RPE is an acronym for Rate of Perceived Exertion which was developed by Gunnar Borg to measure a person's effort during exercise or other forms of physical labor. At Columbia CrossFit we use RPE as a tool to guide our exercise to communicate to our members what we are looking for in relation to intensity.
At CCF we prefer to use RPE instead of a percentage based training because it is better suited for the recreational athlete. Your life is full of variables (work, school, nutrition, sleep, etc.). These variables have an impact on your training mentally and physically. This means your RPE on a given exercise or workout will fluctuate based upon these variables.
Last week I wrote about plateaus in fitness and how it is our responsibility as athletes to analyze the details that might be resulting in a plateau in our fitness (nutrition, scaling options, ect.). It is also our responsibility to analyze our RPE and understand our performance in a given lift or workout based upon the variables of life.
There have been several variations of how to describe exertion of movement using 1-10 scaling of RPE. A simple google search will display and demonstrate RPE being used in a variety of fitness contexts. Below is a general guide within each level.
Rate of Perceived Exertion 10-1 Scale:
10 = Maximum Effort Activity
9 = Very Hard Activity
8-7 = Vigorous Activity
6-4 = Moderate Activity
2-3 = Light Activity
1 = Very Light Activity
RPE is another great tool to support in tracking and measuring our work inside of the gym. It is not as detailed as percentage based training and allows for athletes to take into account the circumstances of their day to day life as they engage in their training.
Patrick Stone
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