How to judge whether the intensity of exercise is enough

Some people go in and out of the gym every day, saying they are exercising, but after a few months there is no visible effect from the exercise. This shows everyone a problem, that is, the intensity of exercise is not enough. Even if you exercise every day, it will be useless if the intensity is not reached. However, how do you judge whether the intensity of exercise is sufficient? Here are some signs that your workout may not be as intense as it should be.

1. Intentionally or unintentionally ignoring heart rate

Heart rate monitoring is the best way to measure exercise intensity. Whether you're doing high-intensity interval training or working out for endurance on a cardio machine, your heart rate should be elevated by 75 percent, and eventually by 100 percent, above the upper limit of normal. (To roughly estimate the upper limit of your normal heart rate, subtract your age from 220.)

2. No pain at all

No soreness, no muscle. Proper exercise can cause microscopic damage to muscles, but once they adapt, they will repair themselves and become stronger. In other words, you should feel a little sore the day after your workout. If not, it means the intensity was not high enough and your muscles were not stimulated enough.

3. The intensity of exercise remains unchanged

If you no longer feel sore or tired, it's time to increase the intensity of your workouts, or increase the time and number of reps at the same intensity. If you are doing aerobic exercise, try to run faster and try changing the pace and interval running. The reason is that if you keep doing the same thing, your body won't be challenged enough to make changes. The further you go, the more effort you have to put in to make the same progress.

When you exercise, it is best to measure your heart rate. If you are not even aware of this, it is difficult to estimate whether you have reached the intensity of exercise. Moreover, if you don’t feel any soreness after exercising, it is a waste of time. Therefore, it is necessary to control the intensity of exercise.