Understanding the Reps in Reserve (RIR) Method for Effective Training
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Glossary
Intensity: The amount of effort or load used during an exercise, often measured by the percentage of maximum weight lifted or proximity to muscle failure. Higher intensity typically leads to greater muscle fatigue and adaptation.
Adaptation: The body’s process of adjusting to physical stress, resulting in increased strength, endurance, or muscle size after consistent exposure to progressively challenging workouts.
Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE): A self-assessment scale used to gauge how hard a workout feels, with higher numbers indicating closer proximity to muscle failure or greater physical effort.
Deload: A planned reduction in workout intensity or volume, usually lasting one week, to promote recovery and prevent overtraining while allowing for continued long-term progress.
Fatigue: Temporary reduction in muscle performance and strength due to intense or prolonged exercise, often requiring recovery before optimal performance can be restored. It accumulates with higher intensity and volume, influencing workout quality and adaptation.
Technical failure: When one more rep with good form is no longer possible.
Introduction
The level of intensity of a given exercise is directly linked to the adaptation it will cause. In strength training, there are multiple methods to gauge workout intensity.
The Reps in Reserve (RIR) method has been gaining a lot of popularity lately due to the success it has shown in leading to more adaptation from exercise.
The aim of this article is to provide a general understanding of what the RIR method is and how to use it.
Who can benefit from the RIR method?
The RIR method is adaptable to any fitness level. It is a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve their strength and/or increase muscle mass.
For beginners, the RIR method helps establish a better connection with their body. Knowing how much effort to exert is often hard and the RIR method provides an intuitive way to gauge intensity without overtraining. Starting with higher RIRs (3-4) allows them to build muscle and strength while using good form, keeping risk of injury low.
More experienced lifters are more familiar with their bodies and can more accurately estimate how many reps they still have in the tank. Truly achieving 1-2 RIR and even 0 RIR allows them to push close to failure, which is essential to trigger the desired adaptation at this level.
What is the RIR method?
In a sentence, the RIR method is a self-assessment method that helps track how close you are to muscle failure during a set.
For example, if you’re performing a set of bicep curls and stop when you feel like you only have 1 more rep in the tank before your biceps giving up, you have done that set to 1 RIR.
When compared to a more common method, like the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), one could make the argument that there is little difference. A 1RIR is the equivalent to 9 in the RPE scale. The reason I think RIR works better for adaption is that it forces us to use muscle failure as the reference point. This, week after week, more naturally puts us in a situation of progressive overload. Both proximity to failure and progressive overload have shown to be major proxies for muscle adaption.
How does RIR work?
The RIR method has two key components:
The RIR range
The prescribed/estimated number of reps needed to reach the RIR range
To determine your RIR range, it's important to understand what the different RIR ranges are used for.
5+ RIR: Typically used when warming up or when a very low level of intensity is required (e.g. rehabilitation). Fatigue most times is barely a factor. Particularly hard to estimate as is quite far from failure.
3-4 RIR: The most common RIR range to use in the first few weeks of a new programme. Fatigue becomes relevant, depending on the amount of workouts per week. Easier to estimate than 5+ RIR but requires some practice to start being accurate.
1-2 RIR: The RIR range used towards the end of a programme, as the deload week approaches. Fatigue is very much a factor at this range and should be watched closely as it may contribute to higher risk of injury. Much easier to estimate as it is often clear when we have 1 or 2 more in the tank. Still, it requires practice to estimate accurately. Beginners often get overwhelmed by the intensity and underestimate how much they still have in the tank.
0 RIR: Training until it is impossible to perform a full rep. This does not mean “training to failure” but instead to stay one rep short of it. If we finish a rep and we feel that we cannot perform another complete rep after that, then we are at 0 RIR. Working at this RIR is typically used towards the end of a programme and requires some experience with lifting.
The second component of the RIR method, your prescribed/estimated number of reps, is more fluid. Consider it a light suggestion, especially when new to this method. You are not led by this number, instead you are led by fatigue levels in your target muscles and prior performance with that exercise.
