Heart Health – How hard do you need to workout?

To achieve health benefits, it is recommended that we include 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity 5 days each week. Well, what exactly is considered moderate intensity?

San Diego State University recently studied the effect of different exercise intensity levels to determine how fast someone needs to walk to be exercising at a moderate intensity level. Researchers monitored cardiac exertion of walking at different rates in 97 healthy adults on a treadmill. It was determined that a moderate intensity level is equal to 3 METs, which is a measurement of the bodies oxygen needs. This converted to 92-102 steps per minute for men and 91-115 steps per minute for women.

By grabbing a pedometer and watch on your next walk, you can check to see if you are hitting the goal of ~100 steps per minute to reap the health benefits. And if not, you’ll know you need to increase your speed!

All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
Be Heart Healthy and Lose Weight