Good morning and welcome back! Today, Zack and I are talking about autoregulation. We’ve all had stellar gym days where we lifted big ass weights and set PRs and everyone hoisted us on their shoulders and cheered us on. And we’ve also had those days where we feel like we’ve been hit by a truck before opening the gym door. Many workout programs use percentages and hard numbers (sets, reps, weight) to push us to the next level. But since we’re not robots, sometimes those hard numbers backfire when we’re not feeling our best. Instead, we talk about using Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and Reps in Reserve (RIR) as a means to gauge intensity level with a lift and make sure we’re not getting buried under the bar. It’s a useful tool if you know how to use it correctly. Next, we change gears and talk about both a lower body and upper body exercise that we feel are overstated, overused, and generally bad exercises for most people, most of the time. Grab a beer and get your stamps ready for that hate mail. Enjoy!
Andy Van Strength and Conditioning 