Correlating Psychophysiological Responses of Exergaming Boxing for Predictive Heart Rate Regression Models in Young Adults

The purpose of this article is to validate the correlations between the heart rate (HR) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during exergaming boxing in sitting and standing positions. Thirty healthy adults, whose mean age was 25.10 and standard deviation (SD) 2.95 years, were recruited to play 10 minutes of exergaming boxing in sitting and standing positions. HR measurements were obtained at rest and during gameplay. RPE was assessed using Borg's modified (1-10) and original (6-20) scales. A paired-sample t-test, bivariate Pearson's, and Spearman's rho correlations were used to analyze the results. Mean HR was significantly higher while exergaming in standing position (130.79 SD23.18 bpm) as compared to sitting position (116.46 SD19.08 bpm) (p≤0.05). There was a significant correlation between HR and RPE values while playing boxing exergaming in the standing position. A regression model that can be fitted into an equation to predict HR from reported RPE was derived from the significant values of Pearson's correlations. However, HR and RPE values did not significantly correlate with each other during exergaming boxing in the sitting position. The formula extracted from the linear regression models provides reliable predictions in estimating HR from the reported RPE while exergaming boxing in the standing position.