Class Profile: The Ultimate HIIT—Teaching with Perceived Exertion

I call this The Ultimate HIIT profile because, well, that’s exactly what it is! Beyond being a challenging and rewarding ride, it’s designed to teach riders to truly understand their own exertion. The profile includes some of the most important interval durations so riders can compare efforts and start recognizing how each level of intensity feels.

Why Teaching RPE Matters

Perceived exertion is more than just a number—it’s a skill. When riders learn to accurately gauge their effort, they gain the ability to pace themselves, push strategically, and understand what their body is capable of on any given day. Accurate RPE coaching empowers riders to connect with their own limits and to make adjustments during a workout, which translates to better performance and a safer, more rewarding experience.

The cueing in this profile is extensive for that very reason. It provides you, the instructor, with the tools you need to guide riders in relating each interval to their perceived effort, noticing subtle differences between efforts, and mentally logging how each one feels. Encourage your riders to take what they learn in this class and apply it to every other ride—they’ll become more self-aware, more confident, and more capable athletes.

A Note on Difficulty

This is a very hard class, but because recovery is thoughtfully built in between efforts, it is achievable for most relatively fit riders. Naturally, the fitter your participants, the more they can push during the intervals. Even less fit riders can benefit—they can use the 3-minute effort as a benchmark, back off slightly for longer or higher-intensity intervals, and still get a lot out of the workout.

Relationship to Power-Based Training

I’ve also created a version of this profile that uses 3-minute efforts to estimate FTP, which then guides riders on how much power they should aim for in other intervals. If you already teach with power and have that profile, I still recommend downloading this RPE-based version. It goes deeper into coaching perceived exertion, helping you develop a more intuitive sense of intensity for yourself and your riders. Using both approaches together will make you a stronger, more versatile instructor. Here’s the link for the power-based version.

RPE Chart

At ICA, we use the RPE chart below. Keep in mind that not every RPE chart is the same. If your studio uses a different version, feel free to modify the profile to match the numbers and descriptions your riders know.

Personally, I rarely refer to the RPE numbers except occasionally as a benchmark for a specific outcome—for example, stating that the 5-minute effort in this profile is a 7 out of 10 or that the sprint is a 10 out of 10. For most coaching, I rely on verbal descriptions of perceived exertion rather than the numeric scale. In my experience, descriptions are far more intuitive and consistent for riders, especially since the numerical scale can vary between facilities and instructors.