Aerobic Exercise – Intensity

Transcript: Aerobic Exercise – Intensity

Let’s talk about exercise intensity, or simply how hard your body is working or needs to work in order to get the most out of each session of exercise.

But before we start it’s important to keep in mind that the whole purpose of exercise is to improve and maintain your level of fitness and sometimes that requires some effort. So don’t be afraid to challenge yourself and find ways to push your limits from time to time because that’s what produces results.

Joining us today are Stacie and John. Now Stacie is very active and John is just starting back after a long layoff. They both have different training levels, however we’re going to do a simple test called the talk test to determine each of their correct training zones. Now this zone is the zone to where you’re working hard enough to get in good shape but not too hard to where you could possibly get injured.

Let’s start John out at the basic speed of 3 mph and give him the talk test to see how he is doing. Ok, now we’re going to move it from your base speed up to about 4.3 mph and see how that feels. How do you feel right now?

John: Not bad.

So we’ll crank it up a little bit to see how that works. We want you just below the point where you can carry on a normal conversation.

John: Yeah I can feel that.

Your training zone is at about 4.7 or 4.8 mph. So this is your training zone.

Now he is at a training zone that is safe yet effective. This is also the pace that if he stopped and took his pulse for 10 seconds he’d be in the higher end of his heart rate. So it’s pretty accurate.

Ok now we are starting Stacie out at John’s highest level 4.7 mph.

How do you feel Stacie?

Stacie: Pretty good.

So you can carry on a normal conversation so we’re going to crank up the incline so we’re going to make the treadmill go up a little bit and then we’re going to increase it. Now we’re at about 5.2 mph. Almost jogging.

Now we are at about 5.5. So she is starting to get a little breathy so at 5.5 this is her training zone.

The goal for both Stacie and John is to stay in their correct training zones for at least 20-30 minutes. Once they can do this on a consistent basis they can then look to increase the intensity of their workouts. It’s all about slowly working your way up to higher levels of intensity.

Taking these simple steps may seem too easy, but you’ll be surprised at how fast your body will improve.

Ok, so to recap. A few minutes into your workout give yourself the talk test to determine the correct training zone that will allow you to get a great workout, yet still carry on a normal conversation. Basically if you can pick up a cell phone and the person on the other end can’t tell if you’re exercising or sitting on the couch, it’s too easy. At that point it’s all about keeping your activity level effective, yet comfortable.

For more information just go to this website: www.exerciseismedicine.org. There you’ll find all the information you need to know to get a safe and effective workout.

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