Perceived exertions means "how hard the intensity seems to you". This method was developed by Dr. Borg, a Swedish doctor and is sometimes called "Borg's Scale of Perceived Exertion".
Low intensity = between "fairly light" and "somewhat hard"
Moderate intensity = between "somewhat hard" and "hard"
High intensity = between "hard" and "very hard"
RPE SCALE (6 to 20)
6
7 Very, Very Light
8
9 Very Light
10
11 Fairly Light
12
13 Somewhat Hard
14
15 Hard
16
17 Very Hard
18
19 Very, Very Hard
20
TALK TEST:
Low intensity exercise feels very
comfortable. You are breathing easily, you can carry on a conversation,
you feel like you could go on for hours. Walking at a leisurely pace
would be a good example.
Moderate intensity would feel like you are breathing a little faster, you can still carry on a conversation but you are huffing and puffing a bit. An example would be brisk walking.
High intensity exercise is when you can feel your heart thumping, you are breathing hard and you can talk but only in very short sentences. Running, an advanced aerobics class, or a singles tennis match would be a good example.
Super-high intensity would be hardly being able to talk and gasping for air. The 100-meter dash would be an example.
An important fact to remember about exercise intensity is that it depends on the fitness level of the individual. An unfit individual may perceive brisk walking to be a high intensity exercise while an extremely fit individual may find the same activity to be very low in intensity.
SIGNS OF OVEREXERTION:
- Overly breathless
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Red or flushed face
- Disorientation
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