Coaches' Corner: Intro to Autoregulation

We're back with another practical episode, and this time it is how to implement autoregulation into your coaching and/or training. We start out by laying out the foundational concepts that underpin autoregulation, specifically the difference between external and internal load, then we discuss rating of perceived exertion scales. But most importantly, we talk through the reasons why we think it's important and some strategies for incorporating it into your training.

Autoregulation is particularly important in tactical populations because of its utility in adjusting group workouts when the group contains a wide diversity of fitness levels. Equipping them with an understanding of RPE is an easy way to start individualizing training even when you can't necessarily individualize the programming itself.

There aren't a whole lot of research references for this episode since we focused on practical application, but here are the ones we mentioned and a few we didn't:

Barbell Medicine's great article on autoregulation and RPE.

As part of their discussion on measuring the intensity of physical activity, the CDC actually has a page on RPE.

Small scale research indicates that athletes can learn to accurately apply RPE in as little as a few weeks.

Self-selected exercise improves athlete's enjoyment of training due to the higher levels of autonomy they experience (but on average they're less likely to self-select higher intensities).

Self-selected cardiovascular training intensity correlates more strongly with ventilatory threshold than percent of peak heart rate (this ties to some of our conversations about how to determine "zone 2").