Wondering if your workout is too hard or too easy? Here is how to measure your true effort using RPE!

When you start to exercise, you might sometimes wonder if you are pushing yourself too hard or if you are not doing enough. There is actually a very simple way to find out exactly how much effort your body is putting into your workout. That method is called the Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE for short.

This is a very simple and helpful tool for anyone who wants to stay active and healthy. Let us take a close look at what RPE means, why it matters, and how you can use it every single time you exercise.

Whether you are new to working out or training for a big sports event, understanding your body's signals keeps you safe. Let us break down everything you need to know about tracking your exertion levels safely and effectively.

What is Rate of Perceived Exertion?

Put simply, RPE is a measure of how much effort, tiredness, and strain you feel in your body while you are doing any physical activity or exercise. This is entirely your own personal experience and judgment.

That means you are the one who decides how hard the workout feels to you. Another person cannot tell you that you are not actually tired because only you feel your body.

This concept was first created back in the 1960s by a Swedish researcher named Dr. Gunnar Borg. Because of him, this system is often called the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion.

Even though it sounds very simple, it is a powerful tool for protecting your health and guiding your daily fitness routine. Listening to your body helps you exercise smarter.

What Causes You to Feel Tired? Factors Affecting RPE.

When you exercise, several different body signals combine to determine your overall tiredness or RPE value. Let us look at what causes these sensations:

• Your breathing speed: When you exercise harder, your breathing rate goes up, which is a main factor in your RPE.
• Your heart rate: As you get tired during physical activity, your heart beats much faster to pump blood.
• Your muscle fatigue: Working out makes your muscles tired, and sometimes they might even ache or burn slightly.
• Your sweat level: Sweating heavily is very normal when you work out hard, and it connects directly to how tired you feel.

Imagine walking up a long flight of stairs at your school, home, or office building. After walking for a short while, you start breathing heavily, your heart beats faster, and your leg muscles start to ache.

That overall feeling of physical effort and tiredness combined is what we call your RPE. It gives you a complete picture of your exertion level.

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Who Needs to Know About RPE?

Actually, RPE is useful and helpful for almost everyone who wants to move their body safely. However, knowing about RPE is especially important for certain groups of people:

• People with cardiovascular diseases: If you have high blood pressure or heart conditions, you might take medicine that controls your heart rate. RPE helps you avoid pushing your heart too hard.
• Beginners starting exercise: If you are brand new to running, cycling, or going to the gym, RPE helps you understand how much physical stress your body can handle safely.
• Athletes training for specific events: If you are training for a marathon, a soccer match, or another sports competition, RPE helps you manage your workout intensity.
• People wanting to increase intensity: If you want to build up your stamina or burn more calories, RPE helps you safely step up your workout routine.
• People recovering from an injury or medical treatment: After a major illness or surgery, RPE helps you return to exercise slowly without straining your body.
• People managing heart rate by medical advice: When your doctor tells you to keep your heart rate inside a specific range, RPE helps you stay on track.

What Are the Methods to Measure RPE? (Types of RPE Scales).

There are two main RPE scales used to measure your exercise intensity and how tired you feel. Both of these scales work by giving a specific number to how hard your body feels it is working.

1. The Borg RPE Scale.

This is the original scale that Dr. Gunnar Borg created and introduced to the medical and fitness world.

• This scale uses numbers ranging from 6 up to 20.
• A score of 6 means no exertion at all, just like resting peacefully in a chair.
• A score of 20 means maximum exertion where you are giving everything you have and cannot possibly do any more.
• Normally, a score between 12 and 14 means you are doing a moderate or somewhat hard workout. This is usually the recommended range for a normal, healthy person.

Think of it this way: you can roughly connect this 6 to 20 scale to your actual heart rate. For instance, if your RPE score is 12, your heart rate might be around 120 beats per minute (12 x 10 = 120). Keep in mind that this rule of thumb does not work identically for everyone.

2. The Modified Borg CR10 RPE Scale.

This scale is a newer, modified version designed to be simpler and more direct for specific types of training.

