Ask Raphael: Monitoring Your Heart Rate

Hi Raphael,
Is there any other method to monitor cardio exercise instead of investing in a heart rate monitor? I’m a year out of college and every penny counts at this point. Do you have any helpful advice for me?

Thanks,
Laura

Laura,

I have a very good solution for you that will not require a heart rate monitor. Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is actually my preferred method for monitoring cardiovascular fitness – and it won’t cost you a thing.

Determining how hard you’re working is the basic idea behind RPE. It teaches you to take note of your breathing, degree of muscle fatigue and general feeling of discomfort. Then, rate your overall state on a scale of 1-10. Zero would be how it feels to be at complete rest, while 10 is an exertion level so difficult that you could only maintain it for a few seconds. The level I recommend is 7 or 8.

This method is actually my favorite (more so than target heart rate — THR) because it teaches one to listen to their body.

Here’s a brief RPE guideline to follow. 

0- Complete rest.
1- Feeling you would experience at your desk or reading.
2- The feeling you experience while getting dressed.
3- There is a little feeling of fatigue, but it’s slow and natural. This feels like jogging across the room to answer the phone.
4- Your breathing is slightly elevated but comfortable. You should experience this level at the end of your warm up.
5- Slight feeling of fatigue, aware of your breathing, which is deeper than level 4.
6- General feeling of fatigue, but you know you can maintain it. You should experience this level in the transition from your warm up. It feels like when you’re walking briskly and trying to get to an appointment.
7- This is the feeling you would experience while exercising vigorously. There is fatigue, but you are quite sure you can maintain it. In addition, you should be able to carry on a conversation, but you would probably choose not to do so.
8- This is the feeling of exercising very vigorously. There is a definite feeling of fatigue, and if you asked yourself if you could continue for the remainder of your exercise session, your answer would be that you think so but you’re not 100 percent certain. You could carry on a conversation, but wouldn’t feel like it. This is the feeling you should experience only after getting comfortable with level 7. This is the level that produces rapid results.
9- Exercising very, very vigorously. You probably cannot continue at this pace for your entire exercise session. Your breathing is labored and it would be very difficult to carry on a conversation. You should not experience level 9 on a routine basis and should slow up if you do.
10- You should not experience level 10. This is the feeling you would have with all-out exercise. This level cannot be maintained for very long and there is no benefit in reaching it.

Once you begin to master RPE you’ll actually begin to listen to the signals that your body sends you. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it, Laura. It’s the method I use for my cardio workouts as well.

Thanks for submitting your question and best of luck in your health and fitness goals.   

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