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What is RPE?
April 28, 2020 | 3 min read

RPE or Rated Perceived Exertion is a metric used by many to self-measure

exertion during physical exercise. While subjective in concept, the RPE scale,
depending on which one you subscribe to can be a useful objective tool in
measuring just how hard you are working.

Not that humankind didn't have eQective ways of measuring the diRculty of
workouts before with metrics such as sweating, vomiting or passing out, the RPE
scale oQers a numeric value based on physical sensations. The basis of RPE is
perception, hence "perceived" exertion. This tenet means that there is a level of
self-awareness that is required for the scale to be useful. The concept of a training
age is a critical component of the eQectiveness of RPE. Training age has several
diQerent variants that make it a valuable tool for managing athletes and their
perceived rate of exertion. General training age refers to the number of years the
person has spent in training and participating in various sports coupled with
lifestyle habits that support the development of the athlete in that sport. Sport-
speciVc training age refers to the number of years that an athlete has specialized
in one particular sport. Developmental age refers to the degree of physical,
mental, cognitive, and emotional maturity. Skeletal maturity or bone age can
determine physical developmental age whereas mental, cognitive, and emotional
maturity are then considered to determine developmental age. (2)

RPEScale
RateofPerceivedExertion
10 MaxEffort Outofbreath,unabletotalk NeuromuscularPower Maxlifts,Sprintingunder10

Difficulttomaintainintensity,can
9 barelybreathandspeakaword
Extremely Feelsuncomfortable,canbarely Strength&Powertraining,30
8 Difficult speakasentence
AnaerobicCapacity secondsto3min.maxeffort
Feelsuncomfortable,cansay3
7 words
Vo2Max 3-8minuteworkintervals

6 VeryHard Almostfeelsuncomfortable Threshold 10-30minuteintervals

5 Hard Cansayshortsentences Strengthendurancetraining

Breathingheavily,butcanhavea Hikingmoderateterrain,tempo
4 shortconversation
Tempo
training

3 Moderate Running,biking,swimmingcancarry Longsteadyaerobicendurance

onaconversation training
2 Easy Walkingwithpurposetoalightjog Endurance Longslowdistance

1 VeryEasy Dailyactivities,besidessleeping ActiveRecovery Alldaypace

The RPE Scale (or a variation thereof)

10: Maximal, no reps left in the tank

9: Last rep is tough but still one rep left in the tank
8: Weight is too heavy to maintain fast bar speed but isn't a struggle; 2–4 reps left
7: Weight moves quickly when is applied to the weight; "speed weight."
6: Light speed work; moves quickly with moderate force
5: Most warm-up weights
4: Recovery; usually 20 plus rep sets; not hard but intended to dush the muscle
An RPE below four isn't important. (1)

RPE vs. Percentages

Many traditional weightlifting and other strength and conditioning programs use
percentages to calculate the prescribed diRculty of the lift. However even though
percentage programs are easy to use, they're limited in how accurate they can be.
Many things throw oQ your percentages. The longer you go in a training cycle, the
less precise they become due to your strength adaptation. Each athlete is
diQerent because of diQerences in training history, fast to slow twitch ratios,
illnesses, good and bad days, and general sleep patterns. Life happens, and you
won't always be 100 percent when you come in to train.(1)

Depending on your training age (the total amount of time you have followed a
periodized strength and training program coupled with a proper lifestyle to
support training) your percentages as a beginner lifter will be inaccurate. This
reason, in particular, is why the BASIC program utilizes "heavy singles or heavy
doubles." Most people don't know, or cant remember 1RMs. As a CrossFit coach,
it's a popular response when a member looks at the workout that called for 8-10
Reps of a Back Squat at 65-70% and asks, "Well what if I don't know my 1RM"? This
situation is where a coach can use RPE eQectively. And let us be honest, most of
us are neophytes when it comes to weightlifting.

RPE in Team Sports

There is a growing trend within the team sports community as well that uses RPE
to manage players during matches eQectively. For example, players either were
training too little or too much depending on their role on the team. Starters who
played every minute of every game were asked to perform the same training
intensity as players who missed games and were fresh for every training session.
Coaches in a variety of professional and semi-professional sports use RPE to
manage their athlete's, and more importantly, the RPE scale teaches the value and
importance of rest and recovery.(3)

RPE is a useful metric to be used in your training as both a beginner or an

advanced weightlifter. RPE forces self-redection and honesty when it comes to
measuring your training and accounts for this thing called life that often gets in
the way of that training.

Sources:

(1) Tuchscherer, Michael "The Reactive Training Manual: Developing Your Own Custom
Training Program for Powerlifting." c. 2009

(2) Istvan Balyi, Richard Way" Long-Term Athlete Development" c. 2015

(3) Cole, Troy: "The use of RPE in Team Sports": URL:

https://simplifaster.com/articles/use-rpe-team-sports/ c.

Other Works Referenced:

1. Borg, G.A. (1982). “Psychophysical Bases of Perceived Exertion.” Medicine and Science
in Sports and Exercise, 14(5), 377-381. URL:
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/exertion.htm
2. Impellizzeri, F.M., E. Rampinini, A.J. Coutts, A. Sassi, and S.M. Marcora (2004). “Use of
RPE-Based Training Load in Soccer.” Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 36(6),
1042-1047.

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