Resistance training
| RPE | Reps in reserve | Feeling & bar speed |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 0 · maximal effort | No reps left; the last rep barely moved. |
| 9.5 | ~0.5 · near maximal | No more reps, but a tiny amount of weight may remain. |
| 9 | 1 · very hard | One rep left; the final rep was very slow. |
| 8.5 | ~1.5 · hard | Maybe two reps left; bar speed slowed noticeably. |
| 8 | 2 · challenging | Two reps left; final reps were slow. |
| 7.5 | ~2.5 · moderate | Maybe three reps left; bar speed slowed slightly. |
| 7 | 3 · comfortably challenging | Three reps left with slight slowing. |
| 6 | 4 · easy / warm-up | Four reps left with no bar-speed slowdown. |
| 1–5 | 6–10 · very easy | Light warm-up effort; the bar moves very quickly. |
Conditioning
| Zone | RPE | Focus | VO₂ max | HR max | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3–4 | Active recovery | 45–65% | 55–75% | 1–6 hours |
| 2 | 4–6 | Aerobic endurance | 66–80% | 70–80% | 1–3 hours |
| 3 | 5–7 | Tempo | 81–87% | 80–90% | 50–90 min |
| 4 | 7–9 | Threshold | 88–93% | 85–95% | 30–60 min |
| 5 | 8+ | VO₂ max | 94–100% | >90% | 15–30 min |