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Remember, each day is brand new and it is important to tailor your exercise to how you are currently feeling. Here are some tips to ensure you are exercising safely: 1
Self Monitoring Heart Rate
Taking your heart rate is a quick way to determine your heart and body's response to exercise. 2
It is also an easy way to determine what intensity you are working at and can tell you if you are challenging yourself too much or not enough.
Manually Taking Your Heart Rate
There are two main ways to take your Heart Rate (HR) manually. You can use either your radial or carotid pulse.
Below is a description about how to take both pulses manually so you can monitor your HR during exercise. 3
Helpful Tip: Be careful to not use your thumb to take your pulse. Your thumb can have a pulse of its own and will give you an incorrect HR reading.
In addition to manually taking your pulse, there are many alternative ways to measure HR which include:
Smart watches/devices
Heart rate monitor chest strap
Other HR monitoring devices
Helpful reminders for times when you may be using these devices:
Ensure that your device is securely on so that you can get an accurate HR reading during exercise.
Make sure that you check your HR multiple times throughout your workout to ensure that you are staying within the target range
Your can also use this heart rate chart to determine your desired heart rate range based on your age.
For quick access to an online heart rate calculator, click here.
Self Monitoring Rate of Perceived Exertion
The Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE is a way to tell how hard your body is working during exercise. By self-monitoring your RPE, you can determine how hard your body is working so that you can adjust the intensity of the activity by speeding up or slowing down your movements as needed.4
The Rate of Perceived Exertion, or RPE is a way to tell how hard your body is working during exercise. By self-monitoring your RPE, you can determine how hard your body is working so that you can adjust the intensity of the activity by speeding up or slowing down your movements as needed.4
The Borg RPE scale is a commonly used scale across multiple different exercise settings. Here is some important information to know about this scale:
This scale ranges from 6-20 (6 meaning no exertion or that you're expending little to no effort and 20 meaning maximal exertion or you're expending a lot of effort)
You can use this chart to better understand what your rating of perceived exertion should be throughout your workout.
For a moderate intensity workout, you should fall within the green box (or should have an RPE of 12-14).
For a high intensity workout, you should fall within the red box (or have an RPE of 17-19).
In order to ensure that you are working at the target intensity, it is encouraged that you assess and determine your RPE multiple times during your exercise duration.
References:
1. Exercise during cancer treatment. Cancer.Net. https://www.cancer.net/survivorship/healthy-living/exercise-during-cancer-treatment. Published May 15, 2020.
2.Can you sing while you work out? Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise-intensity/art-20046887. Published June 17, 2021.
3.When and how to take the pulse of a workout. Consumer Reports on Health. 1996;8(9):105
4.Garnacho-Castaño MV, Domínguez R, González AM, Feliu-Ruano R, Serra-Payá N, Maté-Muñoz JL. Exercise Prescription Using the Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion to Improve Fitness. International Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018;39(2):115-123.
5.Chen Y-L, Chen C-C, Hsia P-Y, Lin S-K. Relationships of Borg’s Rpe 6–20 Scale and Heart Rate in Dynamic and Static Exercises among a Sample of Young Taiwanese Men. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2013;117(3):971-982.
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