Autoregulated training (RPE)
Set the working weight from how the day feels, not from a number written weeks ago
Rather than following a fixed load on the sheet, the lifter rates each set by perceived exertion or reps left in the tank and adjusts the weight up or down on the spot. A rough night or a stressful week means backing off; a day when the bar moves fast means pushing. Powerlifters lean on it because strength swings from session to session, and chasing a planned number on a bad day is how injuries happen. It works best with some training experience, since judging how many reps you had left is a skill.
Who backs it
Sorted by strength of stance
- Layne NortonDoes it
Nutrition scientist and powerlifter · Biolayne
Thinks everyone should autoregulate: on a bad night's sleep he goes in, tests how the bar moves and drops the target load if it feels off. His best set of squats ever, he says, came after a sleepless night, which is why he tests rather than skips.
Source: FoundMyFitness: Dr. Layne Norton on Building Muscle“So I think everyone should auto regulate their training regardless of whatever happens. Okay. And so if you have a poor night's sleep and you come in and you're feeling like crap and it's not moving, well, then reduce the load and adjust accordingly.”
FoundMyFitness: Dr. Layne Norton on Building Muscle (opens in a new tab) - Nick BareDoes it
Hybrid athlete · Bare Performance Nutrition founder
Bad sleep changes the session. If a max-effort squat is written down and the warm-up feels wrong, he says he might cut the intensity or train another body part, and a friend calling about a 20-mile trail run tomorrow will push heavy leg day to the far side of it.
Source: BPN: Debunking the Top 4 Myths of Hybrid Training - Dwayne JohnsonDiscusses
Actor and former WWE champion · The Rock
Experience taught him to listen to his body, he says, and to tell the pain you can work through from the pain that means stop. He turned 40. Since then he has trained around old wrestling injuries instead of chasing weight on the bar, and he warns that grinding through a long shoot breaks the body down at any age.
Source: Men's Health: Dwayne Johnson December 2022 cover interview
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