Heart Rate Response and Perceived Exertion in College Students during Riding a Scooter

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to examine the heart rate responses and the perceived exertion in college students during scootering, and to examine if scootering possibly makes heart rate increase up to the level that can contribute to maintaining or developing cardiorespiratory fitness. Five male students (20-23 yrs) participated in this research, mainly assigned to scooter on an official 400m-tartan track. Each session of scootering was six minutes. Each subject did three sessions of scootering at different speeds, slow, ordinary, and very fast. During the scootering, heart rate was measured using a Polar Vantage XL. Immediately after each session, the subjects were questioned about their perceived exertion. To evaluate heart rate during scootering on the track, maximal heart rate was measured in advance with graded maximal tests. In each speed in the track trial, the mean heart rates and the standard deviations were 106 ± 5.9, 129 ± 4.2, and 179 ± 13.7 beats/min respectively. They correspond to 54.0 ± 4.2%, 65.8 ± 4.2%, and 91.2 ± 5.5% of the maximal heart rate respectively. The mean and standard deviation of perceived exertion based on Borg's scale in each scootering session were 7.2 ± 0.45, 10.2 ± 1.10, and 16.6 ± 2.79 respectively. Conclusively, at ordinary speed, the heart rates of the college students on a tartan track were situated around the level of the lower boundary which the American College of Sports Medicine recommended to develop and maintain cardiorespiratory fitness for apparently healthy people. If people have places to ride a scooter briskly, their heart rate could rise above the minimum level.