Intensity – one of the major factors that drives change

New photo by Joey Burr / Google Photos

Intensity – how hard you are actually working at any given time.

Most of our workouts for conditioning or designed to be done at a higher level of intensity – what does this mean?

  • Talk Test: You shouldn’t be able to say more then 3-5 words at once before stopping for breath. If you are holding conversations during your work phases, you are probably not working hard enough.
  • Heart Rate: You should be working between 80-90% of your max heart rate during exercise. When you are recovering and it starts to dip below 80%, hit the road again. Work, rest, work, rest…
    • As a 26 year old male myself, I want to keep my heart rate between 155 and 174 (for the most part).
    • The more fit you are, you can actually push harder. Looking at data from my Suunto watch, my heart rate is usually between 165 and 189 during exercise.
    • How to calculate max heart rate: https://www.active.com/fitness/calculators/heartrate
  • Fatigue: You should be tired. Most of our workouts each week (5-6) are designed to kick your ass. 1-2 workouts per week we use as back off to recover, especially for those who take advantage of coming 4+ days of the week.
New photo by Joey Burr / Google Photos

Why do we work at a high intensity level? Its pretty simple. We burn more calories in a shorter time, we get more overall work in as well as ramp up our EPOC levels (Post exercise oxygen consumption =  more calories burned throughout the day).

Those who do LSD (not the drug, long slow duration exercise) mainly are spending more time and, for the most part, burning far less calories. YES – doing longer duration exercise occasionally (1x per week or two) is great for overall health, but many studies and from my professional experience (training over 400 people under my brand in 3 years as well as the many athletes in college), Higher Intensity work shows and gives better results. LSD  also do not have as high of an EPOC to burn throughout the day.

New photo by Joey Burr / Google Photos

There is a reason why I say push then rest what you need – we want to keep your heart rate high, let you recover and push again!

As always – there are many ways to skin a cat (as the saying goes). Exercise is an ever-evolving scene. This is how we train and many train other ways! Find something you enjoy doing and make it a lifestyle, not a fad!