Masheen

Effort

RIR

Reps in reserve Also called reps in reserve, repetitions in reserve, reps left in the tank

RIR, or reps in reserve, is the number of good reps you could still have done when you stopped a set.

8 reps doneRIR22 left
8 reps done, 2 more reps in the tank: 2 RIR. Squat, 8 reps with two good reps still in you: 2 reps in reserve, or RPE 8.

In plain words

Count the reps you stopped short of, and that is the number. Stop with two good reps in you and the set was 2 RIR. Stop with nothing left and it was 0. The number replaces words like hard and easy with something you can count. It maps onto the lifting RPE scale by taking it from ten: 0 RIR is RPE 10, 1 RIR is RPE 9, 2 RIR is RPE 8, 3 RIR is RPE 7. Past about three reps left, the published scale stops counting single reps and reads RPE 5 to 6 as four to six reps left. Guesses are closer the nearer a set comes to failure.

An example

Squat, 8 reps. The eighth is slow but clean, and you are sure of two more: 2 reps in reserve, RPE 8 on the lifting scale. Written into a plan, that reads as Helms and colleagues write it: 3 × 10 at RPE 8–9, meaning 2 or 1 reps in reserve. One coaching guide counts a set towards the week's volume when it ends at 0 to 4 reps in reserve.

Often confused with

RPE RPE is the same judgement on a 1 to 10 scale: RPE is ten minus RIR. Failure Failure is 0 reps in reserve; RIR counts how far short of it you stopped.
RPE RPE is a score from 1 to 10 for how hard a set felt, counted by how many more reps you could have done.
Failure Failure is the point in a set where you try another rep and cannot finish it.
Double progression Double progression is a rule for progressing in two steps that take turns: reps go up at the same weight to the top of a range, then the weight goes up.
Working set A working set is a set done at the weight and reps the program asks for: the sets that count.

Go deeper

Double progression: reps first, then weight Double progression explained with numbers. Add reps to the top of your range, then add the smallest plate. The rule as a table, a worked example, and the sums. Updated

Sources

  1. Renaissance Periodization, Training Volume Landmarks for Muscle Growth Read
  2. Zourdos et al. 2016. Novel resistance training-specific RPE scale measuring repetitions in reserve. J Strength Cond Res 30(1):267–275 Read
  3. Helms et al. 2016. Application of the repetitions in reserve-based RPE scale for resistance training. Strength Cond J 38(4):42–49 Read

Updated . How these pages are researched and corrected: editorial policy. Every term in the glossary.