While it is widely known that regular exercise can improve health, reduce the risk of diseases, and extend life expectancy, there is a type of exercise that may have the opposite effect under certain conditions, and that is intense exercise.
What Is Considered Intense Exercise?
There is an indicator used to measure the intensity of physical activity called the metabolic equivalent of task, or MET. One MET would equate to the energy used to sit quietly. Different levels of exercise intensity are indicated by different MET values.- Sedentary: MET values of ≤1.5; for example, sitting or lying down
- Low-intensity exercise: MET values of 1.6 to 3.0; for example, leisurely walking or standing in line at a store
- Moderate-intensity exercise: MET values of 3.0 to 6.0; for example, brisk walking, vacuuming, or gardening
- High-intensity/vigorous exercise: MET values of ≥6.0
General exercises such as walking and running increase in intensity as the speed increases. “Strenuous exercise could be walking at 4.5 miles per hour, jogging at 5 miles per hour, or running at 5.5 miles per hour,” said Barry A. Franklin, director of preventive cardiology and cardiac rehabilitation at Beaumont Health in Royal Oak, Michigan, and professor of internal medicine at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, in an interview with The Epoch Times.
