When I began coaching in 2010, I leaned hard on each of my clients to get a power meter; here was my pitch.
“Yes, I know you’re already using a heart rate monitor, but precisely measuring your training intensity with power is the surest way to improve on the bike; plus, it’s incredibly fun.”
While power meters have become an indispensable training tool since they were introduced nearly 30 years ago [1], their widespread adoption has come with a cost.
In the same way the smartphone has cannibalized much of daily life [2]; left unchecked, the power meter tends to devour all cycling experience in its path.
Power meters provide instant feedback on the bike and limitless opportunity for post-ride analysis, but they also introduce a destructive cycle of constant comparison and non-stop performance judgment.
New Pitch
In the 2020s my pitch to athletes has changed:
Yes, the power meter remains a vital tool, but ceding your training autonomy to power data isn’t innovative, it’s regressive.
One effective solution to power meter overreach is to integrate RPE into all aspects of your training.
In this guide to using RPE in your cycling, we’ll begin by describing why RPE is a uniquely valuable training tool, discuss the two primary types of RPE used, then outline five specific suggestions for incorporating RPE into various aspects of your training.
Let’s jump in
Personal Cycling Coaching
From scattered effort to structured progress—real results through human cycling coaching
Subjectivity
Unlike the objective language of power, RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) is derived from our perceptions of how cycling intensity feels [3].
Subjective Balances Objective
If you’re quick to dismiss RPE on grounds of its subjectivity, you’re making a mistake.
While a power meter faithfully reports how hard you’re mashing the pedals, it will never account for the psychological effort involved in working hard.
If RPE had no bearing on our performance, we might ignore it, but we know that when effort feels harder, our performance on the bike can suffer [4].
Furthermore, ignoring the way life stressors can increase our perception of effort in training is a recipe for frustration, overwhelm, and eventual burnout.
So, what does all of this mean in a practical sense? How does one integrate RPE throughout a thoughtful training plan?
There are two contexts for using RPE in your training:
Prescriptive RPE
“Follow the prescribed RPE in your workout”
Example: 2 X 20m efforts @ RPE 7 [3, 5].
Descriptive RPE
“Record how hard a ride felt”
Example: This training session felt like an RPE 7 [6].
Our next step is to introduce six ways you can better understand RPE and begin integrating it into your training.
Prescriptive
RPE + Power
When you use RPE in conjunction with power, you can more finely calibrate your training zones to ensure you’re training at the desired intensity (for yourself or when following a training plan from a coach).
In this example, if 235w feels significantly harder than an RPE 7, then you may be overestimating your FTP. Conversely, if 235w feels like an RPE of 6, then make sure to bump up your wattage higher in the prescribed target range.
If 243w still feels lower than an RPE 7, then it’s probably time for an FTP bump.
RPE Cap
Using an RPE cap on a ride neutralizes most life or environmental stressors that may be making a ride feel harder than intended at any point in a training plan.
In short, leaning on RPE will make your training more flexible and durable to outside stressors.
/ride bas
Indoor Changes
Trying to match your indoor power to what you can achieve outdoors is a mistake I’ve seen countless cyclists make. “Why” cycling feels harder indoors matters less than having a plan to account for these differences in your workout design.
Falling back on RPE for indoor workouts is a great way to account for the increased thermal demand of riding indoors (as well as an opportunity to experiment with how a massive fan and ice-filled water bottle can lower your RPE indoors).
Ride Basic: A Minimalist Guide to Maximize Your Cycling
Whether you’re a beginner eager to complete your first fondo, or a seasoned pro aiming to refresh the foundational principles of long-term cycling success, this time-efficient guide offers invaluable insights into why and how you can Ride Basic.
Descriptive
Warning System
If your RPE is consistently out of bounds with what you expect in terms of your power output, life stress may be getting too high to support your current training load.
Adapt by either lowering your training expectations or working to reduce your life stress.
Fueling
If your effort later in rides feels higher than you would expect for a given power output, this could indicate that you’re under-fueling on your rides.
Review the fueling guidelines for riding and make sure you’re eating enough carbs before, during, and after rides.
Session RPE
Recording how hard a ride felt can help communicate to your coach how hard training feels, as well as provide richer historical context when reviewing past data.
In this image you immediately see chunks of higher RPE rides (as denoted in green at the top of the graph).
What can you learn about the season or other life stressors that may contribute to periods of increased RPE?
How might we make plans in the future to take into account periods of the year that regularly contribute to greater RPE?
Personal Cycling Coaching
From scattered effort to structured progress—real results through human cycling coaching
References
- SRM. Our Story of Success 2021 [cited 2021 12/13/21]; Available from: http://www.srm.de/company/history/.
- Zomorodi, M., Bored and brilliant : how spacing out can unlock your most productive and creative self. 2018.
- Borg, G.A., Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 1982. 14: p. 377-381.
- Van Cutsem, J., et al., The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review. Sports Med, 2017. 47(8): p. 1569-1588.
- Scherr, J., et al., Associations between Borg’s rating of perceived exertion and physiological measures of exercise intensity. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2013. 113: p. 147-155.
- Foster, C., et al., 25 Years of Session Rating of Perceived Exertion: Historical Perspective and Development. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2020: p. 1.