RELIABILITY AND COMPARISON OF RPE DURING VARIABLE AND CONSTANT EXERCISE PROTOCOLS PERFORMED BY OLDER WOMEN

The purposes of this study were to assess if women SD to 75 years of a ge perceived a series of exercise intensities differently from selecte d intensities in that series and to determine if a particular intensit y was perceived more reliably. Twenty-four women (65 +/- 3.8 yr) compl eted a walking VO(2)max treadmill test. Subjects were either assigned to a variable, randomly ordered exercise protocol (Gp1) or to one of t hree constant exercise protocols (Gps 2-4). Each subject performed rel ative exercise intensities of 30, 50, and 70 % of peak VO2 for three 5 min work bouts over 3 test days. Differences in RPE (p<0.05) were fou nd between each intensity and between the same intensities from both p rotocols. Women in Gp1 Fated exercise higher than women who exercised at an constant exercise intensity (p<0.05). Intraclass correlation coe fficients indicated that the exercise intensity of 50 % of maximum was more reliable regardless of the protocol (Gp1: R=0.97, Gp3: r=0.94). When the RPE-HR correlation coefficients were transformed into a log s cale, neither protocol had a stronger association (p>0.05) between RPE -HR. It was concluded that older women should be given a range of exer cise intensities that include the 50 % relative exercise intensity as a perceptual marker in order to reach a reliable rate of exertion.