RPE-derived work rates can be accurately produced without external feedback or reference to the RPE Scale

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Human Performance

Background:

• Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) are a common method for prescribing and monitoring exercise intensity.
• Understanding the reliability of RPE without visual feedback is crucial for practical exercise prescription.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if the accurate production of exercise intensity, based on RPE, is affected when participants cannot see the RPE scale.
• To determine the impact of visual feedback on RPE-based intensity control during cycling.

Main Methods:

• 15 active male participants completed graded exercise tests.
• Participants performed randomized 4-minute cycling trials at RPE 11, 13, 15, and 17.
• Two groups were used: Full feedback (RPE scale visible) and No feedback (RPE scale not visible), with a crossover condition.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in mean work rates were found between the Full feedback and No feedback groups.
• A significant overestimation of power output occurred at RPE 11 when visual feedback was removed.
• High intra-class correlations for power output were observed across trials at RPEs 11, 13, and 17.

Conclusions:

• Active individuals can accurately achieve RPE-prescribed exercise intensities even without direct visual access to the RPE scale.
• Adequate familiarization with the RPE scale and exercise task is important for reliable intensity production.
• While generally accurate, removing visual RPE feedback may lead to slight overestimations in intensity at lower RPE levels.