One of the best things about running is seeing your hard work reflected in a fitness class right after, right? At least that’s what I thought before I found RPE training.
Never heard of it? Unlike weightlifting, where you can only track your heart rate and calories burned (neither of which necessarily equates to a good workout, FYI), there’s so much more information you can break down about your run when using wearables. You can see your distance, pace and splits (ie how fast you ran each kilometer – and whether you were slower or faster during the run), as well as your physical data like heart rate zones.
This data can be really valuable—and as a health and fitness editor training for their first half marathon, I never thought I could run without digital tracking. But I recently took off my watch and found a new, analog way to track my runs: rate-of-perceived-exertion (RPE) running training.
For more on what exactly that means (spoiler alert: it’s essentially mindful running that encourages you to assess how you feel during your workout), keep scrolling.
New to cardio? You might find these beginner running tips useful, as well as our strength training guides for running, how to run faster and how to run longer.
RPE Training Helped Me Enjoy Cardio Without Tracking – Your Guide
What is RPE training?
RPE running training means relying on your own perceived level of fatigue as an indicator of how you are doing. “It’s a subjective measure of how difficult an individual perceives their exercise or training,” explains personal trainer Josh Davies.
You usually rate your run on a scale of zero to ten, “with zero being no effort (resting) and ten being maximum effort (meaning you literally can’t push yourself anymore),” says Davies. It’s based on the traditional Borg effort scale, which includes a score from six to 20, modified for a more intuitive explanatory scale, he continues.
There is science to show that relying on RPE is also an effective way to train. AND Biology of sports study that reported that people worked at a similar effort whether they worked toward a heart rate goal or an RPE goal. The authors said that “this finding suggests that the RPE scale is a simple, inexpensive, and useful tool.”
What RPE should you use in running?
For all newbie runners, you’ll probably be surprised that most of your runs should actually be very easy. Despite how we see running portrayed (sweaty, fast sprinters) and how it can feel at first (hard, impossible), most advice is that we should run easy 80% of the time and push ourselves 20% of the time. This is called periodization, and research shows it’s an effective way to improve endurance and pace without overdoing it: International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance The paper reported that people who did 77% of their exercise at low intensity, 3% at moderate intensity and 20% at high intensity increased their pace almost twice as fast as those who did 46% at low, 35% at moderate and 19% at high intensity. intensity. In short: more low-intensity movement is a good idea.
When it comes to RPE, those “easy” runs should feel like a three to four on the scale. Another good way to make sure your runs are easy is to make them ‘conversational’ – meaning you can talk to a friend while you run.
That 20% of your hard runs might feel like eight out of 10. This can be done in bursts, like sprints or intervals, because it will be hard to sustain all the effort for a long time.
Is it better to practice RPE running or using a fitness tracker?
The “easy” running advice is exactly why I eventually switched from tracking my runs to letting RPE training guide me.
My fitness tracker kept telling me to run at my maximum heart rate. During a leisurely 5km run, my tracker suggested I was spending more than eleven minutes with a heart rate in zone 5, the highest heart rate “zone” usually only reached when exerting all-out effort. But I didn’t feel that way – and I sure would know if I did. “In Zone 5 you won’t be able to speak and your breathing rate will be high. It would seem like you’re running quite a bit,” says Davies.
Extreme readings suggest that my watch is broken or needs to be calibrated. But we also know that fitness trackers can be notoriously inaccurate: 2022 Journal of Medical Internet Research a review reported that most fitness trackers have over 30% inaccuracy when tracking energy consumption, and some devices showed 17% inaccuracy when tracking heart rate.
Tracking my fitness data meant that when I looked at my wearable device during a run, I forced myself to slow down. Afterwards, I convinced myself that I was much less fit than I thought, my inner monologue convinced me that I wasn’t doing enough and that I was a bad runner. I asked Davies what I should do. His advice was, “If you’re training for something specific, using the RPE scale is a good way to go. Go with what your body is telling you, not what the wearable is telling you. You’ll get a much better understanding of your body.”
Since I followed that advice, I totally agree – to the point where I gave up my fitness tracker altogether. I no longer glance at the technique to see if I’m going at the right speed and instead keep asking myself: how do I feel? I often find that I can settle into a cadence that I’m comfortable with and enjoy the run, but sometimes I find myself pushing myself two or three RPEs and can pull back. It’s a much more intuitive, freeing way to run.
Of course, RPE has some drawbacks. Namely, our mood can dictate how we feel when we move. There are days when I’m tired or feeling listless and I can realize that my normal pace is a lot harder than usual. But I’m learning that perception still counts – my body is telling me it’s hard and that in itself is a reliable indicator that I need to back off even if, according to scientific measurements, my body can do more. The longer I train with RPE, the more I am able to be a reliable commentator on whether something is feels difficult or true is heavy.
In this sense, Davies sees the use of RPE as a form of monitoring itself. “By regularly tracking your runs using RPE, you can determine what’s working well for you and what may need to be adjusted. This can help you determine if you’re constantly challenging yourself or if you need to adjust the amp to your training intensity,” says Davies. And analog tracking can motivate people just as much as digital devices, he says. “You can track fitness stats like speed and weight lifted to track your progress and see improvements over a period of time. This can increase motivation and encourage you to stay consistent with your fitness routine and help you identify potential areas of improvement or areas of weakness where you may need to seek guidance or coaching,” he adds.
People should use whatever measures suit them. If you feel you have reliable tracking that gives you interesting, motivating data, by all means use it to improve your running. But for some people, like me, training with only your own body to guide you has been a complete game changer.
The running kit I swear by for RPE running training
Lululemon High Impact Energy Bra
As I increased my distance and pace, it was essential to get the right bra. I love this striking version of the classic lululemon Energy Bra – I love that it has multiple adjustable straps for personalized support, and the smooth material makes it look like it’s barely working.
lululemon quick and free 6 inch shorts
I hate running with a vest clinging to me, but I need pockets to store my phone, half-ride fuel and keys, so I love these deep pocket shorts. They’re also compression mid-section without taking my breath away (I need a lot of that while running, thank you).
A favorite running shoe thanks to its responsive cushioning, Nike’s Pegasus is supportive, propulsive and comfortable to wear. Shop our selection of the best running shoes here.