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u/shai_streetlifting

r/CalisthenicsCulture r/strength_training r/bodyweightfitness r/Egolifting r/powerlifters r/CalisthenicsBeginners r/u_shai_streetlifting r/streetliftingathletes
▲ 3 r/streetliftingathletes

Built a free RIR/RPE calculator for weighted pull-ups and dips, sharing in case it's useful

Got tired of doing RIR math by hand every time a client's numbers changed, so I finally sat down and built a calculator for it.

You plug in your bodyweight, tested 1RM added weight, 4RM added weight, and 8RM added weight, and it generates a full chart showing exactly what to load for any rep range at any RIR level, 0 RIR all the way out to 10 reps in reserve. Works for pull-ups and dips, and you can flip it between RIR and RPE labels depending on which one you actually think in.

Reason I built it off three tested numbers instead of just one 1RM is that weighted bodyweight strength curves don't always follow standard barbell percentage tables. Some people's 8RM sits way closer to their 1RM than the textbook percentage would predict, some people it's the opposite, depends a lot on leverages and how well you hold up under fatigue. Using your actual tested numbers across a few rep ranges gets you something built off your own body instead of a generic curve that may or may not apply to you.

It's free, no signup: https://shaiariola.com/rir-chart?exercise=pullup

If you run your numbers and something looks off from what you're actually seeing under the bar, tell me, still tweaking it.

u/shai_streetlifting — 23 days ago
▲ 12 r/streetliftingathletes+1 crossposts

Been writing longer breakdowns on weighted calisthenics and streetlifting, sharing here in case it helps

Been putting more effort into writing stuff down properly instead of just answering the same questions one off in comments. Nothing groundbreaking, just trying to put together what I wish existed in one place back when I was figuring this out myself.

A few up so far:

How to add weight to dips without hurting your shoulders. Most of the shoulder pain people get from weighted dips actually comes from depth and setup, not the weight itself. Broke down what's usually going wrong.

RPE vs RIR for weighted calisthenics. People use these interchangeably but they don't actually measure the same thing once you're doing weighted pull-ups and dips. Wrote up which one actually holds up and when.

What is streetlifting, actually. For anyone who keeps seeing the term thrown around but isn't totally clear on Classic vs All4, the four competition lifts, weigh-ins, and how scoring works.

How to progress weighted pull-ups, beginner to advanced. Total System Weight, reverse pyramid work, wave loading, RPE autoregulation, and how Heavy-Light-Medium and Texas Method structures actually apply to the lift.

All of it's here if it's useful: https://shaiariola.com/blog

Genuinely curious what's missing though. If there's something you've been trying to find a real answer on and haven't, tell me and I'll probably end up writing it.

u/shai_streetlifting — 1 month ago
▲ 2 r/streetliftingathletes

My client Josh's pull-up and dip numbers since February, and what actually drove the jump

Wanted to share this one because I don't think people realize how much can actually shift in a few months when the structure behind it is right.

This is Josh. Started with me back in February. His first weighted pull-up session was 25lbs for 7 reps, for 3 sets straight across. Dips were 45lbs for 6. Nothing crazy, just his starting point.

Last week, top single on pull-ups was 90lbs. Then 75lbs for 3, 50lbs for 6, 35lbs for 9. Dips hit 135lbs for 2, then 117.5lbs for 4, then 75lbs for 10.

So pull-ups went from a 25lbs working weight to a 90lbs top single. Dips went from 45lbs to 135lbs. Same guy, a few months apart. Kind of wild to see it side by side like that.

Honestly it wasn't anything magic. Warm-ups actually became part of the session instead of getting skipped, you can see the ramp now, 15lbs, 35lbs, then into work weight. And instead of grinding the same rep range every week, it shifted to a heavy single up top, then backing off in weight while stacking volume underneath. That's what let his tendons and nervous system actually catch up to the strength he was building.

What gets me is how unremarkable each individual session probably felt to him. No single workout in there looks like a breakthrough moment. It's just months of doing the unglamorous stuff without skipping it.

