How Hard Should I Workout?
by Kimberly Duren, MS
Do these sound familiar:
"No Pain. No Gain."
"If you're not sweating. You're not working."
"You're not working unless your heart rate is above (input the number you heard here) "
I've heard them all but none of these may be the correct training guidelines for you.
"No Pain. No Gain."
"If you're not sweating. You're not working."
"You're not working unless your heart rate is above (input the number you heard here) "
I've heard them all but none of these may be the correct training guidelines for you.
No Pain. No Gain. Pain is a symptom, a warning sign of an present injury or possible future injury if the exercise is continued. Physiologically, it is the transmission of information through nerves about damaged or potential damage to parts of the body. Repetitive movements that cause pain or one's that increase your pain level can cause irreversible damage and should not be a guideline when it comes to exercise. Soreness or aching may be normal when you start exercising or you change your exercise routine. When you start to feel less muscle soreness with your exercise (especially strength training), it is a clue that the exercise is getting easier and it may be time to change your routine. A little soreness is fine but extreme soreness that last more than 3 days is a sign that you should contact your doctor. You should never feel sharp or a pressure sensations during or after the exercise session. If you do stop the exercise.
If you're not sweating. You're not working. When your body temperature increases, your body produces sweat to help cool itself off. A number of factors affect your ability to sweat One factor is genetic. If the people in your family sweat a lot, then there is a good chance you will be a heavy sweater. Another is gender, men tend to sweat more women. Your environment can also affect how hard you sweat. Hot and humid environments lead to an increase in sweat. Age is also a factor that affects your ability to sweat. The younger you are the more you sweat. Stress also increases your sweat rate. Sweat is not always a sign that someone is working hard. We're not all the same, we all sweat differently. So you can't go by your sweat rate to determine your exercise intensity.
What should my heart rate be when I work out? There are a number of equations that can be used to help determine heart rate range during exercise according to age. The problem with the equations is that they assume that one size fits all. That is not always true. During exercise, your heart rate and breathing increase to meet the demand of the activity. The issue is that not everyone's heart rate increases the same amount. This could be do to a number of factors like environment, fitness level, hydration, illness, medication, etc. A stress test is one of the most accurate ways to determine your exact heart rate range as well as how your heart handles stress. Unfortunately, they are rarely performed before starting an exercise routine.
So how hard should I work during exercise. The goal is moderate intensity exercise 150 to 300 minutes/ week (at least 30 minutes 5 days of week) or vigorous exercise 75 minutes/ week (20 minutes 3 days a week). Use the scale below to determine your intensity level. The goal is a rating of 4-5 for 30 minutes moderate intensity (you can say the alphabet but you cannot the sing) or a rating of 6-7 for 20 minutes (you can only say short sentences before taking a breath).
