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Rate of Perceived Exertion
Heart rate is important but listening to your body also has a lot of advantages. There are
more variables involved in how hard you should workout than just heart rate. Your stress
level, physical health, emotional health, temperature, humidity, the time of day, the last
time you ate and what you ate, all contribute to the intensity at which you should workout.
If you listen to your body, it will tell you all of these things.
The rate of perceived exertion (RPE), also know as the Borg scale, was developed by
Swedish physiologist G.A.V. Borg. This scale rates exercise intensity from 6 to 20
depending upon how you feel or the perception of your effort.
The scale is as follows:
Rating Perception of Effort
6 Minimal
7 Very, very light
8 Very, very light +
9 Very light
10 Very light +
11 Fairly light
12 Comfortable
13 Somewhat hard
14 Somewhat hard +
15 Hard
16 Hard +
17 Very hard
18 Very hard +
19 Very, very hard
20 Maximal
You can get an approximate heart rate level for each rating by simply adding a zero to
each rating. For example a rating of 12 will result in an approximate heart rate of 120
beats per minute. Your RPE will vary depending up the factors discussed earlier. That is
the major benefit of this type of training. If your body is strong and rested, you will feel
strong and your pace will feel easier. When your body is in this condition, you are able to
train harder and the RPE will support this. If you are feeling tired and sluggish, it is
because your body needs a break. In this condition, your pace will feel harder. Again, this
will show up in your RPE and you will train at the proper level for that day.