How to estimate RIR during a workout
Let’s create a scenario where our programme asks us to perform 3 sets of bicep curls to 3 RIR:
We start by warming up. We perform 2 or 3 sets at a 5+ RIR with weight increasing up towards our working weight. Little to no rest in between each set.
After warming up we start our first working set. The programme states 12 reps or 3 RIR.
As we perform the set, we feel fatigue building up in the target muscle(s).
The crucial moment is when we’re close to the 12 reps. At this point we can use the following thought pattern:
The most common mistake is to stop when the prescribed amount of reps is completed, neglecting the proximity to failure and as such, intensity and potential adaptation.
Very rarely the number of prescribed reps will match the desired RIR. It should be used as a rough indicator of how many reps we should be looking to perform in the given exercise. This number becomes more accurate over time, as you are able to refer to prior sessions.
Benefits of using the RIR method in training
Progressive overload: By gradually decreasing RIR we can increase workout intensity. In programming, this is done on a weekly or biweekly basis to ensure we keep adaptation levels constant throughout the programme.
Autoregulation: Allows for flexibility in training as it is by default in tune with how you feel. For a given exercise, on days you’re not particularly feeling it, 3 RIR might be 8 reps, whereas when you’re feeling amazing, that same 3 RIR might be 12 reps!
Distance from failure: Training to failure is known to yield little gains because of the fatigue it incurs on the body. The RIR method helps us ensure we stay away from complete failure and keep fatigue levels predictable.
Reduced risk of injury: Training to failure has also been linked to a higher risk of injury. By using the RIR method we can decrease the chances of getting injured.
How to implement RIR on your programme
The RIR method should be applied to each exercise from which we wish to get an adaptation that is either more strength or more muscle mass.
In the context of a programme, RIR is often lowered as the weeks go by. For instance, we can start a programme with a 3-4 RIR and finish it at 1 RIR or even 0 RIR. This ensures you’re working towards a peak of performance and that the level of intensity is gradually increased.
In the figure above, we can see an example of a 6 week programme where RIR is gradually lowered as weeks go by, reaching 0 RIR by week 6. Intensity is increasing at a similar rate as RIR is decreased.
By the end of week six, RIR is returns to high numbers, intensity plummets and the deload begins.
How to track progress with RIR
Tracking progress is essential to achieve our goals and identify plateaus. When tracking progress on a given exercise between weeks with the same RIR, we can face two situations:
The weight didn’t change: If we lifted the same weight on both weeks, progress consists in performing more reps
The weight changed: If we’re lifting a different weight, we can use volume (weight x reps) to assess whether there was progress
My recommendation is to try to vary the weight as little as possible so it is easier to track progress.
When the RIR drops from one week to the next, we will naturally be performing more reps (as we will be working closer to failure).
Common mistakes when using RIR
Common mistake | How to address it |
Underestimating what's left in the tank Beginners with limited experience doing a set to failure often struggle gauging how many reps they have left in the tank. They typically give up too soon when in reality they have not, leaving some gains on the table. | Experiment with higher levels of intensity. Train with a partner to spot you and support you in safely taking a set to failure, to gain a more accurate understanding of true fatigue. |
Prioritising number of reps Treating the estimated number of reps as an end goal, ignoring fatigue levels. Technical failure is exceeded, risk of injury and unnecessary fatigue increases. | |
Using RIR for every single set A workout is composed of a warm up, working sets, and a cool down. The RIR is not appropriate during warm ups or cool downs, or during working sets that are focused on isometrics and stablisation. | Use the RIR method in working sets, where the goal is to improve strength and/or muscle size. |
Conclusion
In conclusion, the RIR method offers a flexible and effective approach to strength training by helping lifters accurately gauge workout intensity and stay in the vicinity of muscle failure. By gradually decreasing RIR throughout a program, progressive overload is encouraged while fatigue and risk of injury are minimised. This makes RIR a valuable tool for anyone looking to improve strength and build muscle. With proper practice and awareness of common mistakes, RIR can be an excellent method for enhancing long-term gains and tracking progress.