The Borg Scale

Available to download here.

It’s true that if you type ‘Borg scale’ into Google you’ll find lots of diagrams of it but, well, can you truthfully say that the colour scheme in any of them is as good as the one we’ve used? Just look at it! A calming green to indicate you’re not working very hard, then a subtle gradient of colour up to an angry red showing you’re working flat out!

What The Borg Scale Is

Devised by Swedish scientist Gunnar Borg, the Borg Scale is a way of measuring the amount of effort that someone is putting in, or the intensity at which they are working, when they are performing an exercise.

It’s more commonly used when carrying out cardio exercise, simply because if you’re doing weight training you’re going to record the reps, sets and weights and use those numbers to monitor difficulty and progress, whereas with cardio it can be harder to accurately measure how much work is being put in, making the Borg Scale an excellent way to monitor effort during cardio activities.

The Borg Scale, therefore, is an excellent way of monitoring RPE.

RPE

RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion.

Put simply, it’s a way of measuring how hard you think you’re working; the key word is ‘perceived’, as it depends upon an individual assessing and rating the amount of effort they think they’re putting in.

How RPE Is Measured

There are actually two versions of the Borg Scale: the main one, and a simpler version.

The main Borg Scale rates exertion on a scale of 6-20. If this seems like an odd way to do it (why not just start at zero?!) it’s because this number is linked to the heart rate.

The number on this Borg Scale, when multiplied by 10, should be your heart rate. So if, say, you’re working at a level of 9 on the Borg Scale then your heart rate will be 90bpm. This means that if you’re using a smart watch or running machine that monitors your heart rate you can use that to accurately tell where on the Borg Scale you are. Therefore, when using this version of the Borg Scale it’s measurable and thus more accurate than it would be when based solely on perceived exertion.

The Borg CR10 Scale

The simpler version is called the Borg CR10 scale. It’s easier to use because you simply gauge how hard you feel you’re working on a scale of one to ten.

Whilst it’s not as accurate as the main Borg Scale, due to being completely based on perception of how hard you’re working, it is nonetheless more intuitive and easier to understand, so is useful to use with newer clients. Put it this way: what will be easier for a client between you asking them how hard they think they’re working on a scale of 1-10 or how hard they think they’re working on a scale of 6-20?

How To Use This Table

The table provides analogies between the heart rate, RPE on the two Borg Scales, the percentage of MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) and the perceived level of effort (none to maximum) as well as, unlike most tables you’ll find online, the energy system you’ll be predominantly using when you’re working at different levels of exertion.

(Also, just remember that the aerobic energy system is still used when you’re ‘doing nothing’, by which we mean it’s the energy system used to fuel basic bodily functions such as breathing and digestion. So that’s why the table mentions that the aerobic system is still going to be in use even when you’re not doing anything and are therefore at zero on the Borg Scale.)

Therefore, this table brings together all the most common ways of monitoring how hard a client is working, so can assist you with planning workouts by helping you to include specific numbers showing how hard you want them to work into the session plans.