Grade and speed have greater influence on HR and RPE than ability, sex, and age in alpine skiing

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of ski slope grade, skiing speed, skiing ability, sex, and age on HR, RPE, and energy expenditure responses during recreational alpine skiing. Thirty-eight participants were divided by age, sex, and skiing ability. Instructor- and self-paced skiing conditions were conducted on 10° and 19.8° slopes. Skiing HR was recorded, RPE collected at the end of each run, and energy expenditure calculated. The pertinent results of this study demonstrate that the interactions of grade × speed, speed × age, and grade × age and the main effects of speed and grade significantly influenced %HRmax, mean HR, RPE, and energy expenditure during skiing. When %HRmax is taken into account, the older skiers skied at a greater relative intensity than the young skiers. The sex, age, and skiing ability main effects did not have a significant influence on mean HR, RPE, and energy expenditure. These data demonstrates that increased speed and grade results in increased physiological stress. Using mean, HR data may not be the best option for assessing physiological stress during exercise in the older athlete as it does not account for the influence of the ageing process.