Intensity! How Tough Should your Aerobics Workout Be?

An aerobics workout is one that gets your heart rate up for a period of time. It is great for losing weight and staying healthy because these workouts strengthen your heart, improve your breathing capacity as well as help you burn those excess fats.

However, many people do not know or understand how to do an aerobics workout in order to best maximize the results. Intensity is a very important aspect of any aerobics workout or training.

To understand how to use intensity in your workout or training, it is important to grasp the concept of lactate threshold. The level of intensity at which lactate is built up is called lactate threshold. By training or working out at near lactate threshold levels, this will improve the body’s ability to process lactate while also teaching the muscles to conserve glycogen and glucose fuel sources. This, in turn, increases your endurance. The muscles’ contractile mechanism also becomes more resistant to fatigue.

The next question most people will then ask is how will I know my lactate threshold (LT) level so that I can workout optimally? Unfortunately, your LT remains, at best, an estimate even when it is determined by scientists in the lab. One reason for this is that LT is a moving target. It drifts down during workouts due to weariness and can vary on a day to day basis due to fatigue, inadequate diet or environmental factors.

One way in this modern day and age to measure intensity is through the use of heart rate monitors.

However, as a guide if you want to get the most out of your aerobics workout, make sure that you follow these three rules.

Firstly, you have to find your personal optimal intensity. If you work out too intensely, you may injure yourself or will not see results. However, if you don’t work out intensely enough, you will not lose any weight or grow stronger. Therefore, you have to work with a program that has just the right intensity for you. For example, when working with weights, make sure that the weights used make the workout hard, but not impossible. Remember also that you will need to re-work the intensity of your workout as your tolerance and endurance increases, so readjust your routine every week or two according to your increased strength and fitness.

If you are not using weights and instead doing a purely aerobic workout, then intensity may exceed LT for short repeated intervals only.

The second rule is to make sure your workout is safe. Over training is a huge problem because it puts you and those around you in danger. When you under train, you will see no result. It might then push you to increase your aerobic workout intensity. However if you overdo it you can possibly injure yourself. If you are training properly, only your muscles should be sore not your joints. Never do an intense exercise in which you cannot control your form or breathing. Instead, take breaks and use lower weights or speed to get back on track. This method will help you get more out of your workout. In case you are injured during a workout, call for help immediately from those around you. It is a good idea to work out with a partner or to at least let someone know that you’re working out in case anything should happen to you.

Lastly, build up the intensity of your workout slowly in gradations. Be patient. Do not expect to be able to run the Boston marathon within one month of training! Building up slowly will help prevent injury as you gradually get fitter and stronger.