RPE What?

RPE is a common acronym used in the fitness world. It stands for “Rating of Perceived Exertion.” It is most often used in relation to cardio/aerobic exercise, but is also used in strength training. It is a tool used to prescribe and evaluate intensity during exercise. In this article, Coach Lee discusses the application of RPE for both aerobic exercise and strength training. 

RPE is a number on a scale of 1 to 10.  In this article, you will see two images detailing different RPE scales. Below we will talk about how we use RPE with our athletes in their training.

Example 2: Prescribed Strength Training

Using RPE for strength training is slightly different. Many programs prescribe strength training based on percentages of your 1-rep-max. This method works for intermediate to advanced lifters, or those in competitive lifting sports but I’ve found prescribing RPE is a better fit for most individuals using strength training for general health and fitness. 

Instead of using RPE for the whole workout as we do in aerobic exercise, we prescribe RPE for each working set. If you are doing squats, we might say do 3 sets of 8 reps @ RPE 7. If you refer to the chart below you can see an RPE 7 means you could 3 more repetitions at that weight AFTER you finished the set of 8. In many of our programs we do performance tests at the beginning and end of a training program. For strength testing, it is usually 5 rep max testing. Anytime you are doing a max testing, that is an RPE10. For a true max, you can’t do one more rep with that weight. 

Getting a feel for how many more reps you could do takes some practice. If our athletes are new to this, sometimes I’ll have them do a max rep set on their last working set. For the example above, on their last set, instead of stopping at 8 reps, I’ll have them do as many as they can. If they can do 15, we know that the weight used was not an RPE7, but more like RPE 2-4. There may be instances where someone can only do 6 reps and they were supposed to do 8. That would be an RPE 10 for 6RM. Learning to dial in the RPE can take some time but is much easier overall than calculations of percentages of 1RM. 

One of the biggest reasons I use RPE for non competitive lifters is our capacity can change day to day. Our sleep, nutrition, stress (and stage of cycle for women) can all influence our strength. A certain weight one day may feel like an RPE 7 but another day it could feel like an RPE 8, or an RPE 6. Using RPE helps keep the intensity right for the day and reduce your risk of injury. Using a set calculation takes away that flexibility and you may end up pushing yourself more than you

should on a certain day.

Next time you see RPE's programmed in your workouts, you know exactly what it means. It does take time to get used to RPEs but when you do, it's so smooth. 

One final word. If an athlete retests their strength and doesn't improve as much as expected, it is often because their RPEs are not dialed in. If you can dial in those RPEs, you'll be set.

Go out there and Take It!