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The effort scale

After every exercise AkMe asks: “How hard was it?” Here is what the five steps mean and how to give an honest rating.

Effort means reps in reserve

Your rating in AkMe answers one question: how many more reps could you have done with the same clean form when you finished the set? Not “how tired am I overall”, and not “how many could I grind out if I had to” — the honest reserve before your form starts to break down.

In sport this is called RPE, the rating of perceived exertion. For strength training it is counted in reps in reserve, a scale proposed by Zourdos and colleagues in 2016 and widely used by coaches and researchers since. The classic scale has ten steps: 10 means not a single rep more, 9 means one left, 8 means two, and so on.

AkMe’s five steps

We folded ten steps into five: it is easier to rate on your phone right after the exercise, and still precise enough to decide on the weight.

  1. 1 — easy. Six or more reps in reserve. RPE 4 or lower on the classic scale.
  2. 2 — ok. Four to five reps in reserve. RPE 5–6.
  3. 3 — working. Two to three reps in reserve: the last reps take effort, but your form holds. RPE 7–8.
  4. 4 — hard. One rep left, form still clean. RPE 9.
  5. 5 — max. Nothing left: the next rep won’t happen, your form is already breaking down, or you fell short of the planned reps. RPE 10.

How to rate

  • Rate by the last set. It is the hardest one and shows best whether the weight is right.
  • Ask yourself right after the set: “How many more reps could I do just as cleanly?” A minute later the feeling has already faded.
  • Torn between two steps? You probably had a little more in reserve. On average people underestimate it by about one rep, whatever their experience.
  • Accuracy comes with practice. Ratings are more accurate when the reps are few and the set is close to your limit. You don’t need to take every set to failure to check.
  • Pain is not effort. Sharp pain, pain in a joint or near a scar — stop, tap “Skip” and write in the note where it hurt. If it doesn’t go away, see a doctor.

Target effort

Every exercise has a target, shown on the set screen: “Target effort: 3 of 5”. The weight and reps are chosen to feel like that. The coach sets the target for your goal and the phase of your program; most often it is 3 or 4.

If it feels clearly harder than the target, drop the weight by one step mid-set — the report gets the weight you actually used. If it feels easier, finish as planned and give an honest rating.

What the coach does with your rating

One rating decides nothing on its own. AkMe’s coach looks at it together with your reps and weight, the history of that exercise and your load for the week. From these the coach decides what comes next — add weight, add reps, make the exercise harder or swap it — and explains the decision in the workout review.

That is why honesty matters more than the “right” number. A rating above target is not a failure; it is a signal that the plan needs adjusting.

Sources

  • Zourdos M. C. et al. Novel Resistance Training–Specific Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale Measuring Repetitions in Reserve. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(1):267–275. PubMed
  • Helms E. R., Cronin J., Storey A., Zourdos M. C. Application of the Repetitions in Reserve-Based Rating of Perceived Exertion Scale for Resistance Training. Strength Cond J. 2016;38(4):42–49. PMC
  • Halperin I. et al. Accuracy in Predicting Repetitions to Task Failure in Resistance Exercise: A Scoping Review and Exploratory Meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2022;52:377–390. DOI