How hard do I work when I exercise? Borg RPE scale, the talk test and the target heart rate range

Clients often ask me “How hard am I supposed to work when I do cardio?” Essentially, this refers to the intensity of the training. The harder you work, the more calories you’ll burn and the faster you’ll lose weight and reach your goals. There are three main ways to determine how hard to work, including the Borg RPE scale, the talk test, and the target heart rate range.

1. Follow the Borg RPE scale. This is a scale that goes from 0 to 10 depending on the difficulty or ease with which you exercise. Zero is equivalent to sitting on a chair, while ten is something very difficult and can only be maintained for a short period of time, such as a few minutes. Typically you should fall somewhere between a 4 and a 6 to get the most benefit from your training.

0 – Nothing at all

0.5 – Barely noticeable

1 – Very light

2 – Light

3 – Moderate

4 – Something Heavy

5 – Heavy

6

7 – Very heavy

8

9

10 – Very, very heavy

2. Try the speaking test. You want to get to a point where talking is a little difficult while exercising, but it can still be done. If talking is a piece of cake, pick up the pace or if you have slurred speech and can’t talk even if you try, then you need to slow down until you can.

3. Determine your target heart rate range. Whether you count yourself or use a monitor, your pulse rate can be a great measure of intensity. You want to keep your target heart rate range between 65 and 85% of your maximum heart rate.

To determine your maximum heart rate, use this formula:

220 – Your age

Once you have that number, multiply it by 0.65 and by 0.85 to get your target heart rate range. This number gives you the beats per minute you should expect to reach a fat burning intensity. Please note that this is an estimate and that some medications can affect your pulse.

Using the Borg RPE scale, the talk test, and your target heart rate range, you should be able to determine how hard to work when you exercise so your workouts are effective and burn those calories so you can lose weight and get healthier. .