How to Measure Your Exercise Intensity

How to Measure Your Exercise Intensity. I break it all down for you in this guide: how much, what counts and what type you should be doing.

Exercise: You love it. You hate it. You want to be in love with it but just aren’t attracted to it… #thestruggleisreal I admit, sometimes I absolutely love exercising. Moving around, feeling my body getting stronger every day, knowing I can accomplish more than I was able to yesterday – that’s awesome. Then there are some days I just don’t want to. I know I should, but I can’t bring myself to lace up my shoes and get out the door. BUT…I think to myself: if I don’t get out the door, maybe I could do a quicker, lighter workout and feel somewhat good about myself and my half work out. Happy face!

Well I have news for ya’ll: sometimes lighter exercises are enough. You don’t need to go all out every day. In fact, you shouldn’t! Getting in a variety of exercises with differing intensities -and taking rest days – is healthy for you!

You probably already know you should work out. I don’t have to tell you. But if you are like a lot of the people I see (and me, some weeks), you want to know what is the least amount recommended, or what is the least amount of work you have to do? For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

Aerobic activity:

Get at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity — such as brisk walking, swimming or moderate yard work — or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity — such as running or cross fit. You can also do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity, preferably spread throughout the course of a week (I aim for at least 3 days).

Strength training:

Do strength training exercises at least twice a week. Don’t be constrained to just free weights or weight machines. Try using your own body weight — such as rock climbing or heavy gardening. The amount of time for each session is up to you.

Choosing Your Exercise Intensity

First think about your reasons for exercising. Do you want to improve your fitness, lose weight, train for a competition or simply because you want to feel good and move your body? Your answer will help determine the appropriate level of exercise intensity.

Be realistic and don’t push yourself too hard, too soon. Overdoing it can increase your risk of soreness, injury and burnout. Fitness is more of a marathon, not a sprint. For this reason, choose something you enjoy doing.

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 intensity. Of course, if you have any medical conditions or you’re not sure what your exercise intensity should be, talk to your doctor.

Understanding Exercise Intensity

Workout intensity corresponds with how hard the activity feels to you. Workout intensity can also be determined looking at how hard you’re breathing, your heart rate, whether you’re sweating, and how tired your muscles feel.

There are two basic ways to measure exercise intensity:

How you feel:

Workout intensity is a subjective measure of how hard physical activity feels to you while you’re doing it — your perceived exertion. Your perceived level of exertion may be different from what someone else feels doing the same exercise. For example, what feels like a hard run to you can feel like an easy workout to someone who’s more physically fit.

Your heart rate:

Your heart rate offers a more objective look at workout intensity. In general, the higher your heart rate during physical activity, the higher the workout intensity.

Studies have shown that your perceived exertion correlates well with your heart rate. Basically, if you feel like you’re working hard, your heart rate is most likely elevated.

In all truth, it really doesn’t matter which method you use to gauge your exercise intensity. If you like technology and are a numbers person, a heart rate monitor might be beneficial for you. If you feel you’re in tune with your body and how hard you’re working, you’ll probably do fine without a monitor. Just pick a method and go with it!

Measuring Exercise Intensity By How You Feel

To judge your workout intensity by how you feel, look for these signs:

Moderate exercise intensity

Feels somewhat hard.
Your breathing quickens, but you’re not out of breath.
You develop a light sweat after about 10 minutes of activity.
You can carry on a conversation, but you can’t sing.

Vigorous exercise intensity

Feels challenging.
Your breathing is deep and rapid.
You develop a sweat after a few minutes of activity.
You can’t say more than a few words without pausing for breath.

Overexerting yourself

Make sure you are not pushing yourself too hard too soon. You are overexerting yourself if you feel:

Short of breath
In pain
You can’t complete the workout you had planned on

Your workout intensity is probably higher than your fitness level allows if any of these apply. Slow down and gradually increase your intensity according to your fitness level.

Calculating Exercise Intensity Using Your Heart Rate

To use this method, you first have to know your maximum heart rate — the upper limit of what your cardiovascular system can handle during physical activity.

The basic way to calculate your maximum heart rate is to subtract your age from 220. For example, if you’re 30 years old, subtract 30 from 220 to get a maximum heart rate of 190. This is the maximum number of times your heart should beat per minute while you’re exercising.

