The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a way of
measuring physical activity intensity level. Perceived exertion is
how hard you feel like your body is working. It is based on the
physical sensations a person experiences during physical activity,
including increased heart rate, increased respiration or
breathing rate, increased sweating, and muscle fatigue. Although
this is a subjective measure, a person's exertion rating may
provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during physical
activity* (Borg, 1998).
Practitioners generally agree that
perceived exertion ratings between 12 to 14 on the Borg Scale
suggests that physical activity is being performed at a moderate
level of intensity. During activity, use the Borg Scale to assign
numbers to how you feel (see instructions below). Self-monitoring
how hard your body is working can help you adjust the intensity of the
activity by speeding up or slowing down your movements.
Through experience of monitoring how your
body feels, it will become easier to know when to adjust your
intensity. For example, a walker who wants to engage in
moderate-intensity activity would aim for a Borg Scale level of
"somewhat hard" (12-14). If he describes his muscle fatigue and
breathing as "very light" (9 on the Borg Scale) he would want to
increase his intensity. On the other hand, if he felt his exertion
was "extremely hard" (19 on the Borg Scale) he would need to slow
down his movements to achieve the moderate-intensity range.
*A high correlation exists between a
person's perceived exertion rating times 10 and the actual heart
rate during physical activity; so a person's exertion rating may
provide a fairly good estimate of the actual heart rate during
activity (Borg, 1998). For example, if a person's rating of
perceived exertion (RPE) is 12, then 12 x 10 = 120; so the heart rate
should be approximately 120 beats per minute.
Note that this
calculation is only an approximation of heart rate, and the actual
heart rate can vary quite a bit depending on age and physical
condition. The Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion is also the
preferred method to assess intensity among those individuals who
take medications that affect heart rate or pulse.
Instructions for Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scale
While doing physical activity, we
want you to rate your perception of exertion. This feeling
should reflect how heavy and strenuous the exercise feels to
you, combining all sensations and feelings of physical
stress, effort, and fatigue. Do not concern yourself with any
one factor such as leg pain or shortness of breath, but try to focus
on your total feeling of exertion.
Look at the rating scale below while
you are engaging in an activity; it ranges from 6 to 20,
where 6 means "no exertion at all" and 20 means "maximal
exertion." Choose the number from below that best describes
your level of exertion. This will give you a good idea of the
intensity level of your activity, and you can use this
information to speed up or slow down your movements to reach
your desired range.
Try to appraise your feeling of
exertion as honestly as possible, without thinking about what
the actual physical load is. Your own feeling of effort and
exertion is important, not how it compares to other people's.
Look at the scales and the expressions and then give a
number.
6 No exertion at all
7
Extremely light (7.5)
8
9 Very light
10
11 Light
12
13 Somewhat hard
14
15 Hard (heavy)
16
17 Very hard
18
19 Extremely hard
20 Maximal exertion
9 corresponds to "very light"
exercise. For a healthy person, it is like walking slowly at
his or her own pace for some minutes
13 on the scale is "somewhat hard" exercise, but it still feels OK to continue.
17 "very hard" is very strenuous. A
healthy person can still go on, but he or she really has to
push him- or herself. It feels very heavy, and the person is
very tired.
19 on the scale is an extremely
strenuous exercise level. For most people this is the most
strenuous exercise they have ever experienced.
Borg RPE scale © Gunnar Borg, 1970, 1985, 1994, 1998
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