<\/p>\n

The first way is to work off of your 1 rep max.\u00a0 This is commonly applied when doing compound lifts such as your squat, bench press, deadlift, etc.\u00a0 Your 1 rep max is simply the heaviest weight that you can successfully complete 1 repetition for that specific lift.\u00a0 Once you have established your 1 rep max for that lift you can then create a program where each week you are using a certain percentage of that 1 rep max.\u00a0 For example, the first week you might lift at 70% of your 1 rep max, then the following week you would then do 75%, then 80%, etc.\u00a0 In short, this is a really easy way to assure that you are progressively adding weight and thus creating that stimulus your muscles need to grow.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That being said it isn\u2019t always appropriate to work from a 1 rep max.\u00a0 You may be a beginner just learning the mechanics of performing a squat or deadlift.\u00a0 In this circumstance, it would not be safe to apply a maximum load to test your 1 rep max for fear of injury.\u00a0 In addition, it is not efficient, appropriate, or necessary to test 1 rep max for ALL exercises you might perform in a given training program.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Using the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another way you can utilize the principle of progressive overload in a more thoughtful structured way is to apply the concept of Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) which is based on your Reps in Reserve (RIR).\u00a0 This concept was developed for powerlifting training by Michael Tuscherer.\u00a0 Essentially this is a scale you can use to gauge how close you are to failure at the end of each set.\u00a0 A 10 RPE would mean that you are at failure and can do no more repetitions.\u00a0 A 9 would mean you could have completed one more repetition once that set was finished.\u00a0 An 8 would mean you could have done 2 more reps, etc.\u00a0 The table below outlines the scale in more detail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

RPE Scale Based on Repetitions in Reserve<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\n	Could not do more reps at that weight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9.5<\/td>\n	Could not do more reps, could do slightly more weight<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\n	Could do 1 more repetition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8.5<\/td>\n	Could definitely do 1 more repetition,\u00a0 possibly 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\n	Could do 2 more repetitions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7.5<\/td>\n	Could definitely do 2 more repetitions, possibly 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\n	Could do 3 more repetitions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5-6<\/td>\n	Could do 4 to 6 more repetitions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1-4<\/td>\n	Very light to light effort<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n  <\/p>\n **Scale modified from Helms, E. , Morgan A. and Valdez A. (2015). Volume, Intensity, Frequency. In\u00a0The Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Training. (pp 29-61).\u00a0<\/em>Eric Helms.<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n This can be applied to your own training by setting a specific range that you want to work in for the given exercise.\u00a0 Each week when you perform that exercise you want to stay in that range.\u00a0 To do that you will likely need to increase the weight each week as your body starts to adapt to the weight used.\u00a0 This assures that you are continuing to provide the necessary stimulus for growth as you aim to achieve the assigned RPE for that exercise.<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Look at your current program and think about which exercises you want to focus on lifting heavy and which ones are your accessory movements that you want to select a more moderate weight.\u00a0 If you are going for heavy you want your RPE around 8-9.\u00a0 If you\u2019re going for a more moderate weight your RPE would be around 6-7.\u00a0 Try applying the RPE scale for each and see if this keeps your focus on how your muscles are feeling and your level of exertion and helps you decide if you should go up in weight.<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Let me know what you think and if this method helps you with progressing towards your goals!<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Happy lifting!<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Xx<\/p>\n  <\/p>\n Allison<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In last week\u2019s post, I talked about utilizing the progressive overload principle to make progress towards our fitness goals.\u00a0 I listed many ways in which to apply this principle.\u00a0 One that is used rather often (myself included) is to simply increase the weight\/load you use for each exercise.\u00a0 Simply adding more weight at each workout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"yoast_head":"\n