INTENSITY: Am I actually TRAINING hard?
So you’re warming up your Squats, Bench or Deadlifts and you are hitting sets of 5 or so. You start with 95lbs to warm up, then slap on a plate at 135lbs for another warm up, then adding 25’s for 185 for a slightly harder set.
But today you are feeling good!
You want to hit 2 plates for a set of 5. 225lbs.
You hit that set and it was pretty hard but you did it!
…. But then you move on to the next exercise after completing the only really hard set…
Maybe this is you, maybe you see other people do this in the gym, or maybe you are just wondering how to program your
INTENSITY
This is something that you will see people get wrong all the time in the gym, especially in a commercial gym or a non-athlete focused gym. Something that people often get wrong in the gym.
Don’t get me wrong, if people are actually making it to the gym and getting some form of training in, I am proud. I know that is a hard transition alone.
But then you see people who are seemingly just going through the motions. They are going to the gym 3-4 days a week but aren’t actually training that hard.
Sure, you can argue that if their strength doesn’t go down then it is maintenance lifting.
But people put time and effort to get into the gym. People want to get results.
We aren’t there to just go through the motions. Most people want to get some sort of result out of the time, effort and funds that they allocate to this hard endeavor.
And that is what I want to help clarify with in this Article.
Progressive Overload
Progressive Overload is the process of adding more weight, volume, or intensity to particular exercises over time to progress them.
The result of progressively overloading over time is muscle growth, strength gain and increased endurance, the main reason people train in the first place.
Training intensity is pretty self-explanatory, but people really struggle with the progressive overload piece because this is the hard part of training.
Going to that zone where the set feels sucky, the reps start to slow down and grind, and veins start to pop out. This is where the gains happen.
Most people don’t go there.
Most people are just going through the motions, dipping their toes in the pool of intensity, and then getting right out when they feel the discomfort.
Barring any injuries or health conditions, most people have the ability to push themselves more than they think.
Technique
The first thing is making sure your technique is on point. When you have pretty solid technique, range of motion and balance on the exercises, you can begin to load them more and more, week over week.
You don’t want to load exercises that you aren’t solid with on technique because this is where injuries start to show up.
For reference on exercise technique, you can check out my YouTube Exercise Library.
Technique is important to practice. You have to lower the weight, work on the form/range of motion, and then increase weight from there. Your joints will thank you!
How is intensity gauged?
There are a few ways people gauge their intensity, but first, people need to write stuff down and remember exactly how much weight they are lifting for how many reps for each exercise.
Get a notebook and start logging your exercises and weights so you can see what weights you are lifting on a regular basis. This way you can hold yourself accountable to staying within those targets.
PERCENTAGE BASED TRAINING, RATE OF PRECEIVED EXERTION (RPE) and REPS IN RESERVE (RIR) are the main ways we can rate intensity of a set.
PERCENTAGE BASED TRAINING is super straightforward. You hit a 1 Rep Max on a compound movement and then you use a percentage of that max in your working sets of 2-15 reps.
Example: 1 rep max Squat: 300lbs
Program says to hit 80% x 6 reps x 3 sets
Working sets start at 240 and go up from there and all 3 sets are north/south 5-10lbs from that number wiht the goal of
You can use “Prelepin’s chart” shown below as a way to estimate what percent you would use for whatever rep range.
Some people like Percentage Based Training because it’s an objective way to select working weights without allowing the athlete to “take it easy” for the day. Some people don’t like it because there are days they want to get to the gym but don’t feel at 100% to take it there
Percent Based Training lends itself really well to Powerlifting and Strength Training because it shows the athlete that they can lift those weights no matter how shitty they feel that day, because if you “take it there.”
Percent Based training is also aimed more at the Powerlifts of Squat, Bench, and Deadlift as well as versions of the chart geared toward Olympic Lifts of Clean and Jerk and Snatch.
RATE OF PERCEIVED EXTERTION (RPE) is just a rating system more for heavier compound lifts that rates the intensity from a scale of 1-10 with anything 6 and under being nominal and easy movement and 7-10 being working sets.
RPE 10 means that you basically died on the set. You should NOT be *training* at RPE 10, but it is ok to program “tests” in your training schedule and go for that max effort (use a spotter/safeties always).
Working sets do not include anything that is RPE 6 and under unless you are deloading. but unless you have been training like this and peaking up to 90%+ or RPE 9 and 10 for weeks, chances are you do not need to deload. The only reason you should reduce the relative intensity is to work on exercise technique.
Here is a breakdown of RPE:
RPE 10 - Absolute Max effort, Grinding reps, Form starting to breakdown and almost failed reps. You gave your absolute ALL.
