RPE Calculator
Turn a rep target and an effort level into the weight you should actually load.
Rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg, because that is the smallest jump a standard barbell makes. RPE is a judgement, so treat this as a starting load and adjust on the day rather than chasing the number.
Example: with a 100 kg max, 5 reps at RPE 8 puts about 80 kg on the bar, 79 percent of your max.
How this is worked out
RPE is rate of perceived exertion, on a scale where 10 means you could not have done another rep and 8 means you had about two left. It is a way of prescribing effort rather than load, which matters because your capacity moves day to day and a percentage does not.
The chart behind this is Mike Tuchscherer's, from Reactive Training Systems, and it has been checked against lifters in the research since (Zourdos and colleagues found that experienced lifters estimate reps in reserve well, and novices do not, which is worth knowing before you rely on it).
Give it your max, the reps you want and the effort you are aiming for, and it reads the fraction of your max off the chart and rounds to the nearest 2.5 kg. Rep counts the chart has no row for get interpolated between the rows either side.
weight = one rep max x percentage from the RPE chart, rounded to the nearest 2.5 kg
What RPE actually measures
It measures how close a set took you to failure, judged from the inside. RPE 10 is a set where the last rep barely moved and there was nothing behind it. RPE 8 is a set you finished knowing you had two more.
That framing is the whole value. A program written in percentages tells you to lift 85 percent whether you slept four hours or nine. A program written in RPE tells you to work hard, and lets the bar weight be whatever hard means today.
The catch is that judging it takes practice. New lifters systematically call sets easier than they were, usually by two or three reps, because they have never actually met failure and have no reference for it. If you are new, treat the number the chart gives you as the answer and your feeling as the thing being calibrated, not the other way round.
The full RPE chart
Every rep and effort combination, as a percentage of your one rep max. This is the table most lifters end up screenshotting.
Look at how the columns bunch up as you go down. At one rep, the gap between RPE 8 and RPE 10 is ten percent of your max. At fifteen reps it is six. High rep work is far less sensitive to effort in load terms, which is why percentage based programming falls apart there and RPE does not.
| Reps | RPE 6 | RPE 6.5 | RPE 7 | RPE 7.5 | RPE 8 | RPE 8.5 | RPE 9 | RPE 9.5 | RPE 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 85.0% | 86.3% | 87.5% | 88.8% | 90.0% | 91.3% | 92.5% | 95.5% | 100.0% |
| 2 | 83.0% | 84.3% | 85.5% | 86.8% | 88.0% | 89.3% | 90.5% | 93.5% | 95.5% |
| 3 | 80.5% | 81.3% | 82.0% | 83.8% | 85.0% | 86.3% | 87.5% | 90.8% | 93.0% |
| 4 | 78.5% | 79.3% | 80.0% | 81.3% | 82.5% | 84.0% | 85.5% | 88.8% | 90.5% |
| 5 | 74.5% | 75.3% | 76.0% | 77.5% | 79.0% | 80.5% | 82.0% | 85.5% | 87.0% |
| 6 | 72.0% | 72.8% | 73.5% | 75.0% | 76.5% | 78.0% | 79.5% | 83.0% | 85.0% |
| 7 | 69.5% | 70.3% | 71.0% | 72.3% | 73.5% | 75.0% | 76.5% | 80.0% | 82.0% |
| 8 | 67.0% | 67.8% | 69.0% | 70.0% | 71.0% | 72.3% | 74.0% | 77.5% | 80.0% |
| 9 | 65.0% | 65.8% | 66.5% | 67.8% | 69.0% | 70.3% | 71.5% | 75.0% | 77.5% |
| 10 | 63.0% | 64.0% | 65.0% | 65.8% | 67.0% | 68.3% | 69.0% | 72.5% | 75.0% |
| 12 | 60.0% | 60.8% | 62.0% | 63.0% | 64.0% | 64.8% | 65.0% | 68.5% | 70.0% |
| 15 | 55.5% | 56.3% | 57.0% | 58.0% | 59.0% | 60.0% | 61.0% | 64.0% | 65.0% |
| 20 | 50.5% | 51.0% | 52.0% | 53.0% | 54.0% | 54.8% | 55.5% | 58.5% | 60.0% |
The Tuchscherer chart, the same one used across strength coaching. Read down for your rep target and across for how hard the set should feel. The columns get closer together as the reps rise, which is why RPE beats percentages at higher rep counts: one point of RPE is worth less weight there.
RPE and reps in reserve are the same scale
Some coaches write RPE, others write RIR. They are the same number counted from opposite ends: reps in reserve is ten minus the RPE. Two reps left is RPE 8, always.
