Lesson video

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Hi there, I'm Mr. Swaithes, and today we're gonna be looking at Training Intensity, and how long can you keep working at a high intensity?

This is part of the Remote Learning suite on Health, Fitness, and Wellbeing.

For this lesson, you'll need a clear and safe space to perform body weight exercises in, and ideally a stopwatch, but you could use a watch or a phone.

So by the end of this lesson, you're gonna be able to follow an exercise program that challenges your personal fitness levels by working at a moderate to vigorous intensity.

Some of the keywords that we'll cover in today's lesson are: reps or repetitions, sets, and intensity.

Did you know that reps is the full cycle of an exercise?

So for example, for the press up, one rep is from the top, down to the floor and back up again.

So that's one rep and you might perform, say, 12 repetitions of that press up and then take a rest and then repeat again.

And when you repeat it again, that is the next set of exercises.

So a group of reps followed by a rest period then makes up a set.

And then the intensity of exercise is all about how hard your body is working based on the effort you are putting in.

So before we get started, like with any good lesson or exercise program, we need to warm up thoroughly.

So show me what you know about intensity.

Can you begin a suitable warmup for body weight exercises and gradually increase the intensity of your work rate?

Make sure you include a pulse raiser and some dynamic stretches.

So pause the video now whilst you have a go at that or if you need a little video to give you an idea, play on and then pause that video before you come back to me for the rest of this lesson.

Well done.

So I'm wondering, have you increased your pulse to over 100 beats per minute?

Try taking your pulse now.

Perhaps if you take it for 10 seconds and then times your total score by six, that will equate to the number of beats per minute.

So there's six lots of 10 seconds in a minute.

And we often find it's best not to take your pulse for a whole 30 seconds or a whole 60 seconds because your pulse continues to come down when you are recovering and when you are taking your pulse.

So often we take our pulse during exercise or immediately after exercise for a shorter period of time so that we can get a more accurate reading.

Your pulse should have been above 100 beats per minute and your muscles should feel warm and ready for exercise.

I'm wondering can you also feel that breathing rate is increased in order to supply your working muscles with more oxygen?

And are you in a safe place?

Have you found yourself a good spot for this body weight exercise lesson?

So today's lesson is split into two parts and we're gonna be looking at high intensity exercise.

First of all, focusing on the lower body and footwork, and then we'll be bringing in the upper body to overload further or push your body even harder.

Let's get going then with the first part of the lesson.

So Lucas is wondering, "What are the major muscles in your legs and how could you exercise them at a high intensity without any equipment?

" On these illustrations here, can you see where the gluteals, the quadriceps, the hamstrings and the gastrocnemius are located?

Hopefully you pointed out that the gluteals or the gluteus maximus is your bum muscle.

The quadriceps are on the front of your thigh.

There are four muscles there.

The hamstrings, on the back of your upper thigh, there are three of those hamstring muscles, and then the gastrocnemius is one of your calf muscles that you need to be aware of.

So let's do a quick check for understanding then.

Which of the following muscles is on the front of the thigh?

Is it A: the hamstring B: the quadriceps, C: the gastrocnemius, or D: the soleus?

That's right, it's the quadriceps.

So those four muscles that make up the quadricep muscle are on the front of the upper thigh, whereas the soleus is one of the other calf muscles alongside the gastrocnemius in the lower leg that attaches to the achilles tendon and into the foot.

Here we've got a performer doing some tuck jumps barefoot at home.

And I'm wondering, when training to improve muscular strength, what do you need to focus on?

Well, you need to think about intensity or how hard you are working.

You need to think about reps or how many exercises you do before resting.

In this instance, how many tuck jumps can be performed with good technique before resting, recovering, and going again?

How many sets?

So how many times you repeat that batch of repetitions.

And Jun here is helping us by sharing another, I guess key term or phrase that's used a lot in the gym.

It's called an AMRAP, and that means As Many Reps As Possible, and it's a really good way to train for overload.

So I wonder, in terms of tuck jumps, how many AMRAPs can you do?

How many could you do in one go before exhaustion or fatigue sets in and causes you to need to stop?

Taking your pulse is a good indicator of how hard you are working.

We mentioned that briefly at the end of the warmup.

I wonder, can you take your pulse using a wrist measurement with your two fingers here in your wrist or using a smartwatch, or perhaps taking your pulse in your neck here at your carotid artery?

And it's important to remember that moderate to vigorous physical activity, we sometimes shorten that to MVPA, is when your heart rate is elevated to 60 to 85% of your maximum heart rate.

