How hard should you be training?

Let’s take a look at this from a hypertrophy perspective—how hard should you be training? This topic can be a bit nuanced, and it’s not always easy to give a single, straightforward answer. Effort is somewhat relative to the individual, but let’s try to quantify it.

In hypertrophy programming, we most commonly see two scales for effort: (1) RPE, which is Rate of Perceived Exertion, and (2) RIR, which is Reps (Repetitions) In Reserve.

RPE - Rate of Perceived Exertion

RPE is usually on a scale of 1–10, with 1 being the lowest amount of effort you can give and 10 being the absolute maximum.

RPE is a good, all-round scale. It can be used by anyone, but it is most commonly applied with beginners and early intermediates. When starting out with this scale, it could be a good idea to begin at a lower level and slowly work up the scale, so you can sense how much effort each ‘level’ requires.

For example, let’s say you hold a plank for 10 seconds. You finish, feel fine, could go again immediately, and aren’t out of breath—this is likely on the very low end, about a 2 or 3.

Then you try holding a plank for 90 seconds. By the 70-second mark, you’re shaking, feeling hot, and experiencing local muscle pain. You get to 85 seconds and can’t continue, so you drop right at the 90-second mark. That’s a 9 or a 10.

You can apply this scale to any exercise or movement. However, there are some drawbacks—if you haven’t experienced a true 10/10, you might under- or overestimate your effort level.

RIR - Reps In Reserve

RIR is a similar scale to RPE but is often used by trainees with more experience in handling stressors during training.

This scale is inverted compared to RPE, with 0 RIR being the utmost effort you can give.

How does it work? As the name suggests, it measures how many reps you have left before reaching your failure point. It’s important to note that ‘failure’ in this context means that you cannot complete another repetition with the specified Range of Motion (ROM) or control the eccentric phase.

So, with these in mind, how much effort should be given during training?

Most of the literature suggests that you should be somewhat close to maximal effort for the majority of your working sets. For example, if you are, on average, at 0–5 RIR, you’ll likely fall within the relative effort range for optimal hypertrophy. For RPE, this would be more like a 7 or 8.

This doesn’t mean that being outside this range will prevent all progress, but it does mean that if you consistently stay within these ranges, you can be fairly certain you are optimising your training.

What about training to failure?

Training to failure can be a good stimulus for hypertrophy; however, it also generates a lot of fatigue. If you often train to failure, you might find that you’re not recovering properly from session to session, which can hinder long-term progress.

Training to failure occasionally could be a beneficial addition for those optimising their recovery and who have built a higher tolerance for training fatigue.