Prediction of peak oxygen uptake from differentiated ratings of perceived exertion during wheelchair propulsion in trained wheelchair sportspersons

Purpose To assess the validity of predicting peak oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2peak ) from differentiated ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) obtained during submaximal wheelchair propulsion. Methods Three subgroups of elite male wheelchair athletes [nine tetraplegics (TETRA), nine paraplegics (PARA), eight athletes without spinal cord injury (NON-SCI)] performed an incremental speed exercise test followed by graded exercise to exhaustion ( V ˙ O 2peak test). Oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2 ), heart rate (HR) and differentiated RPE (Central RPE C , Peripheral RPE P and Overall RPE O ) were obtained for each stage. The regression lines for the perceptual ranges 9–15 on the Borg 6–20 scale ratings were performed to predict V ˙ O 2peak . Results There were no significant within-group mean differences between measured V ˙ O 2peak (mean 1.50 ± 0.39, 2.74 ± 0.48, 3.75 ± 0.33 L min −1 for TETRA, PARA and NON-SCI, respectively) and predicted V ˙ O 2peak determined using HR or differentiated RPEs for any group ( P > 0.05). However, the coefficients of variation (CV %) between measured and predicted V ˙ O 2peak using HR showed high variability for all groups (14.3, 15.9 and 9.7 %, respectively). The typical error ranged from 0.14 to 0.68 L min −1 and the CV % between measured and predicted V ˙ O 2peak using differentiated RPE was ≤11.1 % for TETRA, ≤7.5 % for PARA and ≤20.2 % for NON-SCI. Conclusions Results suggest that differentiated RPE may be used cautiously for TETRA and PARA athletes when predicting V ˙ O 2peak across the perceptual range of 9–15. However, predicting V ˙ O 2peak is not recommended for the NON-SCI athletes due to the large CV %s (16.8, 20.2 and 18.0 %; RPE C , RPE P and RPE O , respectively).