Interfaces for Assessing the Rated Perceived Exertion (RPE) during High-Intensity Activities

The ubiquity of heart rate monitors (HRM) has lead to a situation in which amateur athletes often autodidactly engage in online training plans. However, the relationship between the individual heart rate and the exercise intensity is subject to stronger fluctuations and is influenced by other external and internal factors. Using solely a HRM to control the exercise intensity may lead to dangerous misinterpretations, in which other important physiological conditions are ignored and self-awareness is eliminated. In this work, we propose an interface to asses and track the rated perceived exertion (RPE), that periodically motivates the athlete to listen more carefully to his subjective feeling and creates awareness of the body. Even though results may be vague in the beginning, we think that the proposed method is preferable for hobbyists over HRMs if used over longterm.