Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE)

What Does Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) Mean?

The Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale measures the perceived intensity level of a physical activity. It is used to estimate how hard a task is and what effort that task requires, from very, very light to very, very hard.

The most widely used RPE tool is the ‘Borg scale’. The Borg scale is a 15-point scale ranging from a rating of 6, representing no exertion at all, to a rating of 20 representing maximal exertion.

RPE is also known as rating of perceived effort.

Safeopedia Explains Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE)

Perceived exertion is defined as how hard you feel your body is working. It is based on the physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity, including increased heart rate, increased respiration or breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue.

Other RPE scales include a category-ratio scale (CR10) with rating ranges from 0 (nothing at all) to 10 (extremely strong), and the OMNI-RPE, also a 0 to 10 RPE scale.