RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is the fastest, lowest‑friction signal you can collect daily from athletes.
Coaches already track *what* happened: mileage, workouts, splits, maybe HR. RPE tells you what it cost them.
When you combine “what happened” + “what it cost,” you get a much clearer picture of readiness, fatigue, and risk — without needing wearables, lab tests, or a complicated survey.
What RPE actually measures
RPE is not a measure of toughness. It’s not a measure of talent. It’s a perception signal.
Two athletes can run the same workout:
- Athlete A: “RPE 6” — felt controlled
- Athlete B: “RPE 9” — felt like a battle
If you only look at mileage, you miss the difference.
RPE captures the overlap of things you *can’t* see:
- sleep debt
- school stress
- nutrition/hydration
- illness
- recovery status
- pain or niggles
- emotional load
In team sports, those invisible variables are often the difference between “good practice” and “why did half the team look dead today?”
The simplest model: mileage vs RPE
Here’s the mental model that makes RPE immediately useful:
- Mileage tells you what they did.
- RPE tells you what it cost them.
If mileage is stable but RPE trends up, you have a signal.
If mileage increases and RPE increases, that may be normal — but it’s a place to watch.
If mileage increases and RPE stays stable or trends down, you’re probably building fitness (or the athlete is under-reporting).
Why RPE matters more in high school than in college
High school athletes are inconsistent by nature:
- they’re still growing
- their schedules are chaotic
- their sleep is usually bad
- their nutrition is often… creative
- they don’t always tell you when something hurts
That’s not a character flaw — it’s reality.
RPE gives you a daily, low-friction check on how the athlete is experiencing training.
It’s also one of the few things that reliably predicts problems early:
- “RPE is up, legs feel heavy” before you see a bad workout
- “RPE is high and sleep was trash” before you get the sick kid
- “RPE is high and shin is sore” before you get the stress reaction
How to anchor RPE so athletes don’t guess
The biggest failure mode is that athletes have no consistent calibration.
Give them anchors. Keep it simple and repeat it.
A practical RPE scale for teams (1–10)
- 1–2: very easy (walk/jog, shakeout)
- 3–4: easy conversational run
- 5: moderate (you notice you’re training)
- 6: steady / comfortably hard
- 7: hard but controlled (tempo-ish)
- 8: very hard (race-pace effort)
- 9: brutal (near max)
- 10: max effort (all-out)
You don’t need perfect. You need consistent.
Coach pro tip
If you ever punish a kid for reporting high RPE (“stop being soft”), you’ve permanently broken your RPE data.
Treat high RPE like a signal, not a confession.
What to watch for (the patterns that matter)
RPE becomes useful when you look for patterns, not one-off numbers.
1) “Stable mileage, rising RPE”
This is the classic fatigue signal.
Common causes:
- accumulating fatigue
- not enough easy running (too many days at medium effort)
- stress + bad sleep
- under-fueling
- illness incoming
Coach move:
- check the note field / talk to the athlete
- lighten one session (not necessarily the whole week)
- shorten reps, extend rest, or change the workout goal
2) “Low mileage, high RPE”
Often a sign of a kid doing more than you think (PE class, club sport, lifting) or a kid under-recovering.
Coach move:
- ask: “What else did you do today?”
- look for sleep/nutrition patterns
3) “High mileage, low RPE (suspiciously)”
Sometimes a great sign (fitness!). Sometimes under-reporting.
Coach move:
- ask for a quick calibration: “If yesterday was RPE 4, what is today?”
- ensure the athlete understands the anchors
4) “Sudden RPE spike”
One high day is not a crisis. But it’s a reason to look.
Coach move:
- ask 2 questions: “Sleep?” and “Anything hurting?”
- if both are fine, it may just be a tough day
How to collect RPE without annoying athletes
RPE works when it’s a habit.
The best system is:
- same time every day
- one reminder
- fast entry
If your RPE check-in takes more than 15 seconds, compliance will crater.
A lightweight template:
- Mileage
- RPE (1–10)
- Optional note
That’s enough to generate signal.
How to use RPE in a coach workflow (5 minutes)
Here’s a simple daily workflow that doesn’t become another job:
1) Check compliance: who didn’t log? 2) Scan for outliers: RPE 8–10 on an easy day, or RPE rising 2+ points over a few days 3) Read the notes: look for “sore,” “tight,” “sleep,” “stress,” “sick” 4) Talk to 1–3 athletes: quick check-in before practice 5) Make micro-adjustments:
- reduce volume by 10–20%
- keep the workout, lower the reps
- move a kid to the “maintenance” group
- swap an intense day for an aerobic day
The magic is not in perfect data — it’s in catching issues early.
A few examples (how it plays out)
Example A: the honest kid
- Mileage: 5
- RPE: 8
- Note: “legs heavy, slept 4 hours”
Coach response:
- praise honesty
- reduce intensity (or shorten reps)
- tell them the goal is to get back to normal tomorrow
Example B: the quiet kid
- Mileage: 6
- RPE: 7 → 8 → 9 over 3 days
- Notes: none
Coach response:
- pull them aside privately
- ask: “Anything hurting?”
- you’ll often find the shin/hip/foot issue before it becomes a week off
Example C: the sandbagger
- Mileage: 7
- RPE: 3 every day
Coach response:
- don’t accuse
- ask them to calibrate with anchors
- “If yesterday was RPE 3, what would a 7 feel like?”
The punchline
RPE is worth it because it gives you signal without friction.
Mileage tells you what happened. RPE tells you what it cost.
If you want a team-level system that helps you coach smarter (and keeps kids healthier), RPE is one of the best inputs you can collect.