One question you can ask yourself is where does your marker rep fall within a set? Your marker rep occurs at the point in a set where your rep speed suddenly slows down. At the same time, the marker rep is the place in a set where you sense a sudden increase in the amount of effort it takes to lift the weight. A longer pause between reps often takes place right before reaching your marker rep, and it’s the place in the set where you are more likely to start holding your breath during the rep, or at least to exhale to a lesser degree than previously in the set.
Progressive Overload vs. Marker Rep
Many lifters respond well to an emphasis on the progressive overload principle in which poundages are increased on a frequent basis. However, other lifters will experience better results by stopping at the same point in a set if they learn how to stop at the right point. The right spot for stopping a set is the point at which the marker rep occurs. When stopping each set upon reaching the marker rep, the sets are not pushed to failure. Pushing to failure is not necessary as a lifter only needs to push hard enough to stimulate strength gains. This will occur if you push to your marker rep and stop. Let’s look at an example of how to do this.
Imagine that a lifter is using 200 pounds for the bench press, and that 200 pounds is 75% of the lifter’s single rep max. This is a weight that the lifter can lift for ten reps when pushing for max reps to failure. However, when using 75% of his single rep max, the lifter’s marker rep will fall on about his eighth rep, which is two reps short of failure. This being the case, the lifter will stop when reaching his eighth rep. Pushing to failure is not necessary, because a sudden escalation of effort will occur before reaching failure. This sudden increase in effort will occur when rep speed starts to slow down upon reaching the eighth rep, which is the marker rep,
If this lifter keeps doing eight reps with 200 pounds from workout to workout, the intensity will be sufficient to cause a strength gain. The strength gain will make it easier for the lifter to perform eight reps with 200 pounds. In addition, the lifter will also find that as he becomes stronger, the slower rep speed of the eighth rep will begin to vanish. This means the lifter will no longer be forced to slow down when he reaches his eighth rep, but he will be able to maintain the same rep speed for all eight reps.
When the lifter has gained enough strength to perform all eight reps using a steady even rep speed for at least three consecutive workouts, he has converted his marker rep to a faster easier rep that looks more like the first seven reps in terms of form and rep speed. A marker rep that has been converted to a faster easier rep for at least three consecutive workouts is a signal that the lifter is ready to increase his poundages by five to ten pounds.
Acclimate To Easier
If you keep stopping at your marker rep from workout to workout until your marker rep is converted to a faster easier rep, it shows that your body has acclimated to the weight and reps. Acclimation is the process by which the same training stress becomes easier over time, which is in agreement with the goal your body is trying to accomplish when it gains strength. You must understand that your body gains strength in order to help you lift the same weight with greater ease. In contrast, if you constantly train as hard as possible by always pushing to failure while increasing the load, the training stress never becomes easier. If an increase in strength never causes your training to grow easier, but causes you to do the opposite by choosing to immediately increase the weight or reps, you are practicing the pattern that kills progress.
The Pattern That Kills Progress
The pattern that kills progress occurs when strength gains keep leading to an immediate change to harder training consisting of more weight and reps. This occurs without ever allowing the same training to first become easier. There are many methods that can be used for gaining strength, but when using marker rep training, the idea is to allow the same training to become easier first. Once this has been accomplished, you make the training harder by increasing weight or reps. The best way to do this is through the practice of converting your marker rep before you increase the load or reps. All of this is explained in greater detail in the books, Converting The Marker Rep, and Marker Rep Training, which you can find and read for free by going to the home page of this website.
Stopping when you reach your marker rep until the marker rep is converted into a faster easier rep is a form a training that I refer to as Marker Rep Training. If you choose to use this form of training, I recommend that you evaluate yourself in terms of where your marker rep generally falls. For some lifters, the marker rep falls one rep short of failure. For most lifters it occurs two reps short of failure, but there are other lifters who find that their marker rep falls three or even four reps short of failure. The exact place where your marker rep falls not only varies from lifter to lifter, but can also vary according to the exercise you are doing and the muscle group you are training. It can also vary according to the amount of weight you are using, as your marker rep will generally fall closer to reaching the point of failure when using very heavy weights in the three to five rep range, and it generally falls further from reaching the point of failure when using lighter weights in the twelve to fifteen rep range.
RPE Rating of Perceived Exertion
Some lifters use RPE when evaluating the amount of effort they are planning on using for a given workout. RPE stands for Rating of Perceived Exertion. Those who use RPE use it in conjunction with a scale that ranges from 1 to 10. A ten would be maximum effort and is the same is training to failure. A nine is one less than ten and is equivalent to stopping a set one rep short of failure. An eight is two less than ten and is therefore equivalent to stopping two reps short of failure. A seven is three less than ten and is equivalent to stopping three reps short of failure. A six is four less than ten and is therefore equivalent to stopping a set four reps short of failure. This pattern continues all the way down to one which is equivalent to stopping nine reps short of failure.
Where Does Your Marker Rep Fall?
If you use marker rep training, it is helpful to know if your marker rep falls at an RPE of 9, or 8, or 7, or 6. It is my belief that most people who use marker rep training will hit their marker rep at an RPE of 8. A smaller percentage will reach their marker rep at a 9 or a 7, and some at a 6. Whatever the case, strive to develop an awareness of where your marker rep falls and stick with the same weight and reps until your marker rep converts into a faster easier rep.
If you don’t want to mess with RPE or reps short of failure, simply stop a set when you experience a sudden decrease in rep speed that is matched with a sudden increase in effort. At that point, allow the same amount of weight and reps to grow easier from workout to workout until the last rep is converted into a faster, easier rep. I have found that the use of this method leads to sustainable long term strength gains and my hope is that it will do the same for you if you choose to use it. May God bless you with the best of training.