RPE 9 - Very high effort, Grinding reps toward the end, Form stays intact but the set felt very hard and you only had one more solid rep in you.
RPE 8 - High Effort, No grinding reps, but you felt the weight and would have to start grinding through to get more reps.
RPE 7 - Solid effort, No grinding reps, set felt great and you felt good stimulus to the muscles. Noticeable reps left in the tank.
REPS IN RESERVE (RIR) is a similar system to RPE, but it applies more to bodybuilding and you can use it for any exercise.
It is exctly as it sounds. You are estimating how many rep you had in reserve at the end of the set.
How do you know this?
Through experience, practice and “taking it there” enough with enough different weights at different rep ranges.
But if you are being truly honest, you can estimate RIR at the end of a set.
0 RIR/Failure, 1 RIR, 2 RIR, 3 RIR are the most common. This is where it is similar to RPE.
The problem with these is that MOST people are not actually working to a true RPE/RIR number and are stopping much earlier in the set because this is where the set starts to SUCK.
People generally quit before they feel discomfort or strain. That, or they take only one set to failure after a bunch of warm up sets and no sets at a true RPE 8-9 or 1-2 RIR.
So which one and how should I use it?
Let’s start with exercise selection and order.
You want to put the heavier compound movements like Squat, Bench, Deadlift, Overhead Press, at the top of your workout list.
For Machine Based workouts, put the harder compound ones first. Hack Squats, Leg Press, Machine Chest Press, ETC.
For the first few weeks you will be practicing technique and seeing what your weight thresholds are.
For the Main Barbell lifts, if you have a 1 rep max noted for the main lifts and can use percentage based, there will be less guess work. Use Prelipen’s chart above and then note the RPE/RIR for the lifts
For Machine based movements that are safe to take to failure, do that and note the weights and rep ranges that take you to failure.
Keep a workout log so you can note your sets/reps and intensity in. HERE is an example of one my clients have used that is simple and cheap. (I have no affiliation with this company and this is just one that a client of mine really likes.)
There should be 1-2 warm up sets for the COMPOUND EXERCISES. (Obviously you need more if you are lifting huge weights.)
The first warm up set of most exercises should be around 10-12 reps just dialing in technique. and try to hit 3-4 WORKING sets with a higher intensity.
KEY POINT: If you can DB Press 85 lbsx10reps and fail at rep 11, then a set of 85x8 will be your 2 RIR or RPE 8.
If you have 4 sets of 8 at RPE 8/ 2 RIR. then all sets should be done with 85lbs not including warm ups.
Start with moderate intensity and push for slightly more reps and/or 5 lbs more week over week and you will end up hitting max effort eventually for whatever rep range you are aiming for. I promise, you are not going to keep getting stronger every single week until infinity. You will hit max effort. When you do, taper off.
TAKEAWAYS
So the moral of the story is: TRY HARD.
Intensity is uncomfortable. Working out is hard. But you are taking your hard-earns funds and ever-vanishing time to get to the gym. Put some effort in and try hard. It will be so much less of a drag when you start seeing results.
BE HONEST: Obviously using the more subjective intensity gauges like RPE/RIR require some experimentation and practice to get right. It also requires HONESTY with yourself. Don’t leave reps in the tank and call it 1 RIR or RPE 8-9 when you know you could have done 4-5 more if you were really trying.
USE A PROGRAM: Follow an exercise program like my online coaching program or any other program that you can stick to.
LOG YOUR EXERCISES: Note it down so you can’t bullshit yourself. Take some exercises to a safe failure and try HARD so you can hold yourself accountable to what the RIR/RPE should be.
TEST YOUR MAXES (Powerlifting and Strength Training Specific.) You should be able to hit those numbers noted in the prilepin chart above. Testing RPE 9-10 on some of those rep ranges can give you a sense of your progress.
REACH OUT for a consult HERE! I can help you dial in your technique and intensity to where it should be and give you a straight forward plan to get you to your goals!
If you have made it this far, Thank you for checking out some of my writing! I was very excited about this one and to share the stories of some of the ladies I have the honor of sharing the weightroom with.
I hope you find it useful and have some takeaways!
If you are STRUGGLING with constantly being in and out of a fitness routine or Nutrition plan, you aren’t alone. The information is out there. We know what we need to do (for the most part). But still most people struggle and cannot keep it up for a long-period of time.
If this sounds familiar, let me help you create a long-term relationship with fitness with my Online Coaching or In-Person Coaching. Fill out a Contact Form and I will get right to you!
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