Some think that extreme sweat, soreness & even throwing up are signs of a successful workout. There are still some coaches/trainers who teach this way. Of course we should challenge ourselves, but feeling sick & completely drained afterwards is not part of the challenge. Exercise should build us up, make us feel good & refreshed, not sick, dehydrated or unable to walk.
One way to measure how hard you are working is your heart rate. First you must know what your resting heart rate is, what your target heart rate is & what your maximum heart rate should be. Trainers who use heart rate as a tool, usually have some type of electronic device to measure it, not like the ‘old days’ when we’d test on our neck or wrists. You can search for target & max heart rate charts; these can still be found in some gyms & other exercise facilities (and on the internet too of course!).
Another way of measurement is RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion). This is what you perceive your exertion rate to be… how hard do you feel like you’re working? On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being so easy you could do it in your sleep & 10 being so hard you think you’re going to die. So working at a 6 or 7 on a regular consistency would be ideal. Working below that is quite good for your less intense or rest days & working an 8 no more than once or twice a week. Working above an 8 is when you start hitting that danger zone. Who wants to feel like they’re going to die? It’s not necessary or healthy remember, to feel like you are nauseous or can’t feel your limbs. RPE scales vary, according to the chart below, working at a 6 or 7 would be ideal for your ‘regular’ days.
Rate of Perceived Exertion:
#10 – I’m dying.
#9 – I will die soon!
#8 – I’m grunting instead of talking & can only keep up this pace for a short time.
#7 – I can still talk but don’t want to & I’m sweating like a horse!
#6 – I’m really sweating now, slightly breathless & can still talk.
#5 – I’m starting to get slightly uncomfortable, sweating more but can still talk.
#4 – I’m sweating a bit, feeling good & can carry out a conversation comfortably.
#3 – I’m still comfortable but breathing a little harder.
#2 – I’m comfortable & can do this all day long.
#1 – I’m a couch potatoe.
The Talk Test is the simplest way to measure how hard we’re working. Working hard is when you can talk while feeling breathless but you cannot carry on a conversation. If you are conversing easily & breathing easily, you might want to pick up the pace a bit. You don’t want to lose control of your breathing – that is a topic for another day.
It’s not no pain, no gain, nor is it go hard or go home. Not getting sufficient rest & recovery can become very dangerous, even to the point of being life threatening. So if you find that you are working so hard that you never want to do it again, you need to slow down or decrease the load. You want to be able to enjoy what you do while working hard enough to feel good & come back for some more, not just for a day or week or month or even a year… you want to be able to be physically active for the rest of your life. So train for life, not for tomorrow only.
Practice makes Permanent. Move more to feel better.
For more info or if you have questions, feel free to email me.
kettlebellkandice@gmail.com