Why does workout effort change across the menstrual cycle?

Oestrogen and progesterone shift throughout the cycle. Higher oestrogen in the follicular phase tends to support strength and pain tolerance. Rising progesterone in the luteal phase raises core temperature, increases perceived effort, and can reduce recovery.

What is RPE in training?

RPE stands for Rate of Perceived Exertion, a 1–10 scale measuring how hard a set or session feels. RPE 10 is maximum effort; RPE 6 is comfortably hard. It is used to auto-regulate training load based on daily readiness.

Does this work for PCOS or irregular cycles?

Yes. The chart still helps track your RPE pattern even with irregular cycles, you log by actual cycle phase rather than a fixed day count, so the data remains meaningful.

RPE vs Cycle Phase

How hard your workouts actually feel across each phase of your cycle, and what that means for your programming.

Your ID

Log Cycle Start

Log the first day of your period. Coach Aditya uses this to compute your phase on any training date.

RPE vs Cycle Phase

Your ID

Log Cycle Start

RPE Over Time

Average RPE by Phase