The F13 EMU PHED 370 Blog

By now, you all are stepping away like there's no tomorrow with your pedometers. One step at a time to a healthier life, right? However, as we discussed in class, a long step is measured no differently than a short step. A fast step is no different than a slow step. A muscle-firing low lunge step is no different than a casual stride. What is missing in this nice and simple measurement of physical activity? INTENSITY!
Here's what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention has to say about ways to measure exercise intensity for the general population:
http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/measuring/index.html

You may (or may not) have heard about the Borg Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion (Borg, 1982) and its counterpart, the Modified Borg Scale Rating of Perceived Exertion. This scale has been used for the past 31 years in research, teaching, and physical activity training sessions as a way for clients, patients, and students to express the level of perceived intensity/work/exertion (aka: how much do you "feel the burn")!?

While the Borg RPE scale has many pros (no cost to use it, most people get the idea of a 1-10 rating scale), the big drawback is clearly the variance of the units from one person to another. Even with the color-coding and description, what one person might feel as a 7 may look like a 2 to a teacher or trainer. And conversely, if a trainer says a pace should feel like a 3, the client may not understand his or her body's limits or potential and really be working much harder than they should be.

Before our Wednesday class, I challenge each of you to do a bout of physical activity or exercise and at 3 different points in that bout, note what you are doing and how you perceive your intensity. (See EMU-Online for specifics on this part of the online assignment). In your comments below, share what you did and your points of noting your exertion. Discuss what potential challenges that you could see in using this scale and the issue of variance in the ratings.

Slighly before Borg published his research on the RPE Scale, Polar Electro developed the first wireless heart rate monitor (circa 1977). Since then, wireless heart rate monitoring has been used by athletes, students, and everyday people to add another layer to the objectivity of physical activity intensity. Our lab this week and class on Monday, 10/7 will be devoted to understanding the basics of how a heart rate monitor works and the benefits/challenges of its usage in a school Physical Education and general PA setting.

Check out the linked (below) insights, options, methods that are out there now in our current society heart rate monitors. Please view and read what is here and think critically on the videos and articles. Comment a second time on your thoughts to the following questions after you checked out the linked information. Please mention the specific video/article you're referencing or if you have another video/article present in the common stream of consumer information to share, copy and paste that link in your posting.

a) What do you believe about the accuracy of information presented about HRM available to mainstream society as indicated with this brief array of common examples?

b) How does where are these videos/articles are sourced from impact the message shared?

c) As a PA professional, how do you think you'd help students, athletes, or your client decipher how to apply HRM in their life despite all of the (sometimes conflicting) information available online or in mainstream society?

General PA and HRM (heart rate monitor) examples

Polar Electro: Why Train with Heart Rate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fT4QVBmK6c4&feature=share&list=PLAC439211DE262040

WVU Basic Target Heart Rate Zone (THRZ) webcast

http://youtu.be/htJUYE9hjZs

Orange Method: An Arizona morning show overview of a new group exercise class that (attempts) to incorporate heart rate

http://youtu.be/UWloZGNqawA

Use of HR as a measure of MPA

http://www.setantacollege.com/wp-content/uploads/Journal_db/Evaluation%20of%20heart%20rate%20as%20a%20method%20for%20assessing%20moderate%20intensity%20physical%20activity..pdf

GetLean12: "Don’t Use These Zones"
http://youtu.be/ugSk0eUrUDI

Heart Rate in School Physical Education

Beth Kirkpatrick 1991 NBC Nightly News Story: HRM in Physical Education