Session RPE Load: Foster's Method Lab
Students complete three different work blocks and calculate the load of each by multiplying their rating of perceived exertion (0-10) by the minutes worked. They learn to quantify workouts and compare different training stimuli.
How to play
- Give each pair a worksheet and a 0-10 RPE scale and explain the formula: load = RPE × minutes (3 min).
- Block A: 6 minutes of easy jogging on a 100 m (110 yd) cone loop. Thirty seconds after finishing, each student rates the whole block (7 min).
- Block B: a 4-station circuit (squat, push-up, lateral hops, plank), 40 s of work and 20 s to switch for 6 minutes. Rate it the same way (7 min).
- Block C: 4 minutes of 30 s fast running and 30 s walking between two cones 40 m (45 yd) apart. Rate it (5 min).
- Pairs calculate each block's load and the total; three pairs share their numbers, and each student picks a block for an easy day and one for a hard day (3 min).
Rules
- Ratings are individual and honest.
- Rate the whole block, not just the end.
- In Block C, slow down before the cone and walk the recovery.
- Anyone who feels dizzy or has pain steps out to walk and tells the teacher.
Variations
Easier
Only two blocks (A and C), using a ready-made table for the math.
Standard
Three different blocks plus the total session load.
Harder
Add a fourth student-chosen block and spread a weekly target load across three sessions.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: upper-body or seated exercises; the formula stays the same.
- Autism: a scale with faces and colors and a worksheet with the math set up.
- Low fitness level: brisk walking is fine in Blocks A and C.
Learning goals
- Calculate session load from RPE and duration.
- Compare long easy work with short intense work.
- Balance easy and hard days in a personal program.
Equipment for a class of 25
- printed RPE scale: 13
- stopwatch: 1
- cones: 12
- worksheets: 13
- pencils: 13
Teacher tip
The most common mistake is rating only the end of the block. Keep worksheets on clipboards so they don't blow away.
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