Borgskalaen

Borgskalaen refers to the family of Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scales developed by Swedish psychologist Gunnar Borg. It is a simple, noninvasive method for individuals to report how hard they feel their body is working during physical activity. The most common versions are the 6–20 RPE scale and the 0–10 modified Borg scale, with a third variant, the CR-10 scale, used in certain clinical and research settings.

The original scales were created in the 1960s to provide a subjective measure that could be related to physiological responses such as heart rate and oxygen uptake. The 6–20 scale is often taught with anchors such as 6 meaning no exertion and 20 meaning maximal exertion; values roughly correspond to heart rate (for healthy adults, multiplying the RPE by 10 gives an approximate heart rate in beats per minute). The 0–10 scale uses a simpler numeric range where 0 represents no effort and 10 represents maximal effort. The CR-10 scale offers more gradations and is used when finer discrimination of effort or bodily sensation (such as breathlessness or leg fatigue) is needed.

Usage and interpretation: practitioners instruct individuals to rate their overall effort during or after exercise, using the scale as a subjective guide to exercise intensity. RPE correlates with objective measures like heart rate and VO2 and is widely used to prescribe exercise intensity, monitor rehabilitation, and conduct research. Limitations include its subjective nature and sensitivity to motivation, mood, and context; familiarity with the scales improves reliability.