Zone Training and RPE
Have you ever stepped on a treadmill and found yourself guessing how fast to run, how long to go or how much weight to use? You’re not alone.
Two effective ways to personalize your workouts are zone training and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. These tools use heart rate (HR) data and your perception of effort to remove the guesswork from exercise intensity. Both zone training and RPE can be used for cardiovascular and strength training.
Zone training requires calculating target heart rate zones for different exercise intensities. These zones are based on your estimated maximum heart rate and resting heart rate. Once calculated, they allow you to structure workouts that align with your fitness goals. You can download the heart rate zone spreadsheet below to determine your personal zones.
The RPE scale works alongside zone training. The Modified Borg Scale is commonly used to measure how hard an exercise feels. Using RPE is especially helpful because perceived effort can change from day to day based on factors such as sleep, stress, nutrition, cardiovascular fitness and muscle fatigue or soreness. This flexibility allows you to adjust your training based on how your body feels on a given day.
Knowing your target HR zone or RPE is key to training safely, maximizing workout efficiency and avoiding overtraining. The zones you train in will vary based on your fitness level and goals. Generally, most workouts should fall within zones 1 through 3. As a guideline, zones 4 and 5 should be used only one to two times per week due to their higher intensity.
Below are examples of activities typically associated with each zone:
- Zone 1: Warmups, cooldowns, recovery workouts
- Zone 2: Long-distance cardio, light strength training, endurance building
- Zone 3: Strength training, moderate-duration intense cardio
- Zone 4: Cardio at a challenging or race pace, high-intensity strength training
- Zone 5: High-intensity intervals, sprinting, max-effort strength training
Now that you have a better understanding of zone training and the RPE scale, you can begin using these tools to train safely and effectively while working toward your health and wellness goals.
If you’re looking to create a training plan that fits your needs, the Slainte website offers a wide variety of workouts for all skill levels under the On-demand Workouts tab.
About the author
Bryan Mizell
Mr. Bryan Mizell is an Advanced Fitness and Wellness Coach in the Slainte Fitness Center at USLI.