Jennifer Lewis MSc , Robert F. Bentley PhD , Kim A. Connelly MD, PhD , Paul Dorian MD, MSc , Jack M. Goodman PhD
{"title":"Are Subjective Reports of Exercise Intensity Accurate in Recreational Athletes?","authors":"Jennifer Lewis MSc , Robert F. Bentley PhD , Kim A. Connelly MD, PhD , Paul Dorian MD, MSc , Jack M. Goodman PhD","doi":"10.1016/j.cjca.2024.11.008","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Quantifying exercise intensity accurately is crucial for understanding links between cumulative exercise and cardiovascular outcomes. Exercise burden, the integral of intensity and duration is often estimated from subjective self-reports which have uncertain accuracy.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>We studied 40 endurance athletes (EAs) 41 to 69 years of age with > 10 years of training history during a scripted outdoor 42-km cycling training session. Heart rate and power output (watts) were continuously measured. Reports of perceived exertion (RPE) using a word (RPE<sub>Word</sub>) and numerical Borg scale (RPE<sub>Borg</sub>) were obtained during and 30 minutes postride and were related to cardiac (heart rate) and metabolic (metabolic equivalent [MET] per minute) exercise endpoints.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>RPEs were highly variable, underestimating objective metrics of exercise intensity. Poor agreement was observed between either scale reported 30 minutes after exercise relative to heart rate: exercise RPE<sub>Borg</sub> vs mean exercise heart rate and % heart rate<sub>peak</sub> (both <em>r</em><sub><em>s</em></sub> = 0.29; <em>P</em> = 0.07), with no agreement between either scale vs other objective endpoints. Agreement between RPE<sub>Borg</sub> and RPE<sub>Word</sub> was good during exercise (<em>r</em><sub><em>s</em></sub> = 0.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.75- 0.92; <em>P</em> = 0.001), but diminished postride (<em>r</em><sub><em>s</em></sub> = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.28-0.73; <em>P</em> = 0.001). Different cardiac and metabolic profiles during exercise and a contrast between metabolic and cardiac burden was greater in less fit individuals as they accrued greater cardiac (14,039 ± 2649 vs 11,784 ± 1132 heart rate per minute; <em>P</em> < 0.01) but lower metabolic (808 ± 59 vs 858 ± 61 MET per minute; <em>P</em> < 0.05) burden vs fitter EA.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>Caution is advised in interpreting MET per minute and heart rate burden estimated from self-reports. Objective measurements of exercise intensity are required for detailed assessment of the risks and benefits of long-term exercise.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":9555,"journal":{"name":"Canadian Journal of Cardiology","volume":"41 3","pages":"Pages 531-541"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Canadian Journal of Cardiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0828282X2401136X","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CARDIAC & CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background
Quantifying exercise intensity accurately is crucial for understanding links between cumulative exercise and cardiovascular outcomes. Exercise burden, the integral of intensity and duration is often estimated from subjective self-reports which have uncertain accuracy.
Methods
We studied 40 endurance athletes (EAs) 41 to 69 years of age with > 10 years of training history during a scripted outdoor 42-km cycling training session. Heart rate and power output (watts) were continuously measured. Reports of perceived exertion (RPE) using a word (RPEWord) and numerical Borg scale (RPEBorg) were obtained during and 30 minutes postride and were related to cardiac (heart rate) and metabolic (metabolic equivalent [MET] per minute) exercise endpoints.
Results
RPEs were highly variable, underestimating objective metrics of exercise intensity. Poor agreement was observed between either scale reported 30 minutes after exercise relative to heart rate: exercise RPEBorg vs mean exercise heart rate and % heart ratepeak (both rs = 0.29; P = 0.07), with no agreement between either scale vs other objective endpoints. Agreement between RPEBorg and RPEWord was good during exercise (rs = 0.86; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.75- 0.92; P = 0.001), but diminished postride (rs = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.28-0.73; P = 0.001). Different cardiac and metabolic profiles during exercise and a contrast between metabolic and cardiac burden was greater in less fit individuals as they accrued greater cardiac (14,039 ± 2649 vs 11,784 ± 1132 heart rate per minute; P < 0.01) but lower metabolic (808 ± 59 vs 858 ± 61 MET per minute; P < 0.05) burden vs fitter EA.
Conclusions
Caution is advised in interpreting MET per minute and heart rate burden estimated from self-reports. Objective measurements of exercise intensity are required for detailed assessment of the risks and benefits of long-term exercise.
期刊介绍:
The Canadian Journal of Cardiology (CJC) is the official journal of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS). The CJC is a vehicle for the international dissemination of new knowledge in cardiology and cardiovascular science, particularly serving as the major venue for Canadian cardiovascular medicine.