Most of the time when we exercise, we hardly give a thought to the intensity of our workouts. Most often we don't even know how to measure it. But we exercise anyway. The question then is, do we have to measure it? Yes, measurement of intensity in exercise helps us know how far we're progressing or not.
Exercise intensity is defined in terms of how much oxygen the body uses to do an exercise and the calories burnt while doing it. In aerobic exercises such as swimming, walking and cycling, intensity is understood as how hard the activity feels when you do it.
The rule of thumb is moderation. Any exercise undertaken should be done in moderate intensity. If exercise is too light, then weight loss goals may not materialize and fitness will be hard to achieve. If exercise is too intense, burnout happens very quickly and there are high chances of injuries and soreness. Moderate-intensity exercise ensures that there are fewer injury risks and that in the long run, exercise commitment is maintained.
Simple ways you can use to measure exercise intensity
There are a couple of simple tests you can do yourself to know whether you're doing moderate-intensity exercise. You should find your activity relatively hard to do. Here are some ways to indicate that:
- You should be breathing faster than normal.
- You're beginning to sweat a little.
- You're starting to feel a little strain in your muscles.
You can also use the talk test to figure out your exercise intensity. When you do moderate-intensity exercises, you'll be able to talk in short sentences but unable to sing. This means that you're on the right track in terms of the intensity.
Accurate ways of measuring exercise intensity
There are more precise ways of measuring what intensity you're exercising at. You can use your heart rate to measure intensity, relatively accurately. If you are a healthy adult engaging in vigorous activity, you can try to achieve a target heart rate of 70 to 85% of your maximum heart rate - the upper limit of what your system can handle. However, if you're not so fit or you're just beginning an exercise program, go for just 40 to 50% of your maximum heart rate. Any more than this will put a strain on your body. As your fitness improves, you can increase the intensity slowly and steadily.
Here's how you can calculate your maximum heart rate and intensity. Follow these steps:
- Subtract your age from 220. This is a rough estimate of your maximum heart rate.
- Then calculate the lower limit of your target rate by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.7 (or 0.4 if you are beginner).
- The upper limit of your target rate can be obtained by multiplying your maximum heart rate by 0.85 (or 0.5 if you are beginner).
While exercising, check your pulse. You can do this by placing your fingers on the side of your neck where the arteries are or by placing 2 fingers on your wrist between the bone and tendon on top of your radial artery, on the thumb side of your wrist. Just count how many beats you get in 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get the rate of one minute. However, if your heart beat is irregular or you are on special medication for any illness, please consult your doctor/specialist before you take on any physical activity, no matter how mild it may be.
These are the easiest, quickest ways to check out your workout intensity. If you feel you're pushing to hard you can slow down. If your workout isn't giving you any strain, then maybe you can push yourself to do a little bit harder. Either way, you'll get the most out of exercising at the right intensity, once you calculate your heart rate!
