What intensity should you be working at?

As a personal trainer, one of the questions that I get asked most often is “What should my intensity be during exercise?” In this post, I hope to answer some of these questions. 

Firstly, balance is still an essential part of any program. You do not want to find yourself overtraining as it can increase your risk of injury and burnout. If you are new to exercise, I suggest that you start at a lighter intensity and then slowly build up to moderate or vigorous intensity. Studies have shown that working at a vigorous intensity can lower your immune system. There is no harm in smashing a great HIIT session but make sure that you provide your body with the right fuel and rest post-workout. 
Once you know what your desired outcome is, you will then be able to understand at what intensity you should push your heart rate. 

There are two ways that you can determine your exertion. Firstly by how you are feeling (rate of perceived exertion =RPE), secondly by your heart rate (beats per minute = BPM).

1. Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE)

Although perceived exertion is not as objective as your BPM, it is still one of the most useful tools to understand how hard you are working. RPE is based on how you are feeling when you are doing your workout. To make this more realistic 1/10 is like sitting at your desk, 3/10 a gentle stroll, 5/10 an easy jog, 7/10 is a tempo run and 10/10 would be as if you are smashing a flat-out sprint.

See the image below for more details.

Let’s say that you want to focus on fat burning. You need to be able to say your full name, phone number, and street address without taking a breath. You should be able to talk without any broken sentences. To decrease the intensity slow down the movement or include more rest periods. To increase the intensity simply speed up, decrease the rest periods, and if you still feel that this is not challenging you enough then have to look at progressing the range of motion, time that the body is under tension, and the progressive load applied.

2. Heart Rates Zones 
If you have a fitness tracker with a built-in heart rate monitor, then you are winning. So, what does the number next to the bpm on the watch mean for you?

Your exertion zone for heart rates is based on your age and therefore it will vary for each individual.

I’ve broken down the steps for you so that you can easily work this out for yourself.

Step 1 – Determine your maximum heart rate by using the formula below

220 – YOUR AGE = Maximum Heart Rate (MHR)

Step 2 – Determine what zone you want to focus on. Use the chart above to help you decide.

For this example, let’s say you want to become more efficient at burning body fat. Then you would use the formula below.

MHR x 60% and MHR x 69% = Beats Per Minute(BPM)

Just to make sure you understand this, let’s say that you are 35 years old, and you want to focus on becoming more efficient at burning body fat. You will need to exercise at an intensity of 60-69% of your MHR.

Step 1. 220 – 35(age) = 185 bpm (MHR)

Step 2. 185 bpm (MHR) x 60% = 111 bpm and 185 bpm (MHR) x 69% = 127.5 bpm.

Therefore my desire heart rate must remain between 111- 127.5 BPM.

If your desired outcome is different from the above example, use the steps above to guide you in the right direction. 

Hope this helps you understand your body better.

Chat Soon

Sid 

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