The control of progressive intensity of local exercises in elderly women by ratings of perceived exertion (Borg)

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to control the intensity of a local exercises program for elderly women using Borg scale. sixteen elderly women (65.5±3.6 years) were selected; they were enrolled in the Physical Education, Sports and Recreation Center of ESALQ-USP. The proposed training was developed in 24 sessions during 12 weeks. The volunteers were submitted to a planned, organized and segmented (in periods) program. For performance comparison, were used validated protocols such as: international physical activity questionnaire and Borg’s scale. The data were collected in moments 30 and 60 minutes of each session for detection of ratings of perceived exertion from participants. The results were expressed by the mean values of perceived effort in moments 30 min and 60 min of the training sessions during the macrocycle and suggest that the method used showed to be effective in detecting changes of perceived intensity by participants in each training phase. It can be affirmed that Borg’s scale utilization is important in the control of intensity and progression of exercise load in elderly women.