An RPE chart for lifting links how hard a set felt, how many reps you had left, and what percentage of your one-rep max that effort works out to. Here's the full chart, the formula behind every number, and how to use it.
September 21, 2026
An RPE chart for lifting links three things: how hard a set felt (RPE, on a 1–10 scale), how many reps you had left (RIR, reps in reserve), and what percentage of your one-rep max that effort works out to. The short version fits in one table:
| RPE | Reps left (RIR) | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 | Max effort. No more reps possible |
| 9.5 | 0–1 | Maybe one more rep, maybe with a little more weight |
| 9 | 1 | One rep left |
| 8.5 | 1–2 | Definitely one rep left, maybe two |
| 8 | 2 | Two reps left |
| 7 | 3 | Three reps left. Bar still moves fast |
| 6 | 4+ | Comfortable, warm-up to moderate |
This version, where RPE is defined by the reps you had left, comes from strength research published in 2016 (Zourdos 2016). If you want the definitions on their own, see rate of perceived exertion and reps in reserve. The rest of this page is the full percentage chart, how to use it, and why every RPE chart you find online disagrees a little.
This RPE–RIR chart gives the percentage of your one-rep max you can expect to lift for a given number of reps at a given RPE:
| Reps | RPE 10 | RPE 9 | RPE 8 | RPE 7 | RPE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100% | 94% | 91% | 88% | 86% |
| 2 | 94% | 91% | 88% | 86% | 83% |
| 3 | 91% | 88% | 86% | 83% | 81% |
| 4 | 88% | 86% | 83% | 81% | 79% |
| 5 | 86% | 83% | 81% | 79% | 77% |
| 6 | 83% | 81% | 79% | 77% | 75% |
| 7 | 81% | 79% | 77% | 75% | 73% |
| 8 | 79% | 77% | 75% | 73% | 71% |
| 9 | 77% | 75% | 73% | 71% | 70% |
| 10 | 75% | 73% | 71% | 70% | 68% |
| 11 | 73% | 71% | 70% | 68% | 67% |
| 12 | 71% | 70% | 68% | 67% | 65% |
Every cell comes from one formula:
%1RM = 100 ÷ (1 + (reps + reps left) ÷ 30)
It's the Epley one-rep-max formula (Epley 1985), with one change: the reps you had left are added to the reps you did, because a set of 5 at RPE 8 is really a set of 7 that you stopped early. A single at RPE 10 is 100% by definition. Sweatora's estimated one-rep max uses the same Epley formula, so on sets taken to failure the chart and the app agree. The app counts only the reps you did, so on easier sets its estimate errs low.
Read down a column and the weight drops as reps go up. Read across a row and the weight drops as you leave more reps in the tank. The half-step values (8.5, 9.5) sit about halfway between their neighbours.
Say your program calls for 5 reps at RPE 8, and your estimated one-rep max on the squat is 120 kg.
Then treat the result as a starting point, not an order. If 97.5 kg × 5 turns out to be RPE 9, today is a heavier day than the chart assumed. Take a little off the next set. If it's RPE 7, add a little. Adjusting to how you're performing on the day is called autoregulation, and it's the main reason to use RPE at all.
The chart also works backwards. Do 100 kg × 6 at RPE 8, and the RPE 8 column says that's 79%, so your estimated max is about 100 ÷ 0.79 ≈ 127 kg.
Compare this chart with others online and you'll see numbers that differ by a few percent. That's expected, and it's worth knowing why.
The RPE–percentage chart most sites copy traces back to Reactive Training Systems (RTS), the powerlifting coaching company that popularised RPE for lifting. Its numbers don't come from the Epley formula, and the two charts part ways in two places. Compared with it, our formula-based chart:
Neither chart is “correct” for you. Both are averages across many lifters. Your own chart depends on the lift, your muscle fibre makeup and your training history. RTS itself recommends customizing the chart for each lift.
If you log weight, reps and RPE for your sets, you already have what you need:
A few weeks of logged sets tell you more than any generic table. It's one of the best reasons to track your workouts with RPE in the first place.
Accurate enough to be useful, not accurate enough to trust blindly. In the 2016 study that introduced the reps-in-reserve scale, experienced squatters rated their sets more consistently than novices, and everyone got more accurate as the set got closer to failure (Zourdos 2016). A 2022 review of the research found that people tend to underestimate how many reps they have left, by about one on average, and that estimates are best close to failure (Halperin 2022).
In practice, treat ratings far from failure (RPE 6 and below) as rough, and ratings of 8–9 as fairly reliable. Practice helps. Now and then, on a safe exercise like a machine or a leg press, take a set you rated RPE 8 to failure and see whether you had two reps left.
For most sets, RPE 7–9 (1–3 reps left) works for both strength and muscle. A 2024 analysis covering 55 muscle-growth studies and 67 strength studies found that strength gains were similar across a wide range of reps in reserve, while muscle growth improved the closer sets got to failure (Robinson 2024). A 2023 meta-analysis found no clear extra benefit from going all the way to failure, compared with stopping just short (Refalo 2023).
So a sensible default is: main lifts at RPE 7–8, accessory work at RPE 8–9, and occasional RPE 10 sets where failure is safe. How close you go matters alongside how many hard sets you do. See weekly sets per muscle and rest between sets. If you work in a rep range rather than a fixed weight, RPE also tells you when to move up in double progression.
Mid-workout, a 1–10 scale is one decision too many. Sweatora asks one tap per set instead: Easy, Good, Hard or Max, recorded as RPE 5, 7, 8 and 10. After the session, it averages those ratings for each exercise and uses them to suggest your next weights. If the average is Good or easier, add 2.5 kg. If you logged Hard two sessions running, back off. That's progressive overload with the decision made for you. The full rule, and how it fits into logging and reviewing, is in our guide on how to track your workouts.
Yes. RPE 10 means you couldn't have done another rep with good form, and couldn't have added weight either. Some lifters use 9.5 for “no more reps, but maybe a touch more weight”. Technical failure, where your form breaks down, often comes before true muscular failure. Stop there on lifts like squats and deadlifts.
They measure the same thing from opposite ends. RIR counts the reps left, and RPE counts up from them: RPE = 10 − RIR. RPE 8 is 2 RIR. Some apps and coaches use one and some the other. Our RIR entry covers the details.
Yes, but lean on it less. Beginners usually have more reps left than they think, so a set they call RPE 8 may really be RPE 6. For the first months, simple weight progression works well. Log RPE anyway, so the habit is there once your progress slows.
