The difference in heart rate and rating of perceived exertion at different intensities of land-based running and water-based running.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference exists in heart rate and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) at different intensities among treadmill running, deep water running with floatation, and deep water running without floatation. Subjects for this study were 14 Volunteers, 8 male and 6 female, ranging in age from 18 to 28 years of age. Each Subject participated in three testing conditions, including treadmill running, deep water running with floatation, and deep water running without floatation. Subjects were tested 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100% of maximum heart rate for each of these three conditions. All data were analyzed at the p < .05 level of significance through the use of a repeated measures analysis of variance. A significant difference in heart rate was found for all workloads tested. A significant difference in RPE was found for 70%, 80%, and 90% of maximum heart rate. Simple linear regression was used to develop two preliminary equations for the purpose of predicting water-based (with and without floatation) maximum heart rates given the known land-based maximum heart rate.