Fitness

As a coach, one of the most common questions I get asked is: ‘How do I set up my training zones?’ The answer depends on whether you use a heart rate monitor, power meter or neither, and also on which method of training zone calculation you want to use. Th

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a well-recognised method of gauging effort. The original RPE scale was created by Gunnar Borg and it rated exertion on a scale of 6-20, with 6 representing ‘no effort at all’ and 20 representing ‘maximum effort’. Since the publication of this original Borg RPE scale, there have been many different versions used. Most commonly, athletes tend to use a RPE scale of 1 to 10, as this is easier to relate to. Regardless of the exact scale used, most studies have shown that an athlete’s perceived level of exertion is remarkably quite an accurate way of measuring training intensity.