Body temperature, oxygen uptake and heart rate during walking in water and on land at an exercise intensity based on RPE in elderly men.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the physiological response that occurs while walking in water and on land at an exercise intensity based on the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) in elderly men. Nine elderly men ranging from 66-70 years of age participated in this study as subjects. The actual trials consisted of walking for 20 minutes in 31 degrees C and 35 degrees C water on an underwater treadmill. The water depth of the treadmill corresponded to the level of the xiphoid process in the subject. The same subjects performed on-land walking using a moving belt treadmill for 20 minutes at a room temperature of 27 degrees C. The exercise intensity during walking in the two water trials and the on-land trial was the same "somewhat hard" measured on the basis of the subject's RPE rating of 13. There was no significant difference between the subjects' rectal temperatures among the three trials. The mean skin temperature and mean body temperature while walking for 20 minutes in 35 degrees C water were significantly higher (P<0.01) than in 31 degrees C water and on land. There were no significant differences in oxygen uptake and heart rate among the two trials in water and the on-land trial. The above results suggest that the exercise intensity based on a subject's RPE may be an effective index for the prescription of thermoneutral water walking in the same way that it is for land walking in the elderly.