, leg extensions, lateral raises, chest & back flys, hip thrusts, etc., You could go to failure more frequently & be okay because you’re most likely not going to get injured doing any of those exercises I just named & they’re less taxing on your central nervous system.
Now how can you test this yourself RIGHT NOW or next time you go to the gym? Click here & skip to 5:47 in the video to watch the example.
Go grab dumbbells that you think you can do bicep curls with for 10 reps while leaving 0-4 reps left in the tank.
For me, I’m going to choose 30 lb dumbbells.
Now do a set to 10 reps.
Now test yourself, see how many more you can do.
If you can do 0-4 more reps, you’re doing great
If you can do 5-6 more reps, you’re pretty close but you should add a bit more weight.
If you can do 7+ you definitely need to increase the weight & lift heavier for the best results possible.
This is one of the safest ways to test out your ability in choosing an appropriate weight, you’re most likely not going to get injured doing bicep curls & it’s way less taxing on your nervous system than testing this on the barbell bench, squat, or deadlift.
Use this example/test on any accessory or isolation lift you want to test out for yourself.
What’s Next Week?
I hope this helps you! If you need help please feel free to DM me on Instagram @tedshredss or email me: tedgormanpt@gmail.com. I’d love to give you free tips/advice or help clear up anything we talked about today.
Next week’s article/video is for the ladies, how to diet smart & mitigate cycle cravings!
I think you’ll find it very valuable - I know some of my female clients love utilizing the methods/tips.
Thank you for reading or watching!
I hope this has helped you and if it has…
Please let me know via email! tedgormanpt@gmail.com
Also, if you have any questions about what we talked about today…
Email me, I’d love to answer your questions and give you some advice 🤝
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Talk soon,
-Ted :)
