Be honest… do you have more left in the tank?
The hard truth is that many people shortchange their progress in the gym by not training with adequate intensity.
Training within a close proximity to TRUE failure is a skill, and one that is mastered after many months and years of consistent weight lifting. Up-skilling in this area means being able to learn the difference between the reps within a set feeling uncomfortable, and the reps feeling HARD. It’s normal to feel uncomfortable when you’re pushing yourself… but the truth is you probably still have more to give… and it’s past this barrier where the real magic happens.
The terms RPE (rate of perceived exertion) and RIR (reps in reserve) are often used synonymously, and as this infographic indicates as RPE increases RIR should decrease. The current consensus is that training within a 7-10 RPE, with 0-3 RIR is the “sweet spot” for maximally stimulating muscle growth. Of course there are exceptions to this with certain exercises, however we encourage you to practice the skill of training intensely within these ranges if you want to experience the greatest changes in muscle hypertrophy and training performance.
How do you truly know if you’re approaching failure though? One method we recommend is filming your exercises, and paying close attention to the concentric speed of your reps at the beginning vs the end of your sets. Recognise that it’s normal for the concentric speed to be within 1-2 seconds at the early phases of a set when you aren’t as fatigued. However, once you approached a true 0-3 RIR, the concentric speed of your reps should decrease quite dramatically (because you need to push significantly harder), and usually last 3-5 seconds. A good example of this would be dumbbell shoulder press - the first few reps of a set move quite smoothly, but the final 1-2 you need to REALLY fight for to push up (if you’re training hard).
Let us know, where on this scale do you usually train in? And what’s your consensus around training to failure versus reps in reserve?