Rate of Perceived Exertion

I am working on a new RPE chart that condenses the levels down from 10 to 5.  Any suggestions to what I have so far?

What is Rate of Perceived Exertion?

If this is confusing to you, don’t worry.  You can use the Talk Test to get a good idea of how hard you are working. If you can communicate briefly with the instructor or your neighbor while you are working out, you are probably working within your range.  If you cannot talk at all, you should probably slow down.  If you can carry on a full conversation you are most likely exercising below your target range.

When considering how you move through the water, keep in mind that bigger people have to work harder to perform same movement because of bigger plane presented to the water.  So what may be perceived as difficult for one person may be easy for another.  The beauty of working out in the water is that the exercises can be adapted to work for everyone.

A number of sources say that for optimum fitness, exercise should be done minimum of 3 times a week at 60%-80% of maximum target heart rate and at a level between 3 and 4 on the RPE scale below:   

How hard do you feel you are working?

1 you could sing the chorus of a song without breathing hard
2 you can talk pretty easily
3 you can answer a question, but not comfortably carry on a conversation
4 you have to take a breath between every word you say
5 you are working hard and have to concentrate on your breathing


For example: 

Suzie may be jogging along and feel that she is working at a moderate pace. 

Joan thinks that Suzie’s ‘moderate pace’ seems very hard and she is struggling to keep up with Suzie.

Joan needs to slow down and adapt her pace to her perception of a moderate level. 

Remember:
- Everyone is different.
- Don’t try to keep up with the person next to you, work at your own pace.
- Start slowly and work towards getting your fitness level improved.
- Keep in mind that the pace gets stronger and the RPE changes as a person gets in better shape.