Well, how to tell the difference between moderate and vigorous physical activity.

If the exercise is hard, but you could talk during it, then it's moderate activity.

And I quite often will go out for a jog, perhaps with a friend to catch up and we can talk whilst we're jogging.

Well, in that instance, we are working at a moderate intensity.

However, it becomes difficult to speak during vigorous activity.

It's also difficult to speak if your fitness levels are low.

So perhaps when I'm out on that jog, if the person that I'm running with starts to run a bit faster or we start to go up a hill, I can feel that steady breathing increase to more rapid breathing and then I'm panting and struggling to try and squeeze only perhaps a couple of words together before gasping for breath again.

So if you wonder what vigorous activity is, it's when you really find it difficult to speak.

Jun here is saying, well, we mentioned that maximum heart rate, but what is it?

Well, your maximum heart rate is 220 beats per minute minus your age.

And because he's 15, so 60% of that, so 60% of 220 minus your age is 220 minus 15, which equals 205 beats per minute.

And 60% of 205 is 123 beats per minute.

And 85% of 205 is 174 beats per minute.

So for Jun, his target zone is 123 to 174 beats per minute.

I wonder, what's your target zone?

Let's do a quick check.

So if you did 15 tuck jumps in 30 seconds, rested for 30 seconds and then repeated it three times, what does the 15 represent?

Is it A: repetitions, B: sets, or C: your work-rest ratio?

What do you think?

That's right.

It's repetitions or reps, isn't it?

So 15 tuck jumps is 15 repetitions of tuck jumps.

And here we've got Alex saying that "Doing maximum reps is the priority when training.

" That's what he believes.

Well actually, Izzy's saying, "No, the priority is to always use good or correct technique and to work within your capabilities so that you don't get injured.

" So you don't necessarily always need to work maximum reps.

It's actually far more important that you do correct technique and full range of movement.

Let's move into the first practice task for today, then.

Time to get moving again.

So I want you to perform an AMRAP, remember that stands for As Many Reps As Possible, on the following exercises, make a note of how many reps you did in 30 seconds and try to achieve more in set two and in set three.

So you can do as many reps as you can in 30 seconds.

Note down how many you did.

And then after a period of rest and you repeat in that second set, you're trying to go for a higher number in 30 seconds and then you're gonna overload further in that third set.

I'm gonna get you doing left leg, single leg drop squats followed by right leg, single leg drop squats, followed by double leg calf raises, followed by two-footed compass jumps.

Then we've got the glute bridge and hold.

Obviously you won't have maximum reps for that, you'll just hopefully hold it for 30 seconds.

Little tip from Jun, "Remember that AMRAP means as many reps as possible and is a good way to train for overload.

So to make the exercise easier, you can rest for 30 seconds between each exercise or to make it even harder, perhaps you work for 45 seconds before you take your rest.

Take a quick watch of the video to see these different exercises in action.

And then you'll need to pause the video whilst you complete your sequence of five exercises two or three times over.

And then come back to me, ready to play on.

Well done.

I hope you're feeling an elevated heart rate again.

So let's reflect a little bit on the exercise that you've done.

What was your pulse as you finished that last set of exercise?

Was it in your target zone?

Was it over 120 beats per minute and perhaps pushing towards 180 beats per minute maybe?

And I'm wondering, did you achieve that moderate to vigorous physical activity throughout?

So did you get that sense that actually you would've struggled to talk during the exercises that you were doing?

Because that should have been the case.

And then in terms of how did you feel?

Do you think you kept focused on the quality of your movements?

Did you worry or at least carefully consider the correct technique and form all the way through and that full range of movement, rather than just frantically smashing out the reps?

Okay, let's move into the second part of today's lesson then where we bring in the upper body to overload further.

So by combining the upper body, the core, and the lower body in your exercises, you can increase the energy demands on your muscular system, on your cardiovascular system.

So remember that that's your heart and your lungs and your blood vessels that are responsible for circulating that oxygenated blood to your muscles where the oxygen can get used and broken down to provide energy for exercise.

And then carbon dioxide can get carried back to your heart, then up to your lungs to breathe out.

So that's why we combine the breathing and the heart rate and both of them work well in order to get oxygenated blood to the muscles.

They also, the blood carries nutrients, doesn't it?

It carries energy in the form of perhaps carbohydrates that it stores as glucose.

And we can store some of that glucose in the muscles, but we also store some of it in the liver from when we've been digesting food.

Here we've got the muscular system and the cardiovascular system on the diagrams.

So it will also place an increased demand on your skeletal system, your respiratory system, and your nervous system, remember.

So