• This scale uses numbers ranging from 0 up to 10.
• A score of 0 means no exertion at all while resting comfortably.
• A score of 10 means maximal, absolute exhaustion where you use your absolute maximum strength.
• In this scale, your breathing speed and breathlessness are the primary factors used to decide your RPE number.

Now the question is, which of these two scales is best for you?

• If you want to connect your effort to your heart rate and measure cardiovascular exercise intensity, the Borg RPE scale (6 to 20) is much more suitable.
• If you do bodybuilding, weightlifting, or train specifically to build muscle strength, the CR10 RPE scale (0 to 10) is generally a better fit.

How to Use the RPE Scale.

Now you know what RPE is and what the different scales look like. Let us talk about how to use this tool correctly in your daily life.

Monitoring your RPE, or how your body feels during exercise, helps you figure out when to increase your workout intensity, when to lower it, and when to keep it right where it is based on your fitness goals.

Imagine your goal is to do a moderately intense activity. On the Borg 6 to 20 scale, that means aiming for a score between 12 and 14. On the CR10 scale, that means aiming for 3 to 4 (moderate) or 5 to 6 (hard).

• If your workout feels too easy: If your breathing rate, muscle effort, and overall feelings are very light (for example, a 9 on the Borg scale), you should increase your speed or weight slightly.
• If your workout feels too hard: If you are breathing heavily, sweating a lot, your heart is racing, or your muscles feel completely overwhelmed (for example, a 17 on the Borg scale), you should decrease your intensity right away.
• If your workout feels just right: If you feel like you are working at the exact speed and effort level you planned (for example, a 13 on the Borg scale), you should keep going at that steady pace.

This process is very similar to controlling the speed of a car. You adjust your effort up or down based on how your body feels.

How Doctors Use RPE.

Medical and health professionals also use the RPE scale in many different clinical situations. Most importantly, it helps them assess your heart and lung health as well as your overall physical fitness.

• For example, during an Exercise Stress Test, a doctor might ask you to exercise on a treadmill or an exercise bike. Every few minutes, they might ask you, "How tired do you feel right now on this scale?" This helps doctors spot hidden heart conditions.

Some of the key medical and health professionals who routinely use RPE scales include:

• Cardiologists .
• Cardiac rehab specialists .
• Exercise physiologists .
• Physical therapists .
• Pulmonologists .
• Pulmonary rehab specialists .

How Accurate is RPE?

At this point, you might wonder, "Since this is entirely based on how I feel, how scientifically accurate is it really?"

It is true that because RPE is a self-reported measure, there is a small chance you might misjudge your own physical effort.

• For example, a person who is brand new to exercising might not be used to feeling tired, so they might think they are working much harder than their actual heart rate and breathing show.
• Similarly, a very fit athlete might be working out at a very high RPE level of tiredness, but it might still feel like a moderate pace to them because their body is so well conditioned.

Even with these minor limitations, RPE scales give you a very helpful, reliable idea of your physical effort and strain. That is why this tool remains so popular worldwide.

Your actual heart rate can change based on your age, overall fitness level, and any medicine you take. Therefore, if you ever have questions or worries about your heart rate or stamina, the best thing to do is talk to your doctor.

Final Thoughts to Keep in Mind.

We have covered a lot of important details about RPE today. Keep these key points in mind:

• To measure your exercise intensity, RPE is a very useful and simple tool that you can use anywhere without needing a fitness watch or technical device.
• You can use RPE to speed up your fitness routine, keep it steady, or slow it down when necessary.
• If you have heart or breathing health concerns, your doctor might give you specific instructions using the RPE scale.
• Both the Borg RPE scale (6 to 20) and the modified CR10 scale (0 to 10) give you fairly accurate self-reported assessments of how hard your body is working.
• The most important rule is to listen to your body. RPE is simply a helpful guide to help you do that. Choose the scale that fits your workout style and stay active safely!

If you have any questions or concerns about your health or fitness routine, do not hesitate to ask your doctor.