How Hard to Train
Intensity Levels of Exercise
Fitness experts now advise that longer and
more frequent sessions of moderate activity may be better than fewer bursts
of high-intensity exercise. So it helps to know the intensity level of
your workout.
The Talk Test to Judge Intensity of Workout
One simple method to measure exercise-intensity
is the talk-test. During light-intensity activity, a person should be
able to sing while exercising. During moderate-intensity activity, a person
should be able to carry on a normal conversation while working out. During
vigorous-intensity activity, a person typically becomes too out of breath
to carry on a conversation while exercising.
Monitor Heart Rate to Gauge Exercise Intensity
Moderate intensity training involves exercising
at 50-60 percent of maximum
heart-rate capacity. For accurate heart-rate measurement, take your
pulse or check heart-beats
on your heart-rate monitor
(eg. Polar Monitor)
while you are STILL exercising. Remember: your pulse falls rapidly when
you stop exercising.
Examples of Light-Intensity Exercise
- Bicycling
(slow, flat incline)
- Gardening (static)
- Golf, using cart
- Stretching (gentle)
- Swimming (treading
water, light movements)
- Walking (slow)
- Warm-up Exercise
(light)
Examples of Moderate-Intensity Exercise
- Bicycling (5 to 9 mph, occasional small
hill)
- Elliptical trainer
(moderate difficulty)
- Golf, using trolley
- Mowing lawn
- Rowing machine (moderate
difficulty)
- Swimming, (slow, occasional bursts)
- Tennis (eg. doubles)
- Walking (brisk)
- Weight lifting
(eg. Nautilus machine or dumbells)
Examples of Vigorous-Intensity Exercise
- Biking (outdoors/machine: 10 mph+ w/steep
incline)
- Circuit training
- Elliptical trainer (vigorous)
- Jogging
- Power-walking
(outdoors/treadmill)
- Rowing machine (vigorous)
- Running
- Squash
- Swimming (vigorous)
- Tennis (singles)
Back to Calorie-Burning
Exercise
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