The official definition of Intensity refers to how fast / effort wise you are going compared to maximum effort. The most intense exercise is the shortest hardest effort you can do. The most painful exercise is not usually the most intense, e.g. a 100m sprint is very intense exercise (you run at maximum velocity) yet is not very painful or tiring. A 10km race is much lower intensity (maybe 40% maximum velocity) yet will hurt much more. Most people refer to intensity as how hard they are pushing it compared to maximum effort and for how long. It is this view of intensity and the belief that it must be pushed that causes most people to have problems.
Many people struggle with aerobic exercise because it hurts too much or they are unable to perform at a set intensity they were aiming for, e.g. level 8, speed 10 km/h etc. This is using outside data to determine how you exercise. It is far more beneficial to use your internal measure for guiding your exercise session.
To gauge how hard to do exercise you should use the rate of perceived exertion scale (RPE). This is a subjective measure you ask yourself about how hard the exercise feels, from easy to very hard. Almost all people who struggle with running or aerobic exercise are unable to match their pacing to their RPE effort level. Once you can do this then it all becomes much easier.
The reality is you cannot do more than your best when it comes to exercise. If you understand also that the body in its nature will vary greatly in how it performs from day to day then it only makes sense to use how you feel as a guide for what you do and not some pre set unit of measurement on a training plan.
The first step of using your body to guide your exercise is to use the RPE scale.
RPE scale:
Simply ask yourself every couple of minutes –
Where am I on the 0 -20 scale??
Why am I this number??
20 About to collapse the exercise is so hard, gasping for breath,
15 Hard effort, could do 3-5 minutes max, breathing deeply.
10 Comfortable, could do 15 mins at this level, breathing more deeply than usual
5 Easy, could do 30 minutes at this level, very slightly out of breath
0 At home watching telly with the feet up.
Once you have your score you can either increase the exercise intensity if too low or reduce it if is too high.The aim is to build up to be able to do more exercise at the higher exercise intensities. Please note you DO NOT need to go into the 17 – 20 end of the scale, you are not an Olympic athlete just yet, so you do not need to train like them. Though even Olympic athletes rarely go into such ends of intensity. What happens in reality is that your interpretation of what is a 15 out of 20 changes so it takes more work and effort before you gauge it as hard after training for a few months than before.
It is also important to know why it is a certain level on the scale. A 15 out of 20 because you are hot and out of breath is good, a 15 out of 20 because your knee hurts is not a good pain and you should stop exercising to instead use a foam roller or similar.
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