Exercise Intensity: Why It Matters, How It Is Measured
Exercising at the correct intensity can help you get the most out of your physical activity, ensuring that you are not overdoing it or even overtraining.
Here’s a look at what medium intensity exercise is and how to make it work for you.
Aerobic Activity
Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, swimming, or mowing, or 75 minutes a week of moderate-to-high aerobic activity like running or aerobic dancing. You can also do a combination of moderate and high activity, preferably spread out over the course of a week.
Strength Training
Do strength training exercises at least twice a week. Consider free weights, weight machines, or body-weight activities such as rock climbing or heavy gardening. The amount of time for each session is up to you.
To reap the greatest health benefits of exercise, the intensity should generally be at a moderate or high level. To lose weight, the more intense you exercise, or the more exercise you do, the more calories you burn.
Balance Is Important
Overdoing it can increase your risk of pain, injury, and burnout. If you are new to regular exercise and physical activity, you may need to start at a low intensity and gradually build up to a moderate or high intensity.
So, think about the reasons to exercise. Do you want to improve your physical condition, lose weight, train for a competition, or do a combination of these? Your answer will help you determine the appropriate level of exercise intensity. Be realistic and don’t push yourself too hard, too fast.
Fitness is a life project, not a sprint. Of course, if you have any medical conditions or are not sure what the intensity of the exercise should be, talk to your doctor.
When you are doing aerobic activity, such as walking or cycling, the intensity of the exercise correlates with the strength of the activity that you feel. The intensity of the exercise is also reflected in your breathing and heart rate, whether you are sweating, or how tired your muscles may feel.
Always Link All Training Parameters
As with the article on training volume, intensity cannot be the only parameter that exasperates us.
Muscle growth is increasingly based on a balance of stimuli, where it is more difficult to bring them into harmony, without neglecting something along the way. Here is an image that gives you an idea of what range to work with intensity (real and perceived):
A good way to have good volume and good intensity is to train in multi-frequency.
Think about doing 16 sets for the chest with a high intensity, when you get to the middle, you will have to lower the loads. If instead of doing all the series in one day, we divide them into two (8 and 8) we can push all the series while maintaining a greater intensity.
That is why over the years, in the natural, the single frequency was eclipsed by the multi-frequency.
Basic Ways to Measure Exercise Intensity
How you feel?
Intensity exercise is a subjective measure of how intense physical activity feels while we are doing perceived exertion.
Your level of perceived exertion may be different from what another person feels when doing the same exercise. For example, what feels like a tough race may feel like an easy workout for someone who is fitter or has been training longer.
Setting your workouts to perceived intensity can be very fruitful if you have a real idea of your max. Many people think they will achieve concentric misses, but if they had a gun pointed at their head, they would still do 5 more reps.
One way to understand if your training has been fruitful or if you simply have a staggered perception is to compare it with the previous ones, if you are progressing in the parameters it means that the path is correct. If you always stay the same, for the moment it is better not to depend on self-perception.
Taking all sets to failure is very tiring. Therefore, pay special attention to REP 10 and 11 and reach these ranges when you want to enter a higher condition.
Your heart rate
Your heart rate offers a more objective look at the intensity of your exercise. In general, the higher the heart rate during physical activity, the higher the intensity of the exercise.
Studies show that perceived exertion correlates well with heart rate. So, if you think you’re working hard, your heart rate will probably go up.
You can use any way to measure the intensity of the exercise. If you like technology and are concerned with numbers, a heart rate monitor may be a useful device for you. If you feel like it is in symphony with your body and your level of effort, it will probably be fine without a monitor.
Here are some clues to help judge the intensity of your exercise.
Moderate Exercise Intensity
Moderate activity should feel a little harsh. These are signs that your exercise intensity is at a moderate level:
- Your breathing quickens, but you are not out of breath.
- You develop a slight sweat after about 10 minutes of activity.
- You can carry on a conversation, but you can’t sing.
