6.5 Auto‑Regulation and When a Session Goes Wrong

You will not hit every planned RIR target on every set of every session. The ability to adjust on the fly without guilt is what keeps you training for years.

• If bar speed is slower than expected and you hit RPE 9 at a weight you normally handle for RPE 7, reduce the load slightly and hit the target RPE. Log it. Do not force a rep that isn’t there.
• If you feel unmotivated or flat, start the session anyway. If after two warm‑up sets you still feel genuinely off, do your main lift with one fewer hard set. One slightly down session is noise; chronic under‑effort is not.
• If life stress, poor sleep, or illness interferes, repeat the previous week’s volumes and loads. You lose nothing.