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How Hard Do You Need to Push? ..............................................................

To reap the benefits of cardio exercise, how much huffing and puffing do you

need to do? Not as much as you probably think. Sure, you won’t benefit much

from walking on the treadmill at the same pace you stroll down the grocery

store aisles; they don’t call it working out for nothing. On the other hand,

exercising too hard can lead to injury and make you more susceptible to

colds and infections; plus, you may get so burned out that you want to set

fire to your stationary bike. Also, the faster you go, the less time you can

keep up the exercise. Depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, you

may gain just as much, if not more, from slowing things down and going farther.

To get fit and stay healthy, you need to find the middle ground: a moderate,

or aerobic, pace. You can find this middle ground in a number of different ways.

Some methods of gauging your intensity are extremely simple, and some

require a foray into arithmetic. This section looks at three popular ways to

monitor your intensity.

The talk test .......................................................................................

The simplest way to monitor how hard you’re working is to talk. You should

be able to carry on a conversation while you’re exercising. If you’re so out of

breath that you can’t even string together the words “Help me, Mommy!” you

need to slow down. On the other hand, if you’re able to belt out “Livin’ La

Vida Loca” at the top of your lungs, that’s a pretty big clue you need to pick

up the pace. Basically, you should feel like you’re working, but not so hard

that you feel like your lungs are about to explode.

Perceived exertion ............................................................................

If you’re the type of person who needs more precision in life than the talk test

offers, you may like the so-called perceived exertionmethod of gauging inten-

sity. This method uses a numerical scale, typically from 1 to 10, that corre-

sponds to how hard you feel you’re working — the rate at which you perceive

that you’re exerting yourself.

An activity rated 1 on a perceived exertion scale would be something that you

feel you could do forever, like sit in bed and watch Chariots of Fire.A 10 repre-

sents all-out effort, like the last few feet of an uphill sprint, about 20 seconds

before your legs buckle. Your typical workout intensity should fall somewhere

between 5 and 8. To decide on a number, pay attention to how hard you’re

108 Part III: Getting to the Heart of the Matter