The RPE scale and how we apply it in our group training

Valhalla Fitness was founded with one central, underlying idea in mind - to take the science based training principles that I use in my own training programs, and apply them in a group class setting. While it is an interesting and fairly novel idea, implementing such measures is not exactly an easy endeavor when you are dealing with classes which can get as large as 20 people. This is one of the reasons that all of our programs lean heavily into the reps-in-reserve (RIR), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Going forward we will simply refer to this as RPE. 

The RPE scale allows us to measure exercise intensity with a reasonable degree of accuracy, assign loads accordingly, and facilitate successful progressive overload. For those of you who are unfamiliar, RPE is simply a subjective assessment of a set graded on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being trivially easy (almost no difficulty at all), and 10 being a max effort set. While the idea of RPE has been around for decades, the idea of seeing it through the lens of reps in reserve is relatively new. In order to calculate your RPE, you will simply need to ask yourself ‘how many reps did I have left in the tank’, and subtract that number from 10. So if a set was near maximal, and the lifter could only perform one more repetition, a rating of 9 would be assigned. Likewise, a set taken to failure with zero reps left in the tank would have an RPE of 10

RPE is an extremely useful tool in our programming toolkit. Not only does it assist with the aforementioned assessment of set intensity, but it allows us to tailor the program in a far more individualized manner, even in larger classes. 

If you're curious about how we use this in our group classes, swing by for a trial session. Come on in, see how we do things differently than anyone else, and let's kickstart your fitness journey together at Valhalla Fitness!