The RPE chart
RPE and RIR describe the same thing from opposite ends: RPE rates how hard the set was, RIR counts the clean reps you had left. The conversion is simply RIR = 10 − RPE.
| RPE | RIR | Feels like | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | Max Effort | No more reps possible |
| 9.5 | 0.5 | Near Max | Maybe half a rep left |
| 9 | 1 | Extremely Hard | Could do 1 more rep |
| 8.5 | 1.5 | Very Hard | 1–2 reps left |
| 8 | 2 | Hard | Could do 2 more reps |
| 7.5 | 2.5 | Moderately Hard | 2–3 reps left |
| 7 | 3 | Moderate | Could do 3 more reps |
| 6 | 4+ | Easy | Could do 4+ more reps |
How to rate a set honestly
Rate the last rep, not your mood. If the bar slowed noticeably but you are confident one more rep was there, that is RPE 9. If you genuinely could not have completed another rep with good form, that is a true RPE 10 — rarer than most lifters think.
The scale starts mattering at 6: anything easier is warm-up territory, which is why strength training uses 6–10 rather than the full 1–10 scale.
Using effort ratings in training
Most productive working sets live between RPE 7 and 9 — hard enough to drive adaptation, with reps in reserve to manage fatigue. Effort ratings also auto-regulate your training: “5 reps at RPE 8” self-adjusts to how strong you are today, where a fixed weight does not.
Gript logs RPE or RIR on every set with one tap above the keyboard, using these exact labels — so what you practice here is what you log there.