How hard are you working when you exercise? Working out at the right intensity can help you get the most out of your physical activity. Exercise intensity means making sure you're not pushing too hard or too little. Here's how to make sure you're getting the most out of your workout.
Choosing your exercise intensity
How hard should you be exercising? The Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines for most healthy adults:
- Aerobic activity is key to maintaining good health. For moderate aerobic activity, aim for 150 minutes per week, such as brisk walking, swimming, or mowing the lawn. For vigorous aerobic activity, aim for 75 minutes per week, such as running or aerobic dancing. You can also do a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. It's best to do this over the course of a week. You can achieve more health benefits if you ramp up your exercise to 300 minutes or more of moderate aerobic activity a week. Even small amounts of physical activity are helpful, and accumulated activity throughout the day adds up to provide health benefits.
- Strength training. Do strength training for all major muscle groups at least twice a week. Consider free weights, weight machines or activities that use your own body weight — such as rock climbing or heavy gardening. Or try squats, planks or lunges. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
The intensity of your workout must usually be moderate to vigorous in order to get the most benefit. If you're trying to lose weight, the more intense or longer your workout is, the more calories you'll burn.
Even though balance is important, too much of anything can be harmful. This is especially true when starting a new exercise routine. It's best to ease into things by starting with a light intensity and gradually increasing to a moderate or vigorous intensity.
Think about why you're working out. Are you trying to get in better shape, slim down, or train for a competition? The answer will help you figure out how intense your workout should be.
It is important to be realistic when setting fitness goals and not to try and accomplish too much too quickly. Remember that maintaining fitness is a lifelong commitment, not a race to the finish line. If you have any medical conditions or are unsure about how intense your workout should be, be sure to speak with your doctor before beginning.
Understanding exercise intensity
When you are doing aerobic activity, for example walking or biking, the level of how hard the activity feels to you corresponds with the intensity of the exercise. The intensity of the exercise is also represented in your breathing and heart rate, if you are sweating, and how weary your muscles feel.
There are two basic ways to measure exercise intensity:
- How you feel. Exercise intensity is a subjective measure of how hard physical activity feels to you while you're doing it — your perceived exertion. Your perceived exertion level may be different from what someone else feels doing the same exercise. For example, what feels to you like a hard run can feel like an easy workout to someone who's more fit.
- Your heart rate. Your heart rate offers a more objective look at exercise intensity. In general, the higher your heart rate during physical activity, the higher the exercise intensity.
Your perception of how hard you are working may not always match your heart rate, which varies from person to person. However, it can give you a general idea of your level of exertion. If you feel like you are working hard, your heart rate is likely to be higher than normal.
You can either use an activity tracker with a heart rate monitor to gauge your exercise intensity, or just rely on how you feel if you're in tune with your body.
Gauging intensity using your heart rate
You can figure out your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. You can tell how hard your heart is working by how many beats per minute (bpm) it is pumping. To find this number, place your index and middle fingers on the pulse points on your neck to the side of your windpipe. Use a watch with a second hand to count the number of beats you feel in 10 seconds, and then multiply that number by six. The harder your heart works, the more beats per minute (bpm) it will pump. You can figure out your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. To find out how hard your heart is working, place your index and middle fingers on the pulse points on your neck to the side of your windpipe. Use a watch with a second hand to count the number of beats you feel in 10 seconds, and then multiply that number by six.
To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. For example, if you're 45 years old, your maximum heart rate would be 175 beats per minute.
The desired target heart rate zone is the level at which your heart is being exercised and conditioned but not overworked. This can be calculated once you know your maximum heart rate.
The American Heart Association generally recommends a target heart rate of:
- Moderate exercise intensity: 50% to about 70% of your maximum heart rate
- Vigorous exercise intensity: 70% to about 85% of your maximum heart rate
If you are starting an exercise program and are not fit, try to stay at the lower end of your target heart rate zone. If you are healthy and want a more vigorous workout, go for the higher end of the zone.