Once you’ve figured out your maximum heart rate, you can then calculate your target heart rate zone — the level at which your heart is being exercised and conditioned but not overworked. You’ll need to do some more math for this but if I can do it, you can, too!

Here’s how heart rate matches up with exercise intensity levels:

Moderate exercise intensity: 50 to 70% of your maximum heart rate
Vigorous exercise intensity: 70 to 85% of your maximum heart rate

If your target heart rate zone is 70 to 85% (the vigorous range), you would calculate it like so:

Subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate.
Multiple that number by 0.7 (70 percent) to determine the lower end of your target heart rate zone.
Multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.85 (85 percent) to determine the upper end of your target heart rate zone.

Going off the same example from earlier, you’re 30 years old have already figured out your maximum heart rate of 190. To calculate the lower end of your target zone (vigorous), multiply 190 by 0.7 to get 133. To calculate the higher end, multiply 190 by 0.85 to get 161. So your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise intensity is 133 to 161 beats per minute.

If your fitness level is low or you’re just beginning an exercise regimen, aim for the lower end of a moderate target zone (50%). Then, gradually increase the intensity. If you’re healthy, already active and want a more vigorous intensity, aim for the higher end of the zone.

How To Tell If You’re In The Zone

Now you’ve calculated your target heart rate zone, how do you know if you’re in the zone? It’s actually not that hard:

Stop for a moment.
Take your pulse for 10 seconds. (There are two simple ways to do this: One is over your carotid artery: place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. The other way is on your wrist: place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery — located on the thumb side of your wrist.)
Multiply this number by 6 to calculate your beats per minute.

Here’s an example:

You stop exercising and take your pulse for 10 seconds, getting 24 beats. Multiply 24 by 6 to get 144.

If you’re 30 years old, this puts you in the middle of your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise, since that zone is 133 to 161 beats per minute. If you’re under or over your target heart rate zone, adjust your exercise intensity accordingly.

Workout Intensity: Are you exercising in your target zone? Share on X

Target Heart Rate Zone Tips

It’s important to remember that maximum heart rate is just a guide. You may have a higher or lower maximum heart rate. If you want a more precise range, talk with an exercise physiologist or a certified personal trainer.

Another thing to take into consideration is that several types of medications can lower your maximum heart rate and, therefore, lower your target heart rate zone. Ask your doctor if you need to use a lower target heart rate zone due to any medications you’re taking or medical conditions you have.

Interestingly, research has shown that interval training, which includes short bouts (60 to 90 seconds) of higher intensity exercise interspersed throughout a lower intensity workout, is well tolerated, even by those with certain medical conditions. This type of training is also very effective at increasing your cardiovascular fitness.

Reap the Rewards of Working Out

You’ll get the most from your workouts if you’re exercising at the right workout intensity for your health and fitness goals. If you’re not feeling any exertion or your heart rate is too low, pick up the pace. If you feel you’re pushing yourself too hard or your heart rate is too high, take it down a notch or two. This mainly applies to aerobic physical activity. Usually your heart rate will be a little lower when performing anaerobic exercise.

You may find that it takes you a few tries before you succeed at making physical activity a regular part of your life. There may be times when interruptions such as vacation, illness, family or work demands conspire against you to prevent you from getting your workouts in for a week or two—or even longer (been there, done that, got the t-shirt).

Try not to feel guilty or disappointed in yourself. Just restart your routine as soon as you can. You might not be able to pick up exactly where you left off—you may need to decrease your intensity a bit. But stay with it, and you will regain lost ground.

If you have trouble getting back into the swing of things, start back into the program slowly. Remember why you started working out in the first place and what your goals are. You might even want to reexamine your goals and choose new ones because your motivations have changed. Just be sure to make sure your goals are relevant to you.

Overall, remember how your past successes made you feel: a healthier, happier, stronger and better you!

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References:

CDC

Mayo Clinic

The information provided above does not constitute medical advice. All content information is intended to be for general informational purposes only. Please see your doctor with regard to information attained from the above article if you are concerned with your health. The content above is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

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Brittany

I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist and mom of four with a passion of helping families build confidence in the kitchen. I share family friendly recipes and helpful tips to help you navigate mealtime one bite at a time.