What Is RPE in Exercise?
If you’re over 30, looking to build strength efficiently while avoiding burnout and injury, understanding RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) can transform the way you train. But what does RPE stand for in exercise, and why does it matter for your strength training routine?
RPE is a self-assessment scale that helps you gauge how hard you're working during a workout. Originally developed by Dr. Gunnar Borg, the RPE scale allows you to adjust intensity based on how your body feels rather than relying solely on weight percentages or heart rate monitors. It is an intuitive way to assess progress and manage your training loads.
Today, strength coaches commonly use a 1–10 RPE scale to help determine how close a set was to your maximum effort. This way, we can still intelligently program intensity without having to test your 1 rep max or other equipments.
Why Does RPE Strength Training Work?
As we age, joint health, recovery, and overall well-being become more of our priorities. High-intensity workouts can be great for performance, but they often come at the cost of overuse injuries and prolonged recovery time. On the other hand, low-intensity training may not provide the challenge needed for muscle growth.
That’s where RPE strength training becomes useful. RPE allows you to regulate your effort based on the difficulty of the set. You can push when you're ready to push and scale back when your body needs a little more recovery or you need a little more technique work. This way you can productively train even under lower intensity days.
How Does the RPE Scale Work?
The RPE scale typically ranges from 1 to 10, with 1 being little to no effort and 10 being maximal exertion. Here’s how it applies to strength training:
RPE 4-5 – Low-intensity exercises meaning you have many reps left in your tank. This is easy effort, warm-up sets, and active recovery.
RPE 6-7 – Moderate-intensity exercises meaning you have several reps left in you at a RPE 6, and 3 reps in you at a RPE 7. This is strength-building with room for extra reps.
RPE 8-9 – High-intensity exercises meaning you only have 2 reps left in you at a RPE 8, and only 1 rep left in you at a RPE 9. This is challenging but controlled, and pushing close to failure.
RPE 10 – Max effort meaning you have no more reps left in you. This is you pushing to absolute failure. It is not sustainable for every session, or even every week.
By training in the RPE 6-9 range, you’ll maximize strength gains without unnecessary strain on your joints.
Pro tip: If your form breaks down when you increase load, that weight in too heavy for you. This may mean that you don’t have the strength capacity yet to perform a proper 1 rep max, or 2-3 rep max. This is where intelligent programming comes in: start at an intensity where your form holds up, and progress reps and isometrics and eccentrics under that load. Then you should increase weight by 2%.
RPE and RIR: What's the Difference?
You may also hear the term RIR, or Reps in Reserve. RIR asks: “How many more good repetitions could I have performed?” Whereas, RPE asks: “How difficult was that set?” They are often used together, just like it was mentioned earlier. For example: RPE 7 ≈ 3 reps in reserve, , RPE 8 ≈ 2 reps in reserve, RPE 9 ≈ 1 rep in reserve, and so on.
This gives you another way to understand training intensity. and gives you room to account for how your body is actually performing that day.
How to Use RPE for Strength Training
Your performance in the gym is variable on many factors, such as sleep, stress levels or simply having a rough day in the gym. This might mean that a weight that you typically lift may feel harder than usual. Maybe you’re more fatigues than normal or your joints don’t feel comfortable on a specific day with heavier loads. For any case, this doesn’t mean you have to abandon your training plan. It might mean to adjust. On these days, you may lower the weight, but still keep your target RPE by increasing reps.
Then the opposite may be true on another day, where you feel exceptionally strong. The same weight might feel easier, which may mean you can increase to a slightly heavier load and perform with less reps within the same target RPE you planned.
By training your intensity, it allows you to customize your training plan to how your performing that day.
Low, Moderate, and High RPE Training
To apply RPE-based training, here’s how different intensity levels fit into your workout:
Low-Intensity Training: RPE 4–5
These efforts are useful for warm-ups, technique work, recovery sessions, and building a foundation.
Examples include:
Bodyweight movements
Mobility drills
Light resistance-band exercises
Easy walking
Technique-focused strength exercises
At this intensity, you should finish the set feeling like you had plenty more available.
Moderate-Intensity Training: RPE 6–7
This range can be useful for building strength and accumulating training volume without pushing every set close to your limit.
Examples include:
Dumbbell presses
Squats using submaximal loads
Rows
Lunges
Resistance-band exercises
Controlled cardiovascular training
This is challenging work, but you should still have repetitions available.
High-Intensity Training: RPE 8–9
Higher RPE training can be appropriate when you're ready for a greater challenge and have the technical skill and recovery capacity to handle it.
Examples may include:
Heavy compound lifts
Deadlifts
Bench presses
Challenging squats
Advanced resistance exercises
Not every exercise or every workout needs to reach this intensity.
And for most people, training at RPE 10 may be unnecessary.
What Are the Benefits of RPE-Based Training?
RPE-based training can help you:
Manage training intensity:
You can challenge yourself without automatically turning every workout into a maximal effort session.
Improve training efficiency:
Rather than simply lifting heavier because you feel like you should, you can focus on achieving the intended training stimulus.
Support recovery:
Managing intensity can help you balance hard training with the recovery your body needs.
Build greater body awareness:
Learning to recognize the difference between challenging effort and excessive strain is an important part of becoming a better athlete.
Train Smarter with Drip Training
At Drip Training, we intelligently program intensities to meet you where you are today without compromising on progressing to your goals. Whether your goal requires more endurance or lifting heavy, we build your capacity strategically through program periodization, tempo and breath-work.
About the Author:
COACH DEE | Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Deborah Park, known as Coach Dee, is the owner of Drip Training LLC and a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. With a background in architecture and kinesiology from the University of Virginia, she has extensive experience in personal training and athletic coaching in a clinical (physical therapy) setting. Coach Dee combines her scientific knowledge with years of hands-on experience and generational knowledge of food as medicine to create programs that empower clients to regain control over their bodies and minds.
Her journey into personal training was deeply influenced by her personal struggles, including recovering from a life-changing car accident that led to PTSD and pain from scoliosis. This experience gave her a unique understanding of the connection between mental health and physical well-being. Coach Dee is committed to helping clients develop resilience, build strength, and rediscover their confidence—no matter the challenges they face.
