R.I.R. The Tool for Progress in Strength
- tourbeyond2017
- Mar 18
- 3 min read
How Failure and Perceived Exertion Drive Personal and Physical Growth
How is failure going to help you improve strength? It’s about understanding your limits, challenging yourself, and learning when to recognize the point of technical failure—the moment you need to put the bar back on the rack. No risk for failure means no real challenge. And without a challenge, growth becomes stagnant.
My Story: Learning to Push Limits
During a training session, my coach set a range of 6 to 12 reps for back squats with a specified weight, ensuring I had about 3 reps left in the tank—referred to as "Reps in Reserve" (RIR). For me, this meant squatting 65 pounds for 6 reps, estimating I could manage 9 before reaching technical failure.
As I approached the squat rack, I recalled my coach's key pointers:
Posture and Alignment: Keep your head up, arms tucked in, and core engaged.
Controlled Movement: Lower the bar for a count of three, pause at the bottom, and drive up in one powerful motion.
Setup: Duck under the bar, position it securely on my traps and shoulders, and ensure my elbows are tucked for stability. My feet—a little wider than shoulder-width apart—were ready to support me as I pushed low, aiming for a depth that broke 90 degrees at the knees.
This attention to technique not only helped me perform efficiently but also gave me the confidence to embrace the challenge.
Understanding Resistance and Failure in Weight Training
Choosing the Right Weight To stimulate muscle growth and strength, you need to select a resistance level that challenges your muscles within a target range—typically 5 to 12 repetitions. Ideally, you’ll finish the set just shy of technical failure, with only 1 to 3 reps left in reserve. This ensures you're pushing your body without compromising safety.
It’s normal to misjudge weights when starting out—sometimes they’re too heavy, other times too light. What matters is your willingness to experiment and find the sweet spot. And yes, even experienced lifters still adjust.
Defining Failure Failure occurs when you can no longer perform another repetition with proper form. As fatigue sets in, the primary muscles driving the movement may tire, and your body might recruit smaller, less capable muscles to assist. While it’s impressive how adaptable our bodies are, this compensation can lead to improper mechanics and an increased risk of injury.
This is why recognizing failure is a skill. It requires awareness of the specific muscles intended to perform the movement and the experience to notice when form begins to waver. Starting with lighter weights or warm-up sets is a great way to build this awareness and prepare your muscles for heavier loads.
The Role of RIR in Strength Training
Reps in Reserve (RIR) is a method for gauging effort and perceived exertion during a set. It reflects how close you are to failure, and it’s a powerful tool for achieving progress. For physical adaptations like muscle growth, improved cardiovascular health, and enhanced metabolic function, your body needs challenges that demand effort and consistency.
Importantly, RIR is personal. While a coach or spotter can observe when your form is breaking down, only you can assess how many reps you have left in the tank. It’s a balance of pushing hard enough to elicit growth while avoiding overreaching into dangerous territory.
Embracing the Struggle
When you’re new to the gym, it can feel like everyone else knows exactly what they’re doing. Trust me—they don’t. Every person, no matter how experienced, has a starting point. There’s no shame in beginning, no embarrassment in picking up a weight that’s too heavy, and no judgment in placing it back down.
The struggle itself is what makes you stronger. This willingness to try, fail, and adapt is the foundation of personal and physical growth. Progress doesn’t happen overnight—it’s built through patience, effort, and the understanding that every step, no matter how small, is a necessary part of the journey.
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