The Talk Test: Gauging Moderate Intensity
When a lot of people are first introduced to aerobic exercise, there is a lot of talk about ‘exercising at a moderate intensity’. But what does a ‘moderate intensity’ actually feel like?
It can sometimes be difficult to truly understand what moderate intensity exercise actually is or how it is meant to feel. It is intuitive to say when something is ‘easy,’ or ‘light,’ or whether something is ‘hard,’ or ‘heavy,’ but the concept of ‘moderate’ is a bit more grey. This blog post aims to outline a helpful tool that can be used to help you determine whether you are exercising at a moderate intensity. The tool is called the ‘Talk Test’.
What is the talk test?
The talk test is a tool that anyone can use to determine whether they are exercising (things like walking, running and cycling) at a moderate intensity. Essentially if you are able to maintain a conversation without running out of breath while doing any form of cardio, then this would be a negative result of the talk test. If, however, you are not able to maintain a conversation as normal and are struggling for breathe, then this is a positive talk test result. This crossover between being able to talk and not being able to talk is indicative of the transition from light intensity to higher intensity exercise. Therefore, when exercising at a moderate intensity, you should feel like you are still able to hold a conversation but it starting to get slightly harder. If you are unable to maintain a conversation, this likely indicates that you are exercising at an intensity beyond moderate.
If this is still a bit tricky to gauge (and it definitely can be), you can try the singing test. If you can sing while exercising, it is too easy. If you can’t sing while exercising, it is too hard. However, if you can talk, but can’t sing, then this is right at a moderate intensity.
The science behind the talk test
At rest and even more so when we exercise, our metabolism causes carbon dioxide production. Up until a certain point, our bodies are able to get rid of carbon dioxide at the same rate as it takes in oxygen. We will find that we breathe quite normally, even if we are working a little harder than at rest. The ventilatory threshold is the point where the rate of carbon dioxide production becomes greater than the rate of oxygen consumption. This requires your breathing rate to increase in order for your body to rid all of the excess carbon dioxide produced.
As soon as your breathing rate starts to increase, you will notice you will not be able to:
Maintain a conversation very well, and
Sing!
This is the essence of the talk test. It says that a moderate intensity is working just below the ventilatory threshold.
For further reading, here is a review published in 2014 exploring the talk test: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25010379/
Brandon Coorie, Accredited Exercise Physiologist
Aevum Physiotherapy
02 8544 3231