Use of submaximal measures of perceived exertion during bicycle ergometer exercise as predictors of maximal work capacity.

Submaximal measures of perceived exertion, aches and pain in the legs, heart rate and blood lactate were made in a bicycle ergometer test. Their predictability of maximal work capacity, measured as Wmax, was studied. Twenty-eight males in good physical condition served as subjects and cycled in a graded exercise test up to a voluntary maximum. The reliability coefficients for both the psychophysical variables--measured on Borg's CR-10 scale--and heart rate were high. Provided that a proposed preliminary division of the subjects into subgroups with regard to their physical fitness was undertaken, the regression analyses showed that the psychophysical variables were the best predictors of Wmax. Linear and curvilinear predictions, graphic or calculated, had lower explained variance but also showed that the psychophysical variables are good predictors of maximal work capacity.