Rate Of Perceived Exertion (RPE) |
Rate of Perceived Exertion using the CR1O Scale
- Perception of effort is commonly used to monitor training in athletes and can be used to determine exercise intensity. (Fig. 1)
- The RPE Scale is a general intensity scale with special anchors that can be used to measure exertion and pain. (2)
- Using this scale you can rate your perception of exertion of internal load following a training session.
- You will see that the scale is anchored at the number 10, which represents extreme intensities. (Fig. 1 & 2)
- Try to appraise your feeling of exertion as honestly as possible, without thinking about what the actual physical load is. Don't underestimate it, but don't overestimate it either. It's your own feeling of effort and exertion that's important, not how it compares to other people's. What other people think is not important either. Look at the scale and the expressions and then give a number (2).
- What "max exertion" -- your "max P" -- have you previously experienced in your life? Use that as "10".
Instruction for RPE Using the Borg CR10 Scale
We want you to rate your perception of exertion, that is, how heavy and strenuous the exercise feels to you. The perception of exertion depends mainly on the strain and fatigue in your muscles and on your feeling of breathlessness or aches in the chest.
We want you to use this scale from 0 to 10 and "•", where 0 means "no exertion at all" and 10 means "extremely strong—max P", that is, the maximal exertion you have previously experienced.
What "max exertion" --your "max P"-- have you previously experienced in your life? Use that as "10".
We want you to use this scale from 0 to 10 and "•", where 0 means "no exertion at all" and 10 means "extremely strong—max P", that is, the maximal exertion you have previously experienced.
- "1" corresponds to "very light" exercise. For a normal, healthy person it is like walking slowly at his or her own pace for several minutes.
- "3" on the scale is "moderate" exercise, it is not especially hard, it feels fine, and it is no problem to continue exercising.
- "5" corresponds to "heavy exercise"; it feels hard and you are tired, but you don't have any great difficulties in going on.
- "7" is "very hard" and very strenuous. A healthy person can still go on but he or she has to push him- or herself a lot. It feels very heavy and the person is very tired.
- "10" on the scale is an extremely strenuous exercise level. It is "max P". For most people this is an exercise as strenuous as they have ever experienced before in their lives.
- "•" The dot denotes a perceived exertion that is stronger than 10; "extremely strong." It is your "absolute maximum," for example, 12, 13, or even higher. It is the highest possible level of exertion.
What "max exertion" --your "max P"-- have you previously experienced in your life? Use that as "10".
Borg, G. (1998). Borg's Perceived Exertion And Pain Scales. p51
Figure 1 (4) - A pictorial representation of the RPE using the OMNI RPE scale. The OMNI scale has both verbal and exercise mode specific pictures along with the 0 - 10 scale (3). Use this scale as a reference to categorize your RPE for Ergometer, On-Water Rowing, or Cross-Training.
R. J. Robertson, 2004, Perceived exertion for practitioners (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics), 11.
External Load
- External load measures are commonly used for quantifying training in aerobic and team sports.
- Monitors and systems such as GPS, accelerometry, and power meters can provide the coach and athlete with objective measures of external workload e.g., sets, load, number of intervals, distance, Watts, pace, distance rowed, and boat speed;
- However, these measures do not provide information on how the athlete is responding to the training load. This is why measures of internal load are also important to monitor... (3)
Internal Load
- Athletes' internal responses are determined by a range of factors e.g., Age, Training History, Physical Capacity, and Genetics
- An important understanding or concept of internal load is that it is unique to individuals.
- The same external workload can result in very different internal responses for different athletes, Monitoring internal workload provides important information on how the athlete is adapting to training.
- Measures such as heart rate and RPE are the most common methods of monitoring. (3)
Figure 2 - This chart is a representation of the Borg CR10 scale (Category Ratio - RPE Scale). Borg (2) developed a number of scales to assist in identifying exertion and pain. This scale (CR10) uses a 10 point scale with verbal anchors that help you quickly rate your effort. The colours represent another means to draw attention to levels of intensity. It also varies from figure 1. It allows the user to include decimal increments, as well as, identifies a level beyond 10 which represents the absolute maximum that an individual may experience. Rowing a 2000m race (whether on the ergometer or in a boat) that rowing athletes have experienced.
'•' The dot denotes a perceived exertion that is stronger than 10; "extremely strong." It is your "absolute maximum," for example, 12, 13, or even higher. It is the highest possible level of exertion (2).
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References
- Beer, J. (2021) "Heart rate variability – the new messiah for endurance athletes?", peakendurancesport.com
- Borg, G. (1998). Borg's Perceived Exertion And Pain Scales.
- McGuigan, M. (2017) Monitoring Training and Performance in Athletes. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
- Robertson, R. J. (2004) Perceived exertion for practitioners. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).
