Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

01 Jun, 2026

RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion — a subjective scale for measuring how hard you feel you're working during exercise.

The most common version is the 1–10 scale (or sometimes 6–20, the original Borg scale).

1–10 RPE:

• 1–2: Barely moving, very easy
• 3–4: Easy, conversational, warm-up pace
• 5–6: Moderate effort, can speak in short sentences
• 7–8: Hard, breathing heavy, hard to talk
• 9: Very hard, can only say a few words
• 10: Maximum effort, unsustainable

RPE lets you regulate intensity without obsessing over pace or heart rate — useful on hilly terrain, hot days, or when you're fatigued, where the same pace feels much harder.

#running