How to determine your target heart rate zone
You can use an online calculator to determine your target heart rate zone. If you're aiming for a target heart rate in the vigorous range of 70% to 85%, you can use the heart rate reserve (HRR) method to calculate it like this:
- Subtract your age from 220 to get your maximum heart rate.
- Calculate your resting heart rate by counting how many times your heart beats per minute when you are at rest, such as first thing in the morning. It's usually somewhere between 60 and 100 beats per minute for the average adult.
- Calculate your heart rate reserve (HRR) by subtracting your resting heart rate from your maximum heart rate.
- Multiply your HRR by 0.7 (70%). Add your resting heart rate to this number.
- Multiply your HRR by 0.85 (85%). Add your resting heart rate to this number.
- These two numbers are your average target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise intensity when using the HRR to calculate your heart rate. Your heart rate during vigorous exercise should generally be between these two numbers.
For example, say your age is 45 and you want to figure out your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise using the HRR method. Follow these steps:
- First, subtract 45 from 220 to get 175 — this is your maximum heart rate.
- Next, check your resting heart rate first thing in the morning. Say it's 80 beats per minute. Calculate your HRR by subtracting 80 from 175. Your HRR is 95.
- Multiply 95 by 0.7 (70%) to get 66.5, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 146.5.
- Now multiply 95 by 0.85 (85%) to get 80.75, then add your resting heart rate of 80 to get 160.75.
- Your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise is 146.5 to 160.75 beats per minute.
How to tell if you're in the zone
How do you know if you're in your target heart rate zone? You can use an activity tracker to check your heart rate regularly while you exercise.
Or use these steps to check your heart rate during exercise:
- Stop briefly.
- Take your pulse for 15 seconds. To check your pulse over your carotid artery, place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery — which is located on the thumb side of your wrist.
- Multiply this number by 4 to calculate your beats per minute.
An example of how to calculate your target heart rate zone using the HRR method is as follows: 1. Take your pulse for 15 seconds to get your heart rate. 2. Multiply your heart rate by 4 to get your beats per minute. 3. If you're 45 years old, your target heart rate zone for vigorous exercise is between 146.5 and 160.75 beats per minute. 4. If your beats per minute is outside of this range, adjust your exercise intensity.
Target heart rate tips
Although maximum heart rate is only a guide, it's still important to take notice of it. Your maximum heart rate could be 15 to 20 beats per minute higher or lower than the average, so if you want a more accurate number, talk to an exercise physiologist or personal trainer.
The level of precision this text is talking about is usually only something that elite athletes care about. There can be some slight differences in theTarget Heart Rate Zone calculations for men and women, but it's not usually something that casual athletes need to worry about.
Some medications can lower your maximum heart rate, which in turn lowers your target heart rate zone. If you take any medications or have any medical conditions that might affect your heart rate, ask your doctor what your target heart rate zone should be.
Interval training which consists of short periods of intense exercise mixed with longer periods of less strenuous exercise is well tolerated and even safe for people with heart disease and type 2 diabetes. This type of training is also effective in increasing cardiovascular fitness and promoting weight loss.
11 Benefits of Sprinting (+ Tips for your Workout)
Most runners and athletes are used to adding speed workouts into their training. However, one of the best forms of exercise that gets breezed by most frequently is sprinting. There are many benefits to sprinting, including:
One of the reasons we tend not to think of sprinting as a workout for “regular runners” is because we tend to think of the sprinters we see in the Olympics, or the friends we had in college or high school who were track stars. We typically think of a traditional track, not our normal neighborhood runs. Most long distance runners are not accustomed to sprint workouts.
If we don't include sprinting in our training, we're missing out on a lot of benefits. Sprinting is an intense (but short!) exercise that can make us faster, stronger, help with weight loss, and has tons of other physiological and health benefits.
