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the top work set, and is incapable of performing any fatigue work. In
this case, the lifter should not attempt drop sets, and should note
this in his/her training log.
So, now we have the intensity for our drop set. But how many drops
should the lifter perform? The answer to that question is deceptively
simple: the lifter should perform as many drop sets as it takes to get
to the same RPE of the top work set.
Again, it's important to control other variables while performing the
drop sets. If the athlete doubles his/her rest period after the top
working set, and prior to starting fatigue work, that's going to permit
more full recovery. This will interfere with fatigue, and could permit
too many drop sets to be performed.
The 4-6% range is a moderate level of fatigue; generally speaking,
the following holds true:
0% - no fatigue work
2% - minimal fatigue work
5% - moderate fatigue work
7% - high amount of fatigue work
Generally speaking, a higher fatigue percent, means the lifter will be
performing more work. When the lifter performs more work, more
fatigue is generated. More fatigue requires more recovery. If an
athlete is gauging RPE accurately, training for a week with a fatigue
percentage of 7% will leave the athlete in a state of incomplete
recovery the following week.
So, you would not program a 7% fatigue drop for an athlete who is
already having problems recovering. You would not program this
much fatigue immediately prior to the athletic event. You would not
program this much fatigue for multiple weeks.
The lesson here: in your programming, identify and control the
variables which affect the athlete's ability to generate intensity. By
providing a consistent experience, it will become much easier to
gauge RPE for a given exercise.
Over time, with practice, you'll develop your "coach's eye" and
begin to see, with each athlete, what different RPEs look like. Bar
speed might be a great indicator for some athletes. You might be
able to clearly see that the athlete has moved from warm-up weight
to working weight by how quickly they move the bar at the
beginning of the exercise.
Quick review: autoregulation is a strategy to control the intensity
and volume of training so as to maximize training effect while
accounting for changes in the individual. Changes which impact
training can include stress, illness, and injury. Of note is that "stress
monitoring this rise in RPE, you can determine the level of your
fatigue. Here is an example
Lets assume that the standard RPE chart is accurate for you. You
start with a warm up. The programmed protocol was x3 @8, 5%
fatigue, so you do the following:
405x3 @7
415x3 @7.5
425x3 @8 and lets assume this is our initial for the day. Now, you
repeat this until you get 5% fatigue.
425x3 @8
425x3 @8
425x3 @8.5
425x3 @9 and we stop here.
This method is limited by how accurate you can be with a certain
RPE. If you can normally be accurate with your RPEs to a half point,
then that will necessarily be more accurate than a person who is
only accurate to a whole number.
A Rep Drop is also logically named. To perform a rep drop, after
your initial, you keep the load on the bar the same and reduce the
number of reps performed with each set. You continue performing
each set with the same load and fewer reps until your RPE matches
and your fatigue percent is reached. Check your estimated 1RMs to
see if you reached your desired level of fatigue.
Heres an example.
405x3 @8
425x3 @8.5
455x3 @9 This is our initial
455x2 @8
455x2 @9 and we stop here. This is 5% fatigue by the standard RPE
chart.
The training effect for this depends on the protocol you are using,
but it obviously emphasizes the higher intensity loads, but keeps the
effort down a hair compared to Repeats.
The Load Drop method will keep the reps the same for subsequent
sets, but due to a drop in the bar weight, we can predict the RPE will
be down for subsequent sets. This will have the effect of producing
more total rep volume during the course of the exercise. This makes
the Load Drop method better for producing physical (morphological)
adaptations. And depending on how the actual sets play out, it can
also slightly emphasize power production.
The Repeat method keeps load and reps the same as the initial, so it
is the RPE that climbs. The influence of this method on the overall
training effect is varied. At lower RPEs (below 8), the Repeat
method tends to enhance work capacity. At higher RPEs, this effect
is lessened. Instead, the increased RPE will serve to improve your