Perceptual cues in the regulation of exercise performance – physical sensations of exercise and awareness of effort interact as separate cues

Abstract

It has been argued that the physical sensations induced by exercise, measured as the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE), are distinct from the sense of effort. This study aimed to determine whether a new measure of task effort -the Task Effort and Awareness (TEA) score -is able to measure sensations distinct from those included in the conventional RPE scale. Seven well-trained cyclists completed a maximal effort 100 km time trial (TT) and a submaximal trial at 70% of the power sustained during the TT (70% TT). Five maximal 1 km sprints were included in both trials. Both the RPE related solely to physical sensation (P-RPE) and the TEA score increased during the TT and were linearly related. During the 70% TT, both P-RPE and TEA scores increased, but TEA increased signifi cantly less than P-RPE (p<0.001). TEA scores reached maximal values in all 1 km sprints in both the maximal TT and 70% TT, whereas the RPE increased progressively, reaching a maximal value only in the fi nal 1 km sprints in both the TT and the 70% TT. These results indicate that the physical sensations of effort measured as the P-RPE act as the template regulating performance during exercise and that deviation from that template produces an increase in the sense of effort measured by the TEA score. Together, these controls ensure that the chosen exercise intensity does not threaten bodily homeostasis. Our fi ndings also explain why submaximal exercise conducted within the constraints of the template P-RPE does not produce any conscious awareness of effort.

Pacing and Decision Making in Sport and Exercise: The Roles of Perception and Action in the Regulation of Exercise Intensity

“…A high score means homeostatic disturbance, facing the choice of reducing intensity or not finishing. Swart and colleagues [20] proposed that physical sensations of effort act as the template regulating performance during exercise and that deviation from that template produces an increase in the sense of mental effort. The latter was measured with Task Effort and Awareness score (TEA-score).…”

“…The latter was measured with Task Effort and Awareness score (TEA-score). It was concluded that the conscious decision of whether to maintain or change the current workload could be the outcome of a balance between motivation, affect, and sense of mental effort [20].…”

“…Whereas in pacing literature it is emphasized that the integration of knowledge of the likely demands of the remaining exercise-bout [6] and the physical sensations of effort and fatigue act as guiding in determining response-characteristics [20], descriptions of steps made during action-regulation/response-initiation in (intermittent) sports do not address the state of the body. For example, according to Tenenbaum [80], motor behaviour in competitive situations consists of encoding relevant environmental cues, processing the information through interactions between working-and long-term memory, making an action-related decision, and executing the action while leaving room for refinements and modifications.…”

“…Action-selection is an important component in the process of decision-making. Certainty about exercise duration, knowledge of the end point, and the physical sensations of effort and fatigue have all been associated with adequate pacing, and their integration seems guiding in appropriate action-selection [20]. In the following, we will first provide an overview of how perception and action are treated in the current literature on exercise-regulation and pacing.…”

Exercise performance and neuromuscular activity at a fixed level of RPE following manipulation of peripheral physiological status

“…Similarly Hutchinson & Tenenbaum (2006) have argued that it is an oversimplification of the psychophysiological construct to base perceived exertion on a physiological index, and that a single-item measure of effort is insufficient to capture the wide range of sensations experienced during the course of an exercise bout. Both Hampton et al (2001) and Swart et al (2012) have also suggested that the sense of effort is a subjective sensation, and recently it has been proposed that the generation of the sense of effort is independent of afferent physiological feedback (Smirmaul, 2012). This suggestion is in congruence with the findings of this study whereby absolute work rates did not differ despite differences in peripheral physiological status.…”