Three Intensity Gauges: Heart Rate, Talk Test, RPE
During a stage-by-stage progressive run, students measure intensity with three tools at once: heart rate, the talk test, and the RPE scale. They check whether the three agree and choose the method they will use to monitor their own program.
How to play
- Mark a loop of about 150 m (165 yd) with cones. Each student carries a worksheet with four rows: heart rate, talk test, RPE, and notes (2 min).
- Stage 1: 3 minutes of brisk walking. On the whistle, students stop, take their pulse at the neck or wrist for 15 seconds, and multiply by 4 (4 min).
- Right after, they say a set sentence of about 10 words out loud and rate it: comfortable, broken, or impossible. Then they give an RPE from 0 to 10 (part of every stage).
- Stages 2, 3, and 4: easy jog, moderate run, and fast run, 3 minutes each with the same three measurements (15 min).
- Partners compare data: at what heart rate could they no longer talk? Does that match an RPE of 6 or 7? Each student picks a favorite gauge and explains why (4 min).
Rules
- Take your pulse with the index and middle fingers, never the thumb.
- Each stage must be harder than the last; nobody sprints in stage one.
- Anyone who feels dizzy or has chest pain stops and tells the teacher right away.
Variations
Easier
Use only three stages, and heart rate monitors if the school has them.
Standard
Four stages with heart rate, talk test, and RPE.
Harder
Add a fifth 1-minute all-out stage and measure heart rate recovery after one minute.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: complete the stages in a wheelchair or with upper-body exercises of increasing intensity.
- Hearing impairment: signal stage changes by raising a cone, and the sentence is read from a card.
- Low fitness level: stage 4 can be a moderate run; the progression is what matters.
Learning goals
- Measure exercise intensity with three different methods.
- Connect heart rate, ability to talk, and perceived exertion.
- Choose a reliable monitoring method for personal training.
Equipment for a class of 25
- cones: 8
- stopwatch: 1
- printed RPE scale: 25
- worksheets: 25
- pencils: 25
Teacher tip
Practice taking a resting pulse before starting, since many students struggle to find it. Use a neutral, familiar sentence so everyone says the same thing.
PatioLab has "Three Intensity Gauges: Heart Rate, Talk Test, RPE" and 3999 more activities ready to drag into your lesson and run from your phone in the gym.
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