RPE - or Rate of Perceived Exertion- is a scale used to measure the intensity of your exercise based on how hard you feel you are working. It typically runs from 0 to 10, with zero being complete rest and 10 being the hardest you effort you could possibly do. It can be used for cardio/metcon workouts or for strength training.

For example, a 7/10 RPE means you should be at about 7 out of 10 in terms of perceived exertion—or about 70% effort. For strength sets you should have 3 more repetitions left in the tank.

The great things about using RPE is that it can change day-to-day based on how YOU are feeling. The same workout could feel different on another day depending on a number of factors - stress levels, nutrition, hydration, sleep, etc. We all know that sometimes a 75% clean can feel smooth and easy or other days it feels like a max effort.

You can use RPE to adjust your weights based on how you are feeling that day.

Try using reps in reserve for you strength/lifting work instead of just basing off your percentages.

Don’t be afraid to adjust your workouts based on your RPE. If you always feel like you are working 9/10 then you aren’t going to make as much progress as you could because you are just killing yourself every workout. You won’t be able to recover and stay consistent over time - which is the key to success!

Example of using RPE for a CrossFit metcon. We recommend staying 7 or below if you are coming back from a vacation or are just feeling run down that day.

Written by Beth Ansley, PT, DPT, OCS, CF-L1
For questions contact me at beth@arrowptseattle.com