Is Rating of Perceived Exertion a Valuable Tool for Monitoring Exercise Intensity During Steady-State Conditions in Elite Endurance Athletes?
Int J Sports Physiol Perform
; 16(11): 1589-1595, 2021 11 01.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33831841
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) is a widely used tool to assess subjective perception of effort during exercise. The authors investigated between-subject variation and effect of exercise mode and sex on Borg RPE (6-20) in relation to heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake (VO2), and capillary blood lactate concentrations.METHODS:
A total of 160 elite endurance athletes performed a submaximal and maximal test protocol either during cycling (n = 84, 37 women) or running (n = 76, 32 women). The submaximal test consisted of 4 to 7 progressive 5-minute steps within â¼50% to 85% of maximal VO2. For each step, steady-state HR, VO2, and capillary blood lactate concentrations were assessed and RPE reported. An incremental protocol to exhaustion was used to determine maximal VO2 and peak HR to provide relative (%) HR and VO2 values at submaximal work rates.RESULTS:
A strong relationship was found between RPE and %HR, %VO2, and capillary blood lactate concentrations (r = .80-.82, all Ps < .05). The between-subject coefficient of variation (SD/mean) for %HR and %VO2 decreased linearly with increased RPE, from â¼10% to 15% at RPE 8 to â¼5% at RPE 17. Compared with cycling, running induced a systematically higher %HR and %VO2 (â¼2% and 5%, respectively, P < .05) with these differences being greater at lower intensities (RPE < 13). At the same RPE, women showed a trivial, but significantly higher %HR and %VO2 than men (<1%, P < .05).CONCLUSIONS:
Among elite endurance athletes, exercise mode influenced RPE at a given %HR and %VO2, with greater differences at lower exercise intensities. Athletes should manage different tools to evaluate training based on intensity and duration of workouts.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Running
/
Physical Exertion
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Sports Physiol Perform
Journal subject:
FISIOLOGIA
/
MEDICINA ESPORTIVA
Year:
2021
Document type:
Article