Entrenamientos
What is RIR and how to use it?
RIR stands for "Reps In Reserve". It's the number of repetitions you could complete before reaching true muscular failure at the end of a set.
How it works in practice
If your program says "10 reps, RIR 2", you should finish the set feeling capable of doing 2 more reps with good technique. It's not a vague subjective feeling — with practice it becomes very precise.
RIR scale
• RIR 4-5: Far from failure. Ideal for technique and warm-up.
• RIR 2-3: Far from failure. Initial accumulation volume.
• RIR 1: Close to failure. High mechanical tension.
• RIR 0: Technical failure. Maximum stimulus, maximum fatigue.
Why not always to failure?
Research by Schoenfeld, Helms and Israetel shows that training to failure on every set doesn't generate more hypertrophy than RIR 1-2, but does generate significantly more accumulated fatigue and injury risk. That's why Cyner periodizes RIR throughout the mesocycle.