What Is Moderate Intensity Exercise Exactly?

If you’re working on optimizing your health, you’re probably aware of the standard recommendation that adults get 150 minutes (two hours and 30 minutes) of moderate intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes (an hour and 15 minutes) of vigorous exercise per week. Issued by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, these guidelines are considered the gold standard by groups including the American Heart Association, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization. 

But how exactly do you know if what you're doing counts as moderate intensity exercise? If you’re wondering how to define it and how to fit it into your life, you’re in the right place. We talked to Dr. Charlotte Weidenbach, a Peloton instructor, to demystify all your moderate intensity exercise questions. 

Benefits of Moderate Intensity Exercise

Research shows that meeting the suggested exercise minimums can decrease your risk of cardiovascular issues including heart disease, hypertension, and stroke, as well as cancer and type two diabetes. And that’s just the beginning. Data also suggests that meeting the recommended activity guidelines supports optimum cognition and mental health, can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and may decrease your fall risk as you age. 

In addition to the health benefits you can get from moderate intensity exercises, it can also be a fun and safe way to turbocharge your fitness. Because you don’t have to go all out (or even close to it) during a session, you’re likely to finish your workout invigorated, rather than exhausted. And because it’s not too intense, you can recover relatively quickly—and stay motivated to complete your next session. 

According to Dr. Charlotte, we tend to underestimate the power of moderate intensity training. “We all know low intensity is great for recovery and high intensity really makes everything work. But the aerobic base—that is the capacity to use oxygen for energy production—which we create in moderate intensity sessions, is the must-have base for everyone,” particularly before getting into high intensity training, she explains. 

Moderate intensity training has mental benefits too. Knowing you don’t have to approach your physical limits can make your workouts a lot less intimidating—which increases your chances of staying consistent with your plan. 

What Exactly Is Moderate Intensity Exercise? 

The US Department of Health and Human Services suggests thinking of moderate intensity exercise as a medium effort level, or a 5 or 6 on a perceived exertion scale of 0 to 10. 

But if you feel like that’s too vague, you’re certainly not alone. “Moderate intensity is a very broad term and often misunderstood or interpreted differently,” Dr. Charlotte says. Instead, she explains, it can be helpful to view low intensity exercise as a walk, whereas moderate is a brisk walk or slow jog, depending on your fitness level.

If you exercise with a heart rate monitor, Dr. Charlotte recommends shooting for 60 to 80 percent of your max, which is equivalent to heart rate zones 2 and 3 in a Peloton class (more on that in a second). If you don’t train with a heart rate monitor, pay close attention to how you feel instead. 

“Moderate intensity is where you can still talk (in theory), but conversation starts to stop and sentences get shorter,” Dr. Charlotte explains. So you might be able to practice a speech while you’re still in the low-intensity zone, but once you’re in the moderate zone, you’re only speaking a few words at a time. “Singing along in a Peloton class isn't possible anymore, for example,” Dr. Charlotte says.

Still not sure if you’re in a moderate effort? “If you feel like you're working, sweating, could definitely go harder but also lower in your effort and you could last in this intensity for a while, you're probably working out in the moderate range,” Dr. Charlotte says.

All of that said, it’s important to take your current fitness level into account. For example, if you’re brand new to fitness, have joint problems, or have underlying health conditions, you can achieve your moderate intensity workout goals at 50 to 70 percent of your max heart rate, according to Dr. Charlotte.

What Counts as Moderate Exercise?

The criteria for moderate exercise is actually pretty simple. In short, it’s any activity that keeps your heart rate consistently within the target range. That could include: 

Whatever you do, you can always speed up, slow down, or even take a break if that’s what you need to do to keep your heart rate from dipping too low or spiking too high. And while it’s ideal to stay in the moderate zone for as much of the workout as you can, don’t stress if you spend a few minutes outside of it; you’ll still get plenty of the benefits. 

What Doesn’t Count

The truth is, nearly any activity can count as moderate intensity exercise, as long as you focus on staying in the moderate zone. But here are a few things to avoid:

Going Too Hard

It's not uncommon for people to go too hard right out of the gate and then be unable to complete the workout, Dr. Charlotte says. Or sometimes people feel like they’re not tired enough so they end up increasing the intensity more than they should. Either approach could result in shorter sessions, overtraining, and a lack of progress.

Going Too Easy

If your heart rate doesn’t get up to around 60 percent or higher, it will be much harder to elicit the physiological adaptations you need to get fitter, Dr. Charlotte says. And while it’s always better to do some form of activity rather than nothing at all, you’re likely to get frustrated if you don’t see fitness gains.

Ways To Measure Your Exercise Intensity

If you’re serious about staying in the right zone to get the most out of your workouts, there are several ways to measure how hard you’re going. Here are a few to try. 

Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) 

RPE is a simple, equipment-free way to measure your intensity. Also known as the Borg RPE Scale, it has you check in with your body and rate your exertion on a scale of 6 to 20, where 6 is no exertion at all and 20 is your max effort. 

6: No exertion 
7-8: Extremely light exertion 
9-10: Very light exertion
11-12: Light exertion 
13-14: Somewhat hard exertion 
15-16: Heavy exertion
17-18: Very heavy exertion
20: Maximum exertion

If you use this scale, shoot for an RPE of somewhere between 11 and 14 for a moderate intensity session. 

Heart Rate 

Using heart rate to determine the appropriate effort can be a great way to train. To use heart rate to guide your workouts, first you need to find your maximum heart rate. A common method for determining that number is to subtract your age from 220, although there are many alternative methods available. 

Peloton workouts include five heart rate zones, as follows: 

Zone 1: Warm up, up to 65 percent of maximum heart rate (MHR)
Zone 2: Endurance, 65-75 percent of MHR
Zone 3: Power, 75-85 percent of MHR
Zone 4: Threshold, 85-95 percent of MHR 
Zone 5: Max Capacity, 95+ percent of MHR 

For your moderate intensity workouts, shoot for Zone 2 and the bottom of Zone 3. 

Watts 

Many cyclists measure their effort using watts, a figure that represents how much power is being generated. You can boost your watts by increasing your cadence (revolutions per minute), your resistance (gearing), or both. Doing a Functional Threshold Power (FTP) test allows you to determine your power zones and train according to wattage. 

Power training, or training with watts, includes seven zones, as below: 

Zone 1: Very easy, up to 55 percent FTP
Zone 2: Moderate, 56-75 percent FTP
Zone 3: Sustainable, 76-90 percent FTP 
Zone 4: Challenging, 91-105 percent FTP
Zone 5: Hard, 106-120 percent FTP
Zone 6: Very Hard, 121-150 percent FTP
Zone 7: Max Effort, more than 151 percent FTP

Plan to stay in Zone 2 for your moderate intensity workouts. 

What’s the Ideal Duration and Frequency for Moderate Intensity Exercise?

To reap the health and fitness benefits, aim to complete at least five 30-minute moderate intensity training sessions per week. It’s best to split your activity up over the week with multiple sessions, as opposed to completing for one or two longer sessions. 

Meanwhile, there’s nothing wrong with splitting your workouts into more frequent, shorter sessions, says Dr. Charlotte. For example, you could break it up by doing one brisk 15-minute walk in the morning and one in the evening, Monday through Friday. 

If you can extend your 30-minute sessions even longer, without skimping on frequency, that’s even better. “You will feel the difference massively, as these workouts get amazingly sweaty,” says Dr. Charlotte. She suggests finding time on the weekend to add in a longer session or two if you can swing it. 

“It's hard to get into overtraining when really sticking to moderate intensity, so if you feel like you can and want to do more, go for it,” she says. 

How to Add More Moderate Intensity Exercise to Your Routine

You know moderate intensity exercise is good for you—but how can you add it into your fitness routine? Here are a few simple ways to fit it in. 

Walk and Talk 

Stay connected to your friends and family–or even schedule a work call—while walking. Whether you head outside or hit the treadmill, just grab your earbuds and go. Fitter folks might need to find hills or put the treadmill on an incline in order to make sure the effort is moderate. 

Take the Stairs 

It might not seem like a big deal to take the stairs here and there, but all the little things add up. So whenever you have a chance to choose the stairs instead of the elevator, take it. The extra time it takes pays dividends in the long run. 

Meet Up with a Friend 

Scheduling a workout with a friend kills two birds with one stone. For one thing you’re creating accountability, and for another, if you want to catch up, you have no choice but to keep the pace conversational. 

Try Something New 

If your workouts feel stale or you find that you’re constantly choosing HIIT workouts or killing yourself to keep up with your running club, it might be time to step out of your comfort zone. Why not take the power yoga class, boxing, or tap dancing class you’ve been thinking about? 

Takeaway

HIIT and VO2 max training have been getting a lot of attention lately, but that doesn’t mean you should skip out on moderate intensity training. If you’re new to exercise, it’s the perfect place to start. And if you’re looking to beef up your current routine, it’s a great way to add volume without a significant risk of injury or overtraining. 

Whether you track your intensity by RPE, heart rate training, or watts, spending at least 150 minutes per week at moderate intensity has some serious benefits. Research shows that adhering to this guideline is associated with a multitude of physical and health benefits. Plus, you’ll also get a lot of bang for your fitness buck. 

A final piece of advice to keep in mind: “Don’t go too hard,” Dr. Charlotte says. “We often feel like we need to go harder, but we really don’t. And enjoy doing something good with those moderate intensity sessions.”