When you’re doing aerobic activity, such as walking or biking, exercise intensity correlates with how hard the activity feels to you. Exercise intensity also is reflected in how hard your heart is working. Why is tracking intensity so important during exercise? Because it tells you exactly how hard you are working. Exercise intensity can be hard to judge. Sometimes you just can’t trust how you feel. It can be difficult to tell if your workout really is hard or if it just feels hard that day from low energy levels, hormones or, more often than not, because your head just isn’t in the game.
There are three types of exercise intensities: light, moderate and vigorous. All of these intensity levels you judge by how you feel. Exercise intensity is a subjective measure of how hard physical activity feels to you while you’re doing it, which is your perceived exertion. Your perceived level of exertion may be different from what someone else feels doing the same exercise. For example, an athlete is predisposed to have a different perceived level from someone who doesn’t train at all.
Your heart rate offers a more objective look at exercise intensity. In general, the higher your heart rate during physical activity, the higher the exercise intensity. Heart rate is one of the many ways to calculate your intensity. So if you think you’re working hard, your heart rate is likely elevated. You can gauge your exercise intensity by using your hands to get a pulse, with a heart rate monitor or by how you feel.
Using your hands, you can easily check your pulse to see how fast your heart is beating. This is the perfect way to find out how hard you’re working during your workout (without using a heart rate monitor). To calculate your heart rate, gently press your index and middle fingers of one hand on the inside wrist of your other hand. Another location is to place your index and middle fingers directly under your ear, then slide your fingers down until they are directly under your jawbone, while pressing lightly. Start with zero on the first beat and count for 10 seconds, then multiply by six, which gives you an approximation of your heart rate in beats per minute. For example, if you count 20 beats in 10 seconds, your approximate heart rate would be 120 beats per minute (20 multiplied by 6). Check your pulse frequently throughout your workout to make sure you are within your target heart rate zone.
Using a heart rate monitor makes it super easy to keep up with your exercise intensity because this device will show a continuous reading of your heart rate throughout your workout. Heart rate monitors range in price anywhere from $50 to $400, with a variety of options whether you’re a beginner or a professional athlete. Most use a chest strap to get heart rate information and some offer added features such as calories burned and time spent in your target heart rate zone.
To find out your target heart rate for vigorous exercise, this is typically 85 to 95 percent of your maximum heart rate. For moderate-intensity physical activity, a person’s target heart rate should be 50 to 70% of his or her maximum heart rate. Light-intensity training heart rate is between 45% and 54% of your heart rate max. Maximum heart rate is determined by taking a person’s age and subtracting it from 220. For example, if a person is 30 years old, their maximum heart rate would be 190 beats per minute.
If you don’t have a heart rate monitor or don’t want to stop your workout to take your pulse, the “Talk Test” is another way to monitor your intensity. If you’re working at a moderate intensity you should be able to carry on a conversation. Unless you’re doing high intensity training or interval training, you shouldn’t be so out of breath that you can’t talk. It can help to use a “Perceived Exertion Scale” along with the Talk Test. This is a scale of 1-10 for describing how hard you’re working, 1 being extremely easy and 10 being extremely hard. If you’re doing a moderate workout, this would translate to a Level 5 on the scale.
How Do You Choose Your Exercise Intensity?
Think about your reasons for exercising. Do you want to improve your fitness, lose weight, train for a competition, or a combination of these? Your answer will help determine the appropriate level of exercise intensity. Look at where you are now and see what level you want to be on. The recommendations for the levels of intensity during exercise include:
- Light Intensity– Exercises such as walking or bike riding. If you’re not in shape, older or haven’t worked out in a while, light intensity exercises are good until you are able to build yourself up to a moderate level of activity.
- Moderate Activity– Get at least 150 minutes a week for moderate activity. Things like a brisk walk, swimming or hiking.
- Vigorous Exercise– Get at least 30 minutes a day, 3-4 days per week. Do things such as jogging, aerobic dancing, tennis.
Strength Training
You should be doing strength training exercises at least twice a week which will help you gain aerobic benefits from working at different intensities. Consider free weights, weight machines or body resistance exercises using your own body weight. Weight training is also good for body composition changes (build muscle, burn fat).
To reap the most health benefits from exercise, your exercise intensity must generally be at a moderate or vigorous level. For weight loss, the more intense your physical activity, or the longer you exercise, the more calories you will burn. However, balance is important. Overdoing it can increase your risk of soreness, injury and burnout. If you’re new to regular exercise and physical activity, you may need to start out at a light intensity and gradually build up to a moderate or vigorous level of intensity.
Understand your limits and be aware of pushing yourself too hard, too often. If you’re short of breath, in pain or can’t workout as long as you had planned, your exercise intensity is probably higher than your fitness level allows. Back off a bit and build intensity gradually over time for the best results.
