What is RPE?
RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion. Furthermore, it is a scale that goes from 1-10. 1 being minimal effort and 10 being maximal effort. Most strength athletes will use the scale in terms of reps in reserve. For example an RPE of 7 would mean after you complete your last rep you would still have 3 more reps left in the tank.
Why use RPE?
RPE is a tool used to autoregulate your workouts and to ensure that your don’t overshoot in training. RPE allows you to adjust the intensity of your workouts based on how you are feeling on the particular training day.
Disadvantageous of RPE
Newer lifters or people that have never used RPE before may find it hard to properly gauge the RPE of their working sets. This can cause a lifter to either choose numbers too easy or overshoot by going heavy.
Advantageous of RPE
Helps athletes to better understand their limits and be more in-touch with their own training capabilities. When used correctly will stop athletes from overshooting. Provides more flexibility when training. If an athlete is feeling really good they can increase the weight, if they are not feeling as hot they can pull back based on the RPE.
