Pre-Exercise Subjective Estimation of Heart Rate in Different Physical Activities among Physical Education Students

Physical education teachers should be able to evaluate exercise intensity objectively as well as subjectively in order to implement the appropriate load during activity sessions. Whereas measuring oxygen uptake or blood lactate level during exercise may be a complicated task in field conditions, monitoring heart rate (HR) values can be a relatively simple procedure when performed outdoors. The aim of this study was to examine the subjective estimation accuracy of HR in different exercises among physical education students. Pre-exercise estimations of HR were collected from 180 students prior to a multi-task activity session. The estimated HR values were then compared with true HR values, which were monitored throughout the session using a portable HR monitor system. A mean significant difference of 13.4% was found between the estimated and actual HRs for all activities. A majority of the students (70%) estimated HR values to be lower than the true values. The most accurate HR estimations were found in extremely easy or in extremely difficult activities, whereas the least accurate estimations were found in moderate-level activities. No significant differences were found in HR estimation accuracy between males and females or between individuals with higher and with lower aerobic fitness. The results indicated that physical education students can estimate their HR responses to a reasonable degree of accuracy, but with most underestimating them compared to the actual values.