Exercise Intensity High
High activity is where you feel most challenging. These are indications that the intensity of the exercise is at a higher level:
- Your breathing is deep and fast.
- You develop a sweat after a few minutes of activity.
- You can’t say more than a few words without stopping to catch your breath.
Strong Intensity: What Happens If You Push Yourself Too Hard?
Be careful with demanding yourself too often. If you are short of breath, in pain, or unable to work as long as you have planned, the intensity of the exercise is probably higher than your fitness level allows. Back off a bit and build your intensity gradually.
Another way to measure exercise intensity is to see how hard your heart is beating during physical activity. To use this method, you first have to find out your maximum heart rate which is the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.
The most basic way to calculate your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you are 45 years old, subtract 45 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 175.
This is the maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute while you are exercising.
Once you know your maximum heart rate, the target heart rate zone can be calculated, which is the level at which your heart is exercising and conditioning, but not overworked.
Here’s how your heart rate matches your exercise intensity levels:
- Moderate exercise intensity: 50 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate.
- Exercise intensity high: 70 to 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.
If you are out of shape or just starting an exercise program, the goal for the lower end of your target zone is (50 percent). Then gradually increase the intensity. If you are healthy and want a higher intensity, go for the higher end of the zone.
How to Determine Your Target Zone?
To determine your target heart rate zone, use an online calculator. Or, here is a simple way to do your own calculations. If you are aiming for a target heart rate of 70 to 85 percent, which is in the high range, it would be calculated like this:
Subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate.
That number times 0.7 (70 percent) to determine the lower end of the multiple heart rate zone.
Multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.85 (85 percent) to determine the upper end of your heart rate zone.
For example, let’s say your age is 45 and you want to calculate your heart rate zone for high intensity exercise. Subtract 45 from 220 to get 175 – this is your maximum heart rate. To get the lower end of the target zone, multiply 175 by 0.7 to get 123.
To get the higher end, multiply 175 by 0.85 to get 149. So, your heart rate zone for high exercise intensity is 123-149 beats per minute.
How Do You Know If You Are in The Right Zone?
So how do you know if you are in the target heart rate zone? Use these steps to check your heart rate during exercise:
Stop momentarily
Take your pulse for 15 seconds. To check your pulse on your carotid artery, place your index and third finger on the neck on the side of the windpipe. To check the pulse at the wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon above the radial artery on the thumb side of the wrist.
- Multiply this number by 4 to calculate your beats per minute.
Here’s an example: you stop exercising and take your pulse for 15 seconds, getting 33 hits. Multiply 33 by 4, to get 132. If you are 45 years old, this puts you in the middle of the heart rate zone for high exercise, as that zone is 123 to 149 beats per minute. If it is lower than or above your heart rate zone, adjust the intensity of the exercise.
Tips for Your Heart Rate
It is important to note that the maximum heart rate is only a guide. You can have a higher or lower maximum heart rate, sometimes as much as 15 to 20 beats per minute. For a more definitive list, consider discussing your heart rate zone with an exercise physiologist or personal trainer.
Usually only elite athletes are concerned with this level of precision. They can also use slightly different calculations that take into account gender differences in target heart rate zones. These differences are so small that most casual athletes do not need separate calculations for men and women.
Also keep in mind that various types of medications can lower your maximum heart rate and therefore lower your heart rate zone. Ask your doctor if you need to use a lower heart rate zone due to medications you take or medical conditions you may have.
Interestingly, research has shown that interval training, which includes short bouts (60 to 90 seconds) of higher intensity exercise interspersed throughout your workout, is well tolerated, even by those with certain heart conditions. This type of training is also very effective in increasing your cardiovascular health.
You’ll get the most out of your workouts if you’re exercising at the right exercise intensity for your health goals.
If you are not feeling any effort or your heart rate is too low, pick up the pace. If you’re worried that you’re pushing yourself too hard or that your heart rate is too high, slow down a bit.
