- How hard you work is directly related to how many calories you burn
- Raising intensity is the best way to burn more calories when you're short on time.
- It's an easy part of your workout to change--all you do is work harder
- It's easy to monitor with a heart rate monitor or perceived exertion scale
So how hard should you work? That depends on how long you have to exercise. You want to work at an intensity you can maintain for the length of your workout.
- In an hour-long workout, keep intensity low so you won't wear yourself out.
- In shorter workouts, raise the intensity since you're working out for a shorter period of time.
- You can vary the intensity of some workouts with interval training to burn more calories
- Make sure you can carry on a conversation. If you can't talk, you're working too hard.
- Learn easy ways to monitor your intensity
NOTE: The target heart rate calculation is just a GUIDELINE--not gospel. If the calculator says your max heart rate is 120 beats per minute and you're not even sweating, please feel free to go faster. Really, I can't believe I have to explain these things but I always, always do. You know your body way better than an internet calculator, right? Right.
