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Get
fit exercises
Monitoring
Exercise Intensity
You
want to get fit. You want to look good. And you
want to stay healthy. But how hard are you going
to have to exercise to achieve those things?
To
reap the most cardiovascular benefits from your
workout, it is necessary to exercise within a
recommended intensity range. In some respects,
gauging and monitoring exercise intensity can
be a difficult task.
Heart-rate
assessment is a commonly used method for monitoring
exercise intensity. For some, however, this method
can be difficult to master, particularly during
exercise.
One
of the easiest ways for monitoring exercise intensity
is to rate perceived exertion (RPE). Whether you
walk, jog, bicycle, bench step, climb stairs or
perform low-impact aerobics, your exercise intensity
should be within a range of comfort.
By
becoming familiar with the RPE scale, you can
continually assess your exercise intensity and
ensure a level of exertion that is comfortable.
Why
use RPE?
Monitoring
exercise intensity with the RPE scale is beneficial
because:
1.
It provides a double-check on heart rate, especially
when the target heart-rate zone is estimated from
age.
2.
Assessing RPE can be performed without stopping
to ''check'' it, as is necessary with heart-rate
monitoring.
3.
There is no equipment you can buy to accurately
describe your perception of intensity (whereas
heart-rate monitors can be expensive for accurate
pulse count).
An
increase in exercise intensity is directly related
to elevation in exercise heart rate and other
metabolic processes. Consequently, RPE can be
used alone or together with heart rate when monitoring
exercise intensity.
During
aerobic activities, perceived effort is a combination
of sensory input from muscles, joints, breathing
rate and heart rate. By using the RPE scale, you
can more accurately ''describe'' your sensation
of effort when exercising and gauge how hard you
are working. Plus, RPE helps you evaluate your
internal comfort zone, or ''how you feel'' during
the exercise session, with respect to the normal
sensation of exertion, breathing, and even discomfort.
How
many times have you exercised and not felt comfortable,
or seemed to be extending beyond your comfortable
exertion level? The use of your perceived exertion
is helpful in monitoring exercise intensity in
order to avoid uncomfortable exercise sessions.
How
to use RPE
Perceived
exertion is assessed by use of a 0-to-10 chart
to rate the feelings caused by your exertion.
For example, quietly sitting in a chair would
have a rating of 0. Adding a gentle waving of
your arms might increase the effort rating to
0.5. Walking at a pace that you feel is moderate
would be given a rating of 3.
Remember,
the rating of your exertion should be completely
independent of the pace you think you are walking;
it is dependent solely on the feelings caused
by the exertion. Increase the pace to a run and
add a hill and you could work your way up to a
10 on the scale.
The
recommended RPE range for most people is usually
between 3 (moderate) and 5 (strong).
Who
uses RPE?
Regardless of fitness or training, anyone can
use perceived exertion to effectively gauge and
monitoring exercise intensity.
Whether
you are new to aerobic exercise, or a fitness
enthusiast, use the RPE scale to become familiar
with your perception and description of exercise
effort. Using RPE, your exercise sessions will
be more effective and more enjoyable.
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