Anyone else have a client or lifting partner where you compared the start to now and the numbers actually surprised you?

u/shai_streetlifting — 1 month ago
▲ 13 r/streetliftingathletes

Hired a coach a few years ago, not because I was stuck, just wanted to see how he got so strong

So this was a few years back. I hired a coach for about 3 months. My training was fine at the time, wasn't stuck or spinning my wheels. I just wanted to understand how this guy got to the level he was at. Not copy his program. Understand the thinking behind it.

Made it more complicated that I was working 12 hour shifts at the time, and we were 4 time zones apart. Coordinating anything took actual effort. But it still worked because we kept it structured.

Honestly going in I figured it'd mostly be about programming. Better progressions, smarter load jumps, whatever. Some of that happened sure. But that's not what stuck with me.

First thing he flagged was my warm-up. I thought it was fine, I'd been doing the same routine for years and never gave it a second thought. He watched me go through it once and immediately picked apart what wasn't actually prepping me for the work. Nothing dramatic, just small stuff nobody had ever looked at from the outside before.

We did weekly check-ins and form review the whole three months. That alone changed things, especially with the schedule and time zone gap making it harder to stay consistent. Having someone actually watch my lifts on video every week, not just hear me describe how they felt, caught stuff way earlier than I would have on my own. Bar path things. Tension patterns that had probably been there for months.

The other thing was his patience. Dude was fine sitting at the same weight for weeks if the movement wasn't clean yet. No rush to hit a new number. Sounded smart in theory but it took actually watching him do it for me to really get it.

Three months isn't long. But it changed how I look at my own training more than any program did. Not the exercises. The thinking behind them.

Would I do it again? Yeah honestly, probably. Not because I think I need it, just because last time I caught stuff about my own training I never would've seen myself.

Anyone else hire a coach just to learn how they operate, not because you were stuck? Would you do it again if you did?

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u/shai_streetlifting — 2 months ago
▲ 11 r/streetliftingathletes

Been thinking about this for a while, why tall/heavier guys progress differently on weighted pull-ups and dips

Ok so this has been rattling around in my head for a bit. I compete in the -94kg class, and something I never see talked about is how much leverages actually change the pull-up and dip game once you're tall or just carrying more bodyweight in general.

Like most programming advice out there just assumes everyone is moving through the same range of motion. Same joint stress. Same recovery needs. And that's just not how it works once you're 6'2"+ or sitting heavier on the scale.

A longer arm span means every single rep is traveling further. So if you and I add the same 45lbs to the belt, we're not doing the same amount of work. Not even close. That's probably the single biggest thing nobody accounts for when people compare numbers.

There's also this weird thing where bigger lifters can move a lot of absolute weight and still be behind on strength relative to bodyweight, but you'd never know it just looking at the number on the belt.

And the joint stuff is real. More mass, longer range, more load per rep on the shoulders and elbows. I've watched guys in this bracket get away with lazy programming for a year or two and then it catches up all at once. Tendons don't care how strong you are.

Also cutting weight changes the math more than people want to admit. Drop 10-15 lbs and your relative numbers move without touching the belt at all. For heavier lifters that's sometimes the biggest lever available, more than any programming tweak.

None of this is theory for me, I've had to work through all of it myself getting my own numbers where they needed to be for -94kg.

Anyway, curious if this matches what others over 200lbs or 6ft+ have run into. Is it the range of motion that gets you, the joint recovery, or just fighting the leverages themselves?

reddit.com
u/shai_streetlifting — 2 months ago
▲ 27 r/streetliftingathletes+1 crossposts

Ring dips: 47.7kg x 5 @ 92kg/193cm

AMRAP update: 5 reps done, 6th rep left me pinned.

Chasing that PR. Got stuck right at the sticking point on the last one, but overall happy with the intensity today. Form check or advice always welcome!

u/shai_streetlifting — 4 months ago