The relationship between perceived exertion, heart rate, and attitudes during a fitness walking class

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between heart rate and perceived exertion when heart rate information was known and not known. A secondary purpose was to determine if changes in attitude occur as a result of knowing heart rate information in a fitness walking class. These findings will help educational programs know if heart rate monitors are worth the expense or can perceived exertion be used alone to evaluate workload intensity, and can attitudes improve towards physical activity.A total of 144 students at a mid-sized Midwestern university participated in this study. They were asked to take a pre- and post-attitude test. All the students used Polar Vantage XL heart rate monitors and completed the Borg's perceived exertion scale to evaluate their workload intensity. The students were divided into three different groups. Group 1 was blind meaning not able to see their heart rate the first half of the semester, and visual meaning being able to see their heart rate the second have of the semester. Group 2 worked opposite of Group 1 meaning visual at first and then blind. Group 3 was the control group, and they were able to see their heart rate for the whole semester.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.A.