10+ Benefits of Sprinting
1. Allows your heart muscles to grow stronger
Sprinting can have major benefits for your heart health and blood pressure. The fast twitch muscles that are used during sprints improve your heart function. The effort that you put on your muscles while sprinting makes your heart pump harder, which improves blood circulation. This strengthens your heart, which is a key benefit of sprinting. When you go on an easy run, you work your slow twitch muscles. Therefore, focusing on improving both types of muscles will make you a stronger runner overall and increase your range of motion.
Heart disease is more common than you might think in healthy young people, so it's important to take care of your heart health even if you're a healthy runner! (I use InsideTracker to stay on top of my heart health.)
2. Builds strength
While it may sound counterintuitive, sprinting can actually help you build muscle in the same way that strength training does. The reason for this is because sprinting is an anaerobic exercise. This means that you get more benefits from sprinting than from other exercises since sprinting works dozens of muscles at the same time, whereas weight training is typically focused on one part of your body at a time.
3. Builds endurance
When sprinting, you are increasing your endurance by teaching your body to use energy more efficiently. This type of exercise tests your power and muscle endurance, which in turn can help improve your VO2 max and overall endurance.
If you want to build up your endurance, sprinting is a good option because it helps your body to use energy more efficiently.
4. Increases speed
While it’s obvious that sprinting is an increase in your running speed, it can also help you to become a faster runner over time by adding sprints to your workouts. This is because sprinting requires quick energy, and over time, this makes your body more efficient at storing glycogen in your muscles. Sprinting is an anaerobic exercise, which means that you are breaking down muscles, building them back up, and training your body to process lactic acid build up a little faster each time. And, over time, as your body gets used to sprinting, you increase your tolerance for the pain or soreness that you can experience after a hard sprint. Just make sure you plan for recovery days if you add sprinting to your training.
5. Reduces stress
Although sprinting is not the only activity that does this, it is a quick way to get the same “feel-good runner's high” that a long run would. In general, running helps reduce stress by increasing blood flow to the part of your brain that responds to stress. Additionally, running releases endorphins which gives you a post-run high.
Sprinting is more efficient than slow running when it comes to releasing endorphins, which have stress-relieving effects. You only need to sprint for 15 minutes to get these benefits, whereas it would take longer to achieve the same effects with slower running.
6. Improves metabolism
Many people find that they burn more calories in less time when they work out in the spring, and that their metabolic rate continues to be high for days after their workout. This is called EPOC, or excess post exercise oxygen consumption.
High intensity interval training, or sprinting, is more effective at fat loss and health benefits than moderately intense activities such as jogging, according to studies.
7. Improves body composition
Running generally helps reduce body fat; however, steady exercise without variation can be ineffective for reducing body fat stores. Sprinting is effective for improving weight loss because of its intense, diverse nature. You will see your body composition change on the outside as a result of sprinting, and your body will also grow stronger as a whole. Your hips will get a new range of motion, your hamstrings will work in a different way, you will engage your abs and torso differently, and you will start to notice that your body is better suited for running conditions with this variation in training.
8. Takes less time with same benefits
The main advantage of sprinting is that it is much faster than a normal run, so you can get your workout done more quickly. Sprinting for just one minute, with two minutes of recovery in between, for a total of 20 minutes, is an effective way to get your heart rate up and burn some calories.
9. Improves insulin sensitivity
Sprinting is a great way to reduce the amount of glycogen stored in your muscles, which in turn lowers the amount of insulin in your body. Although insulin is essential for your body, too much of it can lead to weight gain and insulin resistance, making it difficult to lose weight.
10. Builds new mitochondria
Sprinting is a way to increase the number of mitochondria in your body. The mitochondria are responsible for extracting energy from nutrients to produce ATP, which is the molecule for storing and transferring energy in cells. The more mitochondria you have, the more power you have available for your brain and body.
11. You can do it anywhere
You can sprint anywhere, even indoors. I like to do speed work on the treadmill because I can be more precise with my speed and time. I also like sprinting on the track, but you don't need a track to do it effectively. Hill sprints and sprints down your street are just as effective as sprints on a track.
