The RPE Chart for Powerlifting: Convert RPE and Reps to %1RM
An RPE chart is a lookup table that maps a target RPE and rep count to a percentage of your one-rep max. It exists because RPE-based programming and percentage-based programming are two dialects of the same language, and sooner or later you need to translate between them. Your program says “triple at RPE 8”; the chart tells you that is roughly 86% of your max, so you know where to start your warm-up jumps.
This article gives you a usable chart, explains what the numbers actually represent, and covers the part most guides skip: the chart in your program is a starting estimate, not a law, and the useful skill is learning where yours differs.
The chart
The version below is the RTS-style chart popularized by Mike Tuchscherer and Reactive Training Systems. RPE runs down the left, reps run across the top, and each cell is the percentage of your 1RM you would expect to handle for that combination.
| RPE | 1 rep | 2 reps | 3 reps | 4 reps | 5 reps | 6 reps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 100% | 95.5% | 92.2% | 89.2% | 86.3% | 83.7% |
| 9.5 | 97.8% | 93.9% | 90.7% | 87.8% | 85.0% | 82.4% |
| 9 | 95.5% | 92.2% | 89.2% | 86.3% | 83.7% | 81.1% |
| 8.5 | 93.9% | 90.7% | 87.8% | 85.0% | 82.4% | 79.9% |
| 8 | 92.2% | 89.2% | 86.3% | 83.7% | 81.1% | 78.6% |
| 7.5 | 90.7% | 87.8% | 85.0% | 82.4% | 79.9% | 77.4% |
| 7 | 89.2% | 86.3% | 83.7% | 81.1% | 78.6% | 76.2% |
The scale only goes to half-point increments at the top because that is where nearly all productive powerlifting work sits. Below RPE 7 the increments get wider and the estimates get noisier, which is fine, because loads that light do not need much precision.
How to read it
RPE here is a reps-in-reserve rating. RPE 10 means nothing left. RPE 9 means one more rep was available. RPE 8 means two. So an entry like “RPE 8, 3 reps = 86.3%” reads as: the weight you can do for a hard triple with two reps still in reserve is about 86% of your max.
Two common uses:
- Picking a top set. Your program prescribes a single at RPE 9. The chart says 95.5%. If your best squat is 200 kg, you plan to work up toward 190 kg and adjust from bar feel on the last warm-ups.
- Estimating a max from a set you already did. You hit 170 kg for 5 reps and called it RPE 8. Find the “RPE 8, 5 reps” cell: 81.1%. So 170 / 0.811 is roughly a 210 kg estimated 1RM. This estimated max, or e1RM, is the number RPE-based programs track from week to week instead of a tested max.
Your chart is personal
Here is the caveat that matters. The percentages above are a population average. Your actual numbers depend on how your body distributes strength across rep ranges, and that varies a lot between lifters and between lifts.
The clearest example is rep strength versus absolute strength. Some lifters are “grinders” who can do a hard set of 5 at 87% but only a modest single. Others are the opposite: an explosive single close to bodyweight limits but a set of 5 that falls apart by rep 3. The standard chart splits the difference and will overestimate loads for one type and underestimate them for the other.
The difference between lifts is just as real. Most people can sustain reps better in the squat and deadlift than in the bench, where a small load change moves the RPE more sharply. Running one chart for all three lifts guarantees it is a little wrong for at least two of them.
Customizing it
The RTS approach to building a personal chart is a diagnostic block. Over a few weeks you record top sets at known RPEs and back-calculate your own percentages. A simplified version:
- Once per week, work up to a top single at a true RPE 9 or 9.5 and log the weight.
- Do the same for a top set of 3 and a top set of 5 in other sessions.
- After three or four weeks, you have several data points for e1RM. Average them, then check where the standard chart’s rep percentages fell short or long for you and shift them.
A rougher shortcut: if you know your true 1RM and your true 5RM, the spread between them tells you whether you are a grinder or a popper. If your 5RM is above 87% of your 1RM, nudge the multi-rep columns up. If it is below 83%, nudge them down.
The point is not to obsess over one percent. It is to notice a consistent pattern, like “RPE 8 sets always feel like the chart’s RPE 9 on bench,” and correct for it.
Common mistakes
- Treating the load as fixed. The chart output is where you start auditioning weights, not what you must lift. If 190 kg moves like an RPE 7 on the day, add weight. If it grinds at RPE 9.5, you are done. The rating you actually hit is the real data.
- Rating dishonestly. The chart is only as accurate as your RPE calls. If you habitually call RPE 9s “8s”, every percentage you derive will be low and your e1RM will drift down for no real reason. Bar speed and the honest “how many more?” question right after racking are your best checks.
- Ignoring rep count. “RPE 8” alone is not a load. RPE 8 for 1 is 92%; RPE 8 for 6 is 79%. The prescription always needs both numbers.
- Using it for deadlifts unchanged. Many lifters cap deadlift top sets around RPE 8 because the fatigue cost past that point outruns the training benefit. The chart will happily give you an RPE 9.5 deadlift number; that does not mean you should chase it every week.
Where the chart fits in autoregulation
The reason the chart matters is that it lets a program stop guessing your daily strength. A fixed percentage assumes your max is constant and that you show up able to express it every session. Sleep, stress, and accumulated fatigue move your true daily ceiling by a few percent in either direction, so the fixed number is usually a little off.
An RPE target plus the chart closes that loop. You aim for an effort, hit whatever load matches it that day, and the program reads your result to set the next session. That feedback cycle is what the autoregulated templates on the LiftNlog programs page run on: you log RPE and technique per set, and your next squat, bench, and deadlift session recalculates from your recent e1RM rather than a number you tested months ago. Over a block, that keeps hard days hard and lighter days light, which is the whole reason periodization exists.
The short version
An RPE chart converts a target RPE and rep count into a percentage of your 1RM. The RTS-style table above is a solid default: RPE 8 for 3 is about 86%, RPE 9 for 1 is about 95%. Use it to plan top sets and to estimate your max from sets you have already done. Then pay attention to where your own numbers diverge, especially between lifts, and adjust. The chart is a translation tool, not a training plan. For more on using RPE day to day, see the LiftNlog FAQ.