Methodical aspects of perceived exertion rating and its relation to pedalling rate and rotating mass

Methodical aspects of the relationship between pedalling rate and rotating mass and perceived exertion rating (PER; Borg, 1962) were studied in trained, untrained, and ill subjects in bicycle ergometry. Pedalling rate varied between 40 and 100 rpm, work load steps were 5, 10, 15 and 20 mkp/sec in the healthy subjects, and 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 mkp/sec in the patients. PER decreased with increasing pedalling rate in all healthy subjects. In the patients, PER increased moderately at work load of 2.5 mkp/sec, but decreased at higher work loads up to 80 rpm, followed by a slight increase at 100 rpm. Higher mass of the flywheel, studied in 6 trained subjects, lowered the PER insignificantly. In the healthy subjects, test criteria, such as reproducibility, reliability, sensitivity, and linearity remained almost unaffected by pedalling rate. In patients, increasing pedalling speed diminished reproducibility and sensitivity. The strictness of the PER work load relationship is lowered at higher pedalling rate, especially at 100 rpm. When using the PER scale, pedalling rate has to be considered as an factor of main influence.