Borg scale

You may have already heard about what Borg scale or it may be the first time that you are interested in this concept.

We will tell you below what exactly this scale is, what it is for and how important it is. Read on to learn all about this way of measuring your times during a race and what they mean.

The Borg scale is a method used to find out how much effort we make when we go out for a run, it tries to find out what our level of fatigue is when we do this athletic sport.

It is directly related to feeling of effort perceived by the athlete or who performs sports with a numerical value, to this day between 0 and 10. The objective is to adequately control fatigue and to know what the effects of the training will be according to the intensity we perform in each session.

Woman runs in the snow

Heart rate is vital To know what our effort is and how our heart is, however, this Borg method is a more subjective parameter to discover that effort value when we go out for a run.

Next, we will tell you more about this scale, how it appeared, how we can carry it out and what exactly it is for. 

What is the Borg scale

This scale is designed by Gunnar Borg, where it reflects the perceived effort of the runner with a numerical value ranging from 0 to 10. It is a valid alternative but also subjective, to see the level of demand in training.

It does not require devices for measurement, so it is suitable for anyone who wants to know that value. It is a fairly reliable value so if you want to find out what your level of fatigue is when you train, we keep telling you how you can find out.

What is the Borg scale for?

This scale allows you to find out certain levels of training.

  • Control our fatigue.
  • Prevent us from having a overtraining harmful to our body and health.
  • It's a scale subjective.
  • Lets know the level of effort or work done during our training.
  • It relates the perception of effort and physiological indicators such as heart rate, among others.

How to put it into practice

To find out our level of fatigue, first of all we need to have the constancy of going for a run and have a daily control write down our perception of effort in each training session with the numerical values ​​of the scale. The values ​​that at first consisted of 20 levels but over time it was modified to leave it only at 10 to make it easier to apply.

Borg Original Table

  • 1-7 m and very soft
  • 7-9 very soft
  • 9-11 quite soft
  • 11-13 something hard
  • 13-15 hard
  • 15-17 very hard
  • 17-20 very very hard

Modified Borg Table

  • 0 very very soft
  • 1 very soft
  • 2 very soft
  • 3 soft
  • 4 moderate
  • 5 something hard
  • 6 hard
  • 7-8 very hard
  • 9-10 very very hard

With these values ​​we can easily know what the effects of our workouts will be according to the intensity we carry out.

To apply the values ​​properly, we need some experience to more accurately determine the difficulty and effort of our physical activity, as well as really knowing what each of the levels means.
It is a scale that is complementary to the rest of the perhaps more precise levels of the devices that we can find today, however, if we do not have access to any device we can use it to avoid that we are exceeding and causing an overexertion in the organism. 

Meaning of values

  • The first three levels we could say is work below aerobic.
  • Between six and seven would be the aerobic exercises that need more effort to perform.
  • Levels above sevenThey are the exercises that require the most calories and energy expenditure.
The advantage of this scale is the ease of use and above all that it does not cost money, it is a system that we have to adapt over time, it will help us to evaluate our intensity without the need for a heart rate monitor or similar device.

One of the drawbacks of this scale is that, as we mentioned, it is a very subjective and personal perception system., the person's effort and fatigue It varies according to the person, you have to take into account the health of the person doing the physical exercise, their age, gender and physical condition at the time they do it.

The perception is very personal and therefore very subjective. Cheer for the next race, or the next class of spinning, because not only can we use it to count the training when we go out for a run, we can also use it when we do a spinning class, go out with the bike or walk quickly.

The next time you do a physical activity that requires training, put this scale into practice so that over time you can determine your level of effort, fatigue and intensity to achieve better results in the future.


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