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Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Table
This table, based on the research of Borg, is handy for quantifying the intensity of exercise. It is used in some research for that purpose, but may also be used in training programs to describe the intensity of training sessions. Two versions of this scale are available on this website. The following table has the scale between 6-20. This is made to correspond to the heart rate level (divided by 10) as well as the perceived exertion, e.g. when someone gives a rating of somewhat hard (rating 13), you may also find that their heart rate is about 130 (13 x 10). There is a similar scale which has the RPE ratings between 0-10.
rating |
description |
6 |
|
7 |
Very, Very Light |
8 |
|
9 |
Very Light |
10 |
|
11 |
Fairly Light |
12 |
|
13 |
Somewhat Hard |
14 |
|
15 |
Hard |
16 |
|
17 |
Very Hard |
18 |
|
19 |
Very, Very Hard |
20 |
Maximal Exertion |
References
-
Borg GAV. Borg’s Rating of Perceived Exertion and Pain Scales. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1998.
Related Pages
- Another very similar RPE scale, with the ratings between 0-10.
- other athlete questionnaires
