How to measure level of effort

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vmdave
vmdave Posts: 64 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
A lot of exercises you enter in MFP ask you the effort you are putting in . And while my effort that I am doing might be light for some, for a guy with no muscle and pure flab it is definitely a major effort. How do I judge what they mean?

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  • cheshirecatastrophe
    cheshirecatastrophe Posts: 1,395 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I have this question, too.

    The guidelines I have found promote the "talk test." If you can sing, it's light intensity. If you can talk somewhat comfortably but not sing, it is moderate intensity. If you can't carry on a conversation without frequently pausing for breath, or if taking a few swigs of water gets you out of breath, it's vigorous. You can probably judge for yourself what "very vigorous" feels like.

    There is also the perceived exertion idea. Moderate intensity is what you feel is around 11-14 out of 20, for YOU. Vigorous intensity is more up around 17-18 out of 20. I don't know what happens if you think you're pushing at 15. :p

    I don't know for sure that's what the studies from which MFP takes its number use, but that's what is out there.
  • chaitrex
    chaitrex Posts: 94 Member
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    For this reason, I just pick light light for everything. I figure it's better safe than sorry. For example, if I do ten minutes of jumping/running around for cardio, and then alternate free weights, calisthenics, with spurts of cardio thrown in HIIT style, I just log it as mild/moderate effort calisthenics. I figure it's better to be modest in these cases.
    I used to go jogging/running/power walking and would just log the whole thing as walking 3.5/4.0, too. Agreed, it's very tricky.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    edited February 2015
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    You could use something like the RPE chart as a guideline. No way to know how that compares to MFP's entries, but at least it gives you something more consistent to "rate" your own effort by.

    RPE.jpg
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
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    I do walk/jog/run comparisons. Light is how I feel walking, Moderate how I feel at a jog and vigorous would be like sprinting down the block.
  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    Are you talking about cardio or strength training?
  • vmdave
    vmdave Posts: 64 Member
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    DopeItUp wrote: »
    Are you talking about cardio or strength training?

    I am talking Cardio, strength training I go by the max I cant do and work my way down as being my measuring stick.

    I consider half my max as moderate and work my way up.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,867 Member
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    It's difficult to accurately determine when you're out of shape. I remember when I was out of shape, everything felt like it was hard and vigorous effort. Just keep in mind that these descriptors generally assume a reasonable level of fitness...so when they say "vigorous" it usually means "vigorous" for someone who is reasonably fit. By that standard, most of what I was doing early on was light to moderate at the most.

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