Borg Scale
The Borg Scale (Borg 1982)[1] is a simple method of rating perceived exertion (RPE) and can be used by coaches to gauge an athlete's level of intensity in training and competition. Perceived exertion is an individual's rating of exercise intensity, formed by assessing their body's physical signs such as heart rate, breathing rate and perspiration/sweating.
Types of scales
There are several RPE scales, but the most common are the 15-point scale (6-20) and the 11 point scale (0-10).
15 Point Scale
- 6 - 20% effort
- 7 - 30% effort - Very, very light (Rest)
- 8 - 40% effort
- 9 - 50% effort - Very light - gentle walking
- 10 - 55% effort
- 11 - 60% effort - Fairly light
- 12 - 65% effort
- 13 - 70% effort - Somewhat hard - steady pace
- 14 - 75% effort
- 15 - 80% effort - Hard
- 16 - 85% effort
- 17 - 90% effort - Very hard
- 18 - 95% effort
- 19 - 100% effort - Very, very hard
- 20 - Exhaustion
10 Point Scale
- 0 - Nothing at all
- 1 - Very light
- 2 - Fairly light
- 3 - Moderate
- 4 - Somewhat hard
- 5 - Hard
- 6
- 7 - Very hard
- 8
- 9
- 10 - Very, very hard
Correlation
Research by Borg et al. (1983)[2] found that there is a correlation between an athlete's rate of perceived exertion (RPE) and their heart rate, lactate levels, %VO2 max and breathing rate.
References
- BORG, G. (1982) Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 14 (5), p. 377-81
- BORG, G. et al. (1983) A category-ratio perceived exertion scale: relationship to blood and muscle lactates and heart rate. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., 15 (6), p. 523-528
- BORG, G. (1970) Perceived Exertion as an indicator of somatic stress. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine, 2 (2), p. 92-98
Page Reference
If you quote information from this page in your work, then the reference for this page is:
- MACKENZIE, B. (2003) Borg Scale [WWW] Available from: https://www.brianmac.co.uk/borgscale.htm [Accessed