I am having a hard time determing what is low and what is moderate exercise for ww.

If I walk.. at a pretty good pace (for me, that is) - and it's really hot - (even in the early morning ) I work up a good sweat... is it low or moderate?

Thanks for any help.

Dana

Intensity is not about how hot it is outside, nor is it about how much you are sweating. It's about how hard your heart is beating. Given that, here's a quick gauge of intensity, as I'm assuming you don't use a heartrate monitor:

low--you're comfortable and your heart is not beating noticably
moderate--you can feel your heartbeat but it's not pounding, and you can continue to exercise without any problems
heavy--your heart is pounding noticably and you doubt whether you will be able to continue at this pace

Hope it helps!

Mousie.. what you said made perfect sense! Thank You
I wonder if there is a guide for regular heart hearts (resting), light excerise, moderate, and intense. I don't usually eat these bonus points but it would be nice to know what I should be at resting and exercising.
Has anyone heard of a pedometer that measures your heart rate while exercising?

Dana

Hi Slimdown,

Let's see if this will help you.

Your heart rate determines your work out intensity. It is important to work hard enough to strengthen your heart and burn those calories but you don't want to work so hard that you put yourself at risk. So with that said, you can check your heart rate easily by counting your carotid (neck) or radial (wrist) pulse.

Your target heart rate for any aerobic exercise should be between fifty and eighty percent of your maximum heart rate. Here is the formula I use for target heart rate:

220 minus Age = Maximum heart rate
times 50% to 80% = target heart rate

Example for a fifty year old (me ) in good health
220 - 50 = 170 (maxium heart rate) beats per minute
X 65% = 110 (Target heart rate) that's 110 beats per minute

If you are just beginning an exercise program it is recommended that you shoot for 50% of maximum heart rate. Take it slower if you are really out of condition.

Remember that the rate at which you exercise should be free of pain, if it is too exhausting and hurts then you must adjust things until you condition yourself. Also, ideally you should be able to exercise at your target heart rate and be able to talk without huffing and puffing.

I hope this helps and Good Luck!~~~~~~~Meg

thanks meg!! that really helps a lot!

Dana

Here is a good way to judge also:

1) low - you can sing

2) moderate - you can talk but cannot sign

3) high - you have to take deep breaths to talk