Moderate Exercise vs. Vigorous Exercise
Are you getting at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise a week? If not, you’re not alone. Only about one in five American adults are meeting these exercise requirements recommended by the American Heart Association. Being more active is shown to help people feel, think and sleep better, while maintaining a healthy weight.
What is moderate exercise?
• You can determine what moderate exercise is by tapping into how you feel while moving. Moderate exercise feels ‘somewhat hard but doable’. Some signs of this include your breath quickening, heart rate increasing, but you are not out of breath while performing the exercise. With moderate exercise you can develop a light sweat after exercising at this intensity for 10 minutes.
• Some examples of moderate exercise include:
Brisk walking, 2.5- 4 MPH
Lawn Mowing
Bicycling effort, 10-12 MPH
Playing tennis doubles
What is Vigorous Exercise?
• You can also determine what vigorous exercise is by tapping into how you feel while moving. Vigorous exercise feels ‘challenging’. Some signs of this include deeper breathing, rapid heart rate, and feeling out of breath during and after performing the exercise. With vigorous exercise increasing your heart rate, you can expect to produce sweat quicker than when performing moderate exercise.
• Some examples of moderate exercise include:
Jogging at 6 MPH or higher
Hiking
Bicycling effort, 14-16 MPH
Playing tennis singles
*Remember any amount of movement is better than none! Whether it’s walking, swimming, or jogging, you can break your movement up into short bursts throughout the day. Taking a walk for five or ten minutes throughout the day can add up. Being more active helps benefit everyone and helps us live longer, healthier lives.
