Deliberate imagery practice: The reliability of using a retrospective recall methodology

Eleven healthy men (M age = 27 years, SD = 4) completed three cycling and three walking trials in an alternating order. During each trial, participants were allowed, within 3 min, to adjust the work rate to correspond to given rating of perceived exertion (RPE) values according to the following order: RPE 11, 13, and 15. For cycling as well as walking, at each RPE there were no significant differences between mean heart rate responses across the three trials (p >.05). Mode-specific estimates for heart rate intraclass correlation coefficient and coefficient of variation ranged between.80 and.91, and 5.6% and 8.3%, respectively. This study provides absolute reliability estimates for heart rate responses when using RPE in a production format and suggests there may be RPE- (and mode) specific practice requirements for achieving a reliable heart rate response at a given RPE.