RIR is usually the easier one to learn on, because it asks a concrete question. How many more could you have done is answerable. How hard was that out of ten is not, until you have a few years of sets to compare against.
| RPE | Reps in reserve | % of max at 5 reps |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | 87.0% |
| 9.5 | 0.5 | 85.5% |
| 9 | 1 | 82.0% |
| 8.5 | 1.5 | 80.5% |
| 8 | 2 | 79.0% |
| 7.5 | 2.5 | 77.5% |
| 7 | 3 | 76.0% |
| 6.5 | 3.5 | 75.3% |
| 6 | 4 | 74.5% |
Reps in reserve is the same scale counted the other way. RPE 8 and two reps left are the same statement. The last column shows what each point costs you in load on a set of five.
What to put on the bar
The same chart expressed as weight, for a 100 kg max. Scale it to yours, or use the calculator at the top and skip the arithmetic entirely.
| Reps | RPE 7 | RPE 8 | RPE 9 | RPE 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 87.5 kg (193 lb) | 90 kg (198 lb) | 92.5 kg (204 lb) | 100 kg (221 lb) |
| 3 | 82.5 kg (182 lb) | 85 kg (187 lb) | 87.5 kg (193 lb) | 92.5 kg (204 lb) |
| 5 | 75 kg (165 lb) | 80 kg (176 lb) | 82.5 kg (182 lb) | 87.5 kg (193 lb) |
| 8 | 70 kg (154 lb) | 70 kg (154 lb) | 75 kg (165 lb) | 80 kg (176 lb) |
| 10 | 65 kg (143 lb) | 67.5 kg (149 lb) | 70 kg (154 lb) | 75 kg (165 lb) |
| 12 | 62.5 kg (138 lb) | 65 kg (143 lb) | 65 kg (143 lb) | 70 kg (154 lb) |
The same chart as weight on the bar, for a 100 kg one rep max. Scale it to your own max, or use the calculator above and skip the arithmetic.
Why not just use percentages
Because percentages are anchored to a max you tested once, weeks ago, in conditions you will not repeat. Your actual capacity swings by a few percent day to day on sleep, food and stress, and by more than that across a training block as you get stronger without retesting.
Run a percentage program long enough and you get the same two failures: the weights feel trivially light for a month after you get stronger, or they grind you down for a month after a bad stretch. RPE self corrects, because it is measured on the day.
How the app uses it
Workout With Me prescribes weights from the same chart. It keeps an estimated max per exercise from your logged sets, takes your target rep range and RPE preference, and reads the load off the table.
It also uses the chart as a floor. After a deload, progression restarts from what the RPE table says the weight should be rather than from the deload weight, which stops an easy week from quietly becoming a step backwards.
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Key Takeaways
- RPE rates how close a set was to failure. RPE 10 is nothing left, RPE 8 is about two reps left.
- Reps in reserve is the same scale reversed: RIR is ten minus the RPE.
- The chart converts a rep target and an RPE into a percentage of your max, which this calculator turns into weight.
- RPE beats percentages because it adjusts to the day, where a percentage is anchored to a max you tested weeks ago.
- Newer lifters underrate their own effort by two or three reps, so trust the chart over the feeling until you have a reference.
- The app prescribes from this chart, and uses it as a floor so a deload cannot become a step backwards.
What is a RPE?
RPE, or rate of perceived exertion, is a scale from 6 to 10 describing how close a set came to failure. RPE 10 means no more reps were possible, RPE 9 means one was, and so on. In strength training it is used to prescribe effort instead of a fixed percentage of your maximum, so the load adjusts to the day.
RPE and percentage of max describe the same set from opposite ends: five reps at RPE 8 is about 79 percent of your one rep max, so either number can set the day's working weight.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does RPE 8 mean?
It means you finished the set with about two reps still in you. If you were doing five reps at RPE 8, you could have got seven before failing. On the chart that works out to roughly 79 percent of your one rep max for a set of five.
How do I convert RPE to a weight?
Take your estimated one rep max, find your rep count and RPE on the chart to get a percentage, and multiply. A 140 kg max at 5 reps and RPE 8 gives 0.79, so about 110 kg. The calculator on this page does it and rounds to the nearest 2.5 kg.
Is RPE better than percentage based training?
For most people, yes, because it adjusts to the day. A percentage is anchored to a max you tested at one moment, and your real capacity moves with sleep, food and stress. The exception is a beginner, who cannot yet judge RPE accurately and is better served by fixed loads until they have met failure a few times.
What is the difference between RPE and RIR?
None, mathematically. Reps in reserve is ten minus the RPE, so RPE 8 and 2 RIR describe the same set. RIR tends to be easier to learn on because it asks a concrete question about how many more reps you had.
Can I use RPE if I do not know my one rep max?
Yes, and many coaches prefer it that way. Pick a rep target and an RPE, then find a weight where the set genuinely lands there. You do not need a max at all. The chart is only necessary if you want to convert between the two systems, or to work backwards to an estimated max from a set you logged.