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Finding Your Intensity Level

by Jenn Jenkins
 

Finding Your Intensity Level

So your doctor, husband, wife, boss, best friend, or teenager tells you that the rules are that you need 30 minutes of moderate activity 3-5 time per week. We've all heard this before, but have you stopped to think what moderate means? Most of us haven't, or maybe we have thought about it and we're not sure how to define the term. Let's face it; we are all different, with different bodies, different exercise routines, and different thresholds. That's why there are a few tips to figuring out what moderate means specifically for you, whether you are a top athlete or just starting an exercise routine.

VO2 MAX

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) states that moderate activity is 40 to 60 percent of a persons VO2 max. Reality is that most of the population has never heard of VO2 max and has no clue how to find it, so we turn to a simpler measure of moderate: Maximum Heart Rate (MHR). Since a VO2 max of 40-60 percent equals about 50-70 percent of your MHR, then we can use MHR to find our moderate activity level and most of us can understand heart rate, much better than VO2 max.

            Finding your Maximum Heart Rate:

• 1. Take your age and subtract 220. This equals your MHR.

(Example: for a 35 year old, your MHR is 185)

• 2. To find your lower range of 50 percent, take 185 and times it by 50 percent.

(Example for a 35 year old: 185 x .5 = 93)

• 3. Lastly, to find your high range of 70 percent, take 185 and times it by 70 percent.

 (Example for a 35 year old: 185 x .7 = 130)

For the example listed above, this 35 year old would want to exercise in a heart rate range of 93-130 Beats Per Minute (BPM) to obtain a moderate level of activity. Remember, this is a good guideline for your personal moderate level but it still doesn't take into account your fitness level. If you want to obtain a more accurate and more complicated number, ask your doctor. Overall, this should give you a good start in achieving your 30 minutes of moderate activity 3-5 times per week.

If you would like, a good investment is a heart rate monitor, which will give you a constant reading of your heart rate throughout your exercise so you can ensure you are staying in your target heart rate zone. Otherwise, the good old fashion test with your wrist a few times during your work out works just as well. Do you remember from PE Class? Find your pulse on your wrist, count your beats for 5 seconds and add a zero. For example, if you could 12 beats for a 5 second count, your heart rate is 120.

In summary, knowing what moderate means to you can be helpful to ensure you are getting the right intensity of exercise. However, remember that there is no such thing as bad exercise and try not to get lost in the calculations, and get outside and get moving!

Jenn Jenkins

Avid Jogger, Jogging Stroller Expert, and Your Source for Exercise Information

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