Exercise intensity and how to use it
From low impact to high intensity interval training, here's how to make your workouts as effective as possible.
If you’ve been exercising for a while—at least a few months—you’re consistent with your workouts, and would like to see continued results, you may be ready to increase intensity during your sessions. Now don’t be scared off by the “I” word, because intensity, when understood and used appropriately, can be quite effective for not only weight loss, but also for boosting health.
Ways to measure exercise intensity
Knowing how to monitor intensity will help ensure that you’re using this training tool most effectively. “There are two common ways to measure exercise intensity, the most common of which is heart or pulse rate: the higher the intensity effort, the higher the heart rate,” explains Walt Thompson, PhD, President of the American College of Sports Medicine and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at Georgia State University. To measure your heart rate, count the number of beats per minute, or wear a heart rate monitor, which will provide continuous readings throughout your workout.
The second way to measure intensity is based on how you feel, which is called the rating of perceived exertion, or RPE. With RPE, you assign a number to how hard you feel you’re working; a higher number corresponds with higher intensity, and thus a higher heart rate. “The original Borg scale started at six and went to 20 and, if multiplied by 10, any rating would approximate heart rate,” explains Thompson. “The more common scale is zero to 10, with zero being no effort and 10 being maximal effort. Moderate effort would be around a 7 to 8.” A simpler, albeit less scientific method measures intensity on a scale of 1 to 4, which corresponds with levels of exercise that are mild, moderate, severe, and exhaustive.