How to Start Velocity-Based Training - Part 3
Why RPE Is Less Reliable Than You Think (And What to Use Instead)
RPE has been the default method for managing training effort in strength sports for years. You finish a set, assign a number, and use that to guide your programming. It sounds precise. It feels scientific.
But there's a fundamental problem hiding in plain sight: RPE is subjective. And subjectivity is the enemy of good programming.
The Contamination Problem
Every RPE score you report is influenced by factors that have nothing to do with the actual effort of that set. Your mood affects it. Your sleep affects it. Your motivation affects it. And perhaps most dangerously, what you lifted last week affects it.
Here's a scenario most lifters will recognise. A coach prescribes a set of 3 on squats at RPE 8. The lifter does 100kg. The following week, the prescription moves to RPE 9. In theory, the lifter should judge the appropriate weight based on how they feel that day.
But that's rarely what happens.
Instead, they think: "I did 100kg at RPE 8, so RPE 9 must be more than 100kg." How the weight actually feels becomes clouded by the memory of what's been lifted before. They're not assessing the moment. They're anchoring to the past.
The Training Partner Test
If you've ever finished a set and asked your training partner, "What RPE do you think that was?", you've already proved the system's biggest flaw. RPE is supposed to measure your internal perception of effort. The moment you need someone else to validate that perception, it stops being useful.
This happens constantly in gyms everywhere. And it reveals that RPE isn't the objective tool that many coaches and lifters treat it as.
The Accuracy Cliff
RPE accuracy degrades rapidly the further you move from failure. At 1-2 reps in reserve, experienced lifters are reasonably accurate. At 3-4 RIR, it becomes guesswork. Beyond that, the numbers are essentially meaningless.
The problem is that most training happens in that inaccurate zone. If you're programming sets at RPE 6 or 7, you're making decisions based on data that's barely better than a guess.
Why Velocity Is Different
Velocity tracking gives you hard data. You get a number for each rep that isn't influenced by mood, sleep, previous sessions, or anything else going on in your head.
That number tells you exactly how the rep performed. No reflection needed. No asking your mate. No anchoring to last week.
Over time, you learn how these numbers relate to your fatigue and performance. But even if you're brand new to VBT, you can start with one simple rule: is the same weight moving faster than before? If it is, you're getting stronger.
That's objectivity. That's accountability to data rather than feelings.
The Bottom Line
RPE isn't completely useless. But it's not the reliable tool most people assume it is. It's a subjective measure that degrades in accuracy the moment you move away from failure, and it's constantly contaminated by factors outside the set itself.
Velocity gives you something RPE never can: consistency. The same number means the same thing every session, every week, every month.
Velocity Programming Mastery covers exactly how to make this transition, including what to do when your lifters are resistant to change.
Want the complete system?
This free guide covers the basics, but if you want the full methodology, including velocity profiling, fatigue management, periodisation, and competition preparation, my Velocity Programming Mastery course walks you through everything across 50+ video lessons.
It's the same system I used to develop multiple World Champions as GB IPF Head Coach, now available as a complete online course for £199.
