Many inactive adults are making a concerted effort to «pick up the pace» - they're walking more and trying to work more physical activity into their day. How are they doing? It depends on whom you ask. As an article in Preventive Medicine shows, sedentary adults tend to overestimate how hard they work when they exercise.

A matter of perception

To illustrate this point, University of Florida researchers recruited 94 sedentary, somewhat overweight adults. Each kept a written log of their usual daytime activities over a 2-week period and recorded how long they exercised at a «moderate», «hard», or «very hard» pace. («Moderate» activity was defined as the equivalent of a brisk walk, «very hard» was equal to a run, and «hard» was somewhere in between.) On one of those days, they wore a heart rate monitor (worn on a belt or waistband) that measured their level of physical exertion. The researchers found that the participants were able to accurately record how long they exercised, but they significantly overestimated how hard they exercised.

For instance, about 40% of participants estimated that they exercised at a «moderate» pace for at least 10 minutes a day. Using information collected by the heart monitors, however, the researchers determined that only 15% of the participants actually exercised that hard. Likewise, while the heart monitors recorded that only 1.5% of the participants exercised at a «hard» level, 11% reported that they did at least 10 minutes of fairly strenuous exercise in a day.

Isn't any kind of exercise, 'good' exercise?

Health professionals tell us that any kind of activity - walking, gardening, housework - counts as exercise, but it's even better if you can pick up the pace once in a while in order to get the kind of aerobic workout that benefits heart health. Information collected from the heart monitors indicated that only 15% of the study participants were exercising at a moderate pace, hard enough to be considered «heart healthy.» One problem is perception - inactive people see a brisk walk as more difficult than would their more active peers.

Plan ahead

For walkers, one way around the problem is to figure out ahead of time how much effort is needed in order to get a good workout. A brisk walk is at a purposeful stride, as if one was in a hurry to get somewhere. Some people find it helpful to count steps - an average size adult taking about 120 to 125 steps per minute will cover 3.5 miles per hour, a good pace for exercise walkers. Strollers, on the other hand, will take about 100 to 105 steps per minute and get a less strenuous workout.

Any kind of exercise is beneficial. But if you are physically able, it makes good health sense to take a close look at how much effort you normally put into your daily exercise routine, and see if there's any room for improvement.