What does RPE stand for?
RPE stands for rate of perceived exertion and is a useful way to measure your effort during workouts. In resistance training, RPE determines how hard you train from set to set and how many repetitions you leave in the tank. This is a great way to determine whether it is time to increase/decrease weight, whether you’re overtraining, etc. We’ll discuss how to use the scale below.
How to Track RPE in Hevy
Step 1: Enable RPE
Navigate to the settings:
Profile tab > Settings (gear icon on the top right) > Workouts > RPE Tracking > activate the option with the toggle button.
Step 2: Log it During Workout
Enabling RPE in the settings generates an additional column for rep-based exercises while logging workouts in Hevy.
You can tap the RPE button for a specific set to select a value from 6 to 10.
You can also leave some sets with a blank RPE value if you don’t feel like inputting it or it doesn’t make sense (such as when doing warm-up sets).
Step 3: Review Your Effort Later
Logging your RPE during training and saving the session allows you to review your completed workouts later and get more insight. Knowing how hard you’ve pushed during each set can help you better understand your performance and if you need to make changes.
How to Calculate RPE
The RPE scale goes from one to ten, but you can only input a value between 6 and 10. Anything below that is incredibly difficult to estimate, even for an experienced lifter, and is unlikely to present a challenge and lead to progress in the weight room.
Here’s what each RPE score means:
RPE 6 – could have done 4+ more reps
RPE 7 – could have done 3 more reps
RPE 7.5 – could have done 2 more reps, maybe even 3
RPE 8 – could have done 2 more reps
RPE 8.5 – could have done 1 more rep, maybe 2
RPE 9 – could have done 1 more rep
RPE 9.5 – could have maybe done 1 more rep
RPE 10 – couldn’t have done more reps with proper form