Rating of Perceived Exertion, or RPE, is one way of measuring the intensity of a workout. If you do not use a heart rate monitor, then it is the method to determine what intensity zone you are in, and where you need to be.

The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion is a 1 to 20 scale; for our purposes, we will focus on the 6 to 20 range. The range was developed because it represents about 10% of the heart rate experienced by a moderately fit 20-something person. In other words, 6 = 60 bpm, or roughly a resting heart rate (no exertion), and 20 = 200 bpm, or maximum heart rate.

Borg #	Breathing	Training Zone
6	No exertion	1
7	Almost nothing
8
9	Very light
10		2
11	Light
12
13	Somewhat hard	3
14
15	Hard - Heavy	4
16
17	Very Hard	5a
18		5b
19	Extremely Hard
20	Maximum Exertion	5c

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Last Updated 11/25/2004