INTENSITY is listed in the exercise notes. It will be written as "RPE" or "RIR" which stand for "rate of perceived exertion" or "repetitions in reserve".
RPE: Rate of Perceived Exertion
Most of our workouts list INTENSITY as "RPE" and are on a scale from 1-10. During a warm-up block, the RPE will usually be 5-6 out of 10. This means you can perform the number of repetitions listed and the last repetition will feel 'moderate' and you would likely be able to perform roughly another 25% of what you completed. For example, if you completed 10 repetitions of an exercise and when you finished, you felt like you could perform another 2-3 repetitions with good form.
The key is knowing when your form is starting to fail.
If the RPE is 10/10, the last repetition should be extremely hard, but you can maintain proper form throughout the movement.
Note that as you progress from week to week in a program, the RPE may increase to help you progressively overload - the key to growing muscle.
RIR: Repetitions in Reserve
If you do find an exercise that uses RIR, the concept is very similar. If the RIR is '0', this is equivalent to an RPE of 10/10.
RIR Defined:
Reps in Reserve (RIR) is a training method that measures the intensity of a lift by indicating how many more repetitions a person could perform before technical failure. Technical failure is when a person is unable to perform the lift with proper form.
For example, if a person performs a set of bench press and could have done two more reps with good form, their RIR would be 2.
RIR is a useful tool because it helps control the intensity of training. It allows adjusting efforts based on daily strength and readiness levels, while still maintaining the desired intensity. You will notice in our newer programs that use RIR, each week, the RIR will change to help you progressively overload.
It will take some experimenting to find the correct weight to achieve the target RPE or RIR and if the weight you initially select is too hard or too easy, it is OK to do less or more then the recommended repetitions.
Don't forget to use the HISTORY button
to see what you did the last time you performed the exercise.