Autoregulation training

9 min read

You're standing at the squat rack. According to your schedule, you need to squat 100 kilos today for 4 sets of 6. But you slept poorly, your shoulder is nagging, and the warm-up sets already felt heavy. Do you continue with the planned weight? Or do you adjust? Autoregulation gives you the answer: you train based on how your body performs today, not based on what's written on a piece of paper.

What autoregulation exactly is

Autoregulation is a training system where you adjust the intensity and volume per session to your current performance level. Instead of sticking to predetermined weights, you use an effort scale to determine how heavy you go.

The opposite is percentage-based training: "do 4x6 at 80 percent of your 1RM." That works, but it doesn't account for the fact that your 80 percent feels different on Monday than on Thursday. Sleep, stress, nutrition, the previous workout - everything affects how much you can lift at a given moment. Research shows that an athlete's actual strength can vary by 10 to 18 percent per day.

Autoregulation catches that variation. You always train at the right level for that day.

The effort scale: RIR and how to use it

The most practical way to apply autoregulation is with RIR: Reps In Reserve. This is the number of repetitions you could have done at the end of a set.

• RIR 0 - You couldn't do one more (to failure)
• RIR 1 - You could have done one more
• RIR 2 - You could have done two more
• RIR 3 - You could have done three more

On an effort scale of 1 to 10, RIR 2 corresponds to an effort of 8, and RIR 1 to an effort of 9. Most sets in an effective training program are at an effort of 7 to 9 (RIR 1-3).

In practice, it works like this: your schedule prescribes "Squat 4x6 at effort 8." You warm up and notice that 95 kilos feels like effort 8 for 6 reps - two repetitions in reserve. Then you train at 95 kilos, even though 100 kilos might have been planned. On a good day, 105 kilos might be effort 8. Then you train at 105 kilos.

Three methods of autoregulation

There are different ways to incorporate autoregulation into your training:

1. RIR-based (recommended for most athletes)

Your schedule prescribes an effort level per set. You determine the weight based on your warm-up sets. If your warm-up set of 80 kilos already feels like effort 7 while that's normally effort 5, you know it's a lighter day. Adjust your work sets.

2. Rep-range with autoregulation

Instead of a fixed number of repetitions, you work with a range. For example: "Squat 4 sets of 6-10 reps at effort 8-9." You pick a weight and do as many reps as you can until you're at effort 9. On a strong day you might get 10 reps, on a bad day 6. Both are good.

3. Adjust daily dosage

With this method, you adjust not only the weight but also the total volume. On a day when you feel bad, you might do 3 sets instead of 4, or skip the last isolation exercise. The rule: if your performance on your second exercise is more than 10 percent lower than normal, that's a signal to lower the volume.

How you learn to estimate

The biggest challenge with autoregulation is that beginners are poor at estimating their effort level. Research shows that inexperienced lifters overestimate their RIR by an average of 3 to 4 repetitions. They think they're at RIR 2 while they actually have 5 or 6 reps left in the tank.

This improves quickly with experience. After 8 to 12 weeks of consciously practicing RIR estimation, most athletes become accurate to within 1 repetition. Here's how you learn it:

• Do regular AMRAP sets (As Many Reps As Possible) on your last set. This calibrates your feeling. If you thought you had 2 reps left but 5 came out, you know you need to estimate more conservatively
• Pay attention to bar speed - The speed at which the weight moves is an objective indicator. If the concentric phase takes more than 3 seconds, you're close to failure
• Keep a log - Write down your estimated RIR after each set and compare this over weeks

When autoregulation is less suitable

Autoregulation is not always the best choice:

• Complete beginners (0-6 months) - You don't know your body well enough yet. Start with a linear progression scheme with fixed weights and learn the movements first
• Peaking for a competition - The last 3 to 4 weeks before a powerlifting competition, you work with specific percentages to prepare yourself for exact weights
• As an excuse to train less hard - Autoregulation is not a license to do less every bad day. The average over a block must be in line with your progression goals

A practical autoregulation protocol

Start with this protocol for a 4-week training block:

Week 1: All work sets at effort 7 (RIR 3). Focus on technique and learning to estimate.

Week 2: All work sets at effort 8 (RIR 2). Slightly heavier, but you still have a buffer.

Week 3: First 2 sets at effort 8, last set at effort 9 (RIR 1). The heaviest week.

Week 4: Deload - all sets at effort 6-7. Halve the volume. Let your body recover.

After those 4 weeks, you start again, but with higher weights as a starting point. This is autoregulation in the context of periodization: you manage both per day and per week.

A training schedule is a guideline, not a contract. The athlete who learns to listen to their body and adjusts the training to the day builds more strength and muscle mass in the long term than the one who blindly follows a schedule until they get injured.