Exercise intensity matters and can help you avoid injuries

We are fully emersed in the holiday season and you may already be thinking about your New Year’s resolutions! Did you know that more than 25% of Americans post fitness related goals on social media? Unfortunately, many people begin their workouts at a level in which they are not ready and end up with injuries galore. And, if we are being honest and injury is a deflating process and a large number of people do not return to their fitness goals after being injured.

Of course, you are excited to jumpstart your New Year’s workouts, but remember to not overdo it. Many people end up with overuse injuries because they begin to train at a level that is higher than what they are ready. If you have not been doing push-ups, you shouldn’t try to immediately do 100 push-ups during your first workout. And, you probably shouldn’t try to run that 5k if you haven’t even run a mile since PE in school. Start small and work your way up. Depending on your starting fitness level, that will determine how intense you should start. Here are some ways to gauge your intensity level.

So, here are a few ways to monitor your training intensity so that you can know when your body is saying a break is needed. If you are working with any type of trainer, it is important that you communicate with them how you are feeling, and equally important that they have the knowledge of when to make modifications to help avoid unnecessary overuse injuries due to training errors.

Heart Rate

There are various ways to monitor your heart rate and one of the most common ways are typically found in the smart device that you may already be wearing. A lot of these devices have heart rate monitors. It may not be completely accurate, but it can typically give you a close measurement. It is important to know your resting heart rate as well. Most people fall between 60 to 100 beats per minute (bpm) for their heart rate. If you are higher than 100 at rest, please speak with your physician. Also, if you are lower than 50 beats per minute and are not a trained endurance athlete it is advised that you speak with your physician as well.

Another way to measure your heart rate is by checking your pulse. The easiest pulses to check during exercise are your radial pulse (at the wrist) and your carotid pulse (at your neck). While checking your pulse, you need to watch the clock and can either count the beat for a full 60 seconds, 30 seconds and double the number of beats, or 15 seconds and multiply by four. 60 seconds will give you the most accurate measurement when using this method.

Now that you know how to check your heart rate, you still need more information as to actually determine your level of exertion during exercise. Typically, when you are beginning to exercise and have not developed a base, you want to begin around 50% of your max target heart rate. As you begin to become better conditioned with activities, you can increase your percentage. You can use the equation to determine your max target heart rate. Please note, that this max target heart rate is just a rough estimate and some may need a bit lower and others can tolerate one that is higher.

220-current age= max target heart rate

Rate of Perceived Exertion Scale

One of the most common Rate of Perceived Exertion scales is the Borg Scale. This scale begins with 6 (“no exertion”) and goes up to 20 (“maximal exertion”). This scale works best if you can visually see it while you are exercising as the starting point for the number system can seem a bit confusing. Because of the confusion that it can cause, many people rather use the Modified Borg Scale that begins with 0 and ends with 10.

As a general recommendation, when you are performing an activity that requires higher level of exertion, you will be performing this for a shorter duration of time when compared to an activity that requires a lower level of exertion. Also, with high levels of exertion, longer rest periods are indicated prior to continuing to allow for adequate recovery.

Talk Test

The talk test is exactly as it sounds. You assess your ability to talk or hold a conversation while exercising. If you are able to hold a normal conversation without changes in your breath, then you are likely exerting little to no effort with the activity. If you are bit out of breath while talking, but still able to continue speaking, you are exerting a moderate level. The more challenging it becomes to talk while performing an exercise, the more likely you are exerting more effort.

Just as mentioned before, the amount of effort you are exerting dictates how long you can perform a particular activity and also will influence the length of time in which you take a break prior to resuming.

Now that you have a basic understanding of this information, assess your baseline prior to engaging in activities. Find out your average resting heart rate so that way you can monitor how your heart rate responds to activities. Also, use the Borg Scale or the modified scale, to help you determine your perception of certain activities. If you are unsure, then use the talk test to help you better gauge your response. Knowing this basic information can help you and your trainer plan your upcoming workout and exercises. And, be sure you plan for rest and recovery days as you develop your workout plan. Lack of rest is another reason why people end up with overuse injuries. (Don’t worry, we’ll save that topic for another day.)