Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale

Tonight's reading was an article from Greatist about interval training on bicycles. It sounded like the HIIT that I try to incorporate into my jogging. Then came the terms lactate threshold and RPE.

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/heart/prevention/exercise/rpe.aspx

The RPE scale is used to measure the intensity of your exercise. The RPE scale runs from 0 – 10. The numbers below relate to phrases used to rate how easy or difficult you find an activity. For example, 0 (nothing at all) would be how you feel when sitting in a chair; 10 (very, very heavy) is how you feel at the end of an exercise stress test or after a very difficult activity.

0 – Nothing at all 
0.5 – Just noticeable 
1 – Very light 
2 – Light 
3  – Moderate 
4 –   Somewhat heavy 
5 – Heavy 
6  
7 – Very heavy 
8  
9  
10 – Very, very heavy

In most cases, you should exercise at a level that feels 3 (moderate) to 4 (somewhat heavy). When using this rating scale, remember to include feelings of shortness of breath, as well as how tired you feel in your legs and overall.

Now that our terms are defined, let's get back to interval training on our bikes.

The article is at 

http://greatist.com/fitness/workout-tempo-interval-training-cycling.