Relationship between hikers' self-reported physical activity responses and ratings of perceived exertion

Abstract

Limited literature is available on determining hikers’ fitness or physical activity (PA) levels required to participate in hiking trails. If a simple method to ascertain the PA levels of potential hikers could be devised and applied to a graded hiking trail, potential hikers could make informed decisions according to their needs and physical abilities. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between hikers’ responses on a self-report physical activity questionnaire and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) (Borg’s scale), after completing graded hiking trails. Using a descriptive research design, involving convenience and snowball sampling, 50 hikers were recruited for the study. They completed the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) and participated in two graded hiking trails, while wearing a Catapult Optimeye X4 accelerometer. Hikers rated their perceived exertion after completing the graded trails and inter-correlations among their PA levels, RPE and heart rate (HR) were calculated. The hikers’ IPAQ scores had low and statistically non-significant correlations with the RPE for both Trail 1 (r=0.19) and Trail 2 (r=0.17). Similarly, the hikers’ IPAQ scores yielded low associations with all HR variables [Trail 1: minimum HR (r=-0.02), mean HR (r=-0.15), maximum HR (HR_max; r=-0.01); Trail 2: minimum HR (r=0.03), mean HR (r=-0.15), HRmax (r=-0.20)]. PA level estimated using IPAQ is a poor predictor of hikers’ RPE and HR on graded hiking trails. Many fitness tests and methods to estimate PA are currently available. However, it is necessary to establish which of the methods is most suitable to determine hikers’ suitability to undertake a trail.

Keywords: Hiking, physical activity, perceived exertion, graded trails