Gauging intensity by how you feel

Here are some clues to help you judge your exercise intensity.

Moderate exercise intensity

Moderate activity feels somewhat hard. Here are clues that your exercise intensity is at a moderate level:

Your breathing quickens, but you're not out of breath.
You start to lightly sweat after about 10 minutes of activity.
You can talk to someone, but you can't sing.

Vigorous exercise intensity

Vigorous activity feels challenging. Here are clues that your exercise intensity is at a vigorous level:

Your breathing is deep and rapid.
You start to sweat after only a few minutes of activity.
You can't say more than a few words without pausing for breath.

Overexerting yourself

Beware of pushing yourself too hard too often. If you are short of breath, are in pain or can't work out as long as you'd planned, your exercise intensity is probably higher than your fitness level allows. Back off a bit and gradually build intensity.

Mayo Clinic Minute: How to hit your target heart rate

Regular exercise can make your heart stronger and more efficient.

"Well, we want that target heart rate range. And that means we're working hard enough that our heart is getting beneficial activity and beneficial exercise."

Dr. Ed Laskowski, co-director of Mayo Clinic Sports Medicine, says you should get about 30 minutes of moderate activity at least five days a week.

"And moderate is something that you're — you're breathing kind of hard, but you can still hold a conversation."

That should get your heart rate up to the target range, and studies show that the level of exertion we feel correlates quite well with our heart rate.

"We're getting good blood flow. We're training our heart muscle to work more efficiently, and … actually strengthening it. So if we … don't do that — if we're doing something too light — we won't get as much of the beneficial effect."

Dr. Laskowski says the actual numbers aren't as important as the effects.

"As long as we feel we're working moderately hard and … we're getting some good activity, we're doing good things for ourself."

For the Mayo Clinic News Network, I'm Ian Roth.