Rating of perceived exertion

Rating of perceived exertion

Episode 43 | 10/16/19 | #Workout Wednesday

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Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is a subjective rating of how intense an exercise feels. Originally designed with a 6-20 scale for aerobic exercise (like running or bicycling) with 6 being rest/lowest and 20 being maximal/can't do anymore. It correlated well to heart rate, 6 close to 60 BPM resting heart rate and 20 close to 200 BPM maximal heart rate. It was later adapted to a 1-10 scale for ease of understanding/use, 1 being lowest/at rest and 10 being maximal/can't do anymore.

Strength training and rehab

RPE is now being used with strength training and physical therapy/rehab. It is helpful for programming, improving body awareness, and adjustments when needed. There are a few different ways it can be utilized:

Session RPE

Session RPE is a score 1-10 how intense or effortful the exercise session was. This can be used for evaluation purposes and for setting the next session target intensity/weight and/or volume. You can track progress via this RPE by seeing how much work you are doing over several months compared to the RPE score.

Set RPE

Set RPE is similar 1-10, but instead of rating the session as a whole, you score the sets in each exercise. You could score each individual set or you can score the last set. This can be helpful for auto-regulating (self adjusting weight, sets, reps, etc. based on response) and for evaluation purposes for how the exercise is affecting someone. This links closely to programming RPE.

Programming RPE

When programming RPE, you set a set and rep, then the RPE you want to target. This makes the intensity (weight for resistance training) the adjustable variable. For instance, back squat 3 x 8 RPE 8, would mean you pick a weight that feels 8/10 intensity at the 8th rep. Typically how this is accounted for would be that 8th rep feels like you could only do 2 more (RPE 9 = 1 more, RPE 10 = 0 more). If you got to the 8th rep and it felt like an RPE 9, you would drop the weight a little bit on the next set. If you got to the 8th rep and it felt like an RPE 6 or 7, you would add a little bit of weight on the next set.

RPE anchoring

For RPE to make sense with strength training, you need practice/repetition with it and you should probably anchor it. Anchoring would be taking a particular exercise with a weight and going to failure (RPE 10 or not able to perform another rep with good form). This way the lifter knows what an RPE 10 feels like for that given day and exercise.

Thanks for listening and/or reading.

-Nick Marki, PT