At the start of a new strength training program, you might have anything from 12-34 exercises across all days in a week. Half of the exercises you might have performed recently, but the other half could be new, or it’s been years since you have done them. 

For any exercise, you have been performing recently (the last 4-6 weeks). It should be pretty obvious what to lift.

It’s hard to imagine you can remember the weights of all exercises. Of course, you can check your load log, but if it was one (plus) years ago, it has no relevance to you now. And what do you do if it’s a totally new exercise for you?

Appreciate that new exercises are great because they are novel. Therefore any load is a new stimulus (plus novel exercises will make you sore). So don’t be an idiot and jump in at the top. Start light. It’s actually better to start too light.

Proximity to failure – after performing the last rep of each set, ask yourself, “How many more reps could I have performed on that weight”? 

Suppose you could have done five more. That’s 5 Reps In Reserve (RIR). Write that in your log; if it’s a five, you can go heavier next time. 

But let’s say you get close to your target rep count, and your form breaks down, so you can’t complete the set. Your proximity to failure was ZERO. Score that ZERO. And next time, leave your ego at the door and back off the weight. NOTE: If you are smart, you should only do this occasionally.

Most of your exercises should be scored between 3 and 1 RIR, which I consider the sweet spot. At this point, you should be lifting pretty heavy, close to your max, but you should be able to perform each exercise with good form.

Some big lifts like deadlifts and back squats can sit in a training plan for 12 weeks and progress very slowly, never failing, always focussing on the form. On the other hand, low-skill exercises like leg extension and bicep curls can be pushed to failure much sooner, providing you have good experience with them and can perform pretty much perfect technique.

Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, where I share exercise techniques and show you how to maximise your training. I hope you enjoyed this blog post, if you have any questions, I host a weekly  Q&A session on my Instagram channel. Otherwise, please feel free to email me at andy@andyvincentpt.com. 

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