Exercise intensity levels

[JackieO]

Anyone care to offer an opinion as to how these Weight Watcher-defined activity intensity levels compare to target heart rates (or "zone")??

Low: You can talk or sing; your breathing is regular and you are not sweating.

Moderate: You can talk, but you can't sing. You breathe often and deeply and begin sweating after 10 minutes.

High: You can talk briefly, but you can't sing. You breathe rapidly and deeply and begin sweating after 3 - 5 minutes.

For instance, if you were exercising between 75 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate, would you consider that moderate or high?

Thanks for any insight.

Jackie

[wallycat]

Not exactly a direct answer but what I would do is go by how it made me feel.
I never check my heart rate anymore, I want to "glisten" and feel like I'm revving up my heart but want to be able to talk and not gasp for air.
If you're checking your heart rate, I'd suggest simply comparing it to how it makes you feel. Once you get more conditioned, even at the same heart rate level, you'll drop in the WW score simply because your body is more adapted to that exercise.
Make sense??
Just my 2 cents worth and I am NOT a trainer :D

[SusanMac]

I workout using a HRM, so can take a stab. 75-80% is definitely not high. I'd say moderate-high.

My guess of their definitions would be:
Low is under 65%
Moderate is 65-85%
High is 85% or above

FWIW, I keep aerobic workouts under 75%, and speed/anaerobic/high intensity workouts at 90%+.

[JackieO]

Thanks for the feedback.

I'm thinking that 75-80 percent seemed high for me because it's higher than I'm used to. :o I usually get into the 65-70 percent zone, but I'm usually reading a magazine or watching tv when I'm on a machine, which is how I get most of my aerobic exercise.

I'm going back to listening to my body, and I'll just record "moderate" for my activity level and leave it at that.