RPE is a simple way to rate the difficulty of an exercise or group of exercises on a numerical scale. A scale of 1-10 is commonly used because it can easily be put into percentages; a 9 would be 90% of max, 8 would be 80% of max, and so on.

1 = easy, little to no effort

10 = max effort, no reps left in reserve

RPE helps monitor training intensity and evaluate how prepared your body is to perform. When your usual training feels harder than normal, RPE can help you recognize when a lighter session or additional recovery is needed. When an exercise feels easier than expected, it may be a sign that you’re ready to increase the weight or resistance.

RPE is not only helpful to rate how difficult an exercise is, but it can also be useful in determining your recovery from previous workouts or lifestyle activities. If you find yourself lifting lighter weights but at a higher RPE, for instance, it may be because you are not yet recovered from the previous exercise or workout. You may be dehydrated, not have the fuel for the workout, or be mentally and emotionally drained from life. This is a great way to know that taking it easy, doing a mobility workout or light cardio, or resting might be what your body needs at the time.

Here are a few signs you can safely increase resistance:

When you increase weight, keep it gradual, try the next smallest jump available (2.5 or 5 lbs). Keep increasing the weight until the last 1-2 reps in your set feel difficult.

Progressive overload is gradually increasing the demand on your muscles over time to help them grow. This can look like increasing weight, reps, or both.

Tracking your workout intensity with RPE helps you gauge whether you are pushing hard enough, consistently enough, to see progress. It can also help you recognize when to pull back and give your body more time to recover. Muscle grows through a process of breakdown and recovery, maintaining awareness of your body and effort over time helps you know when to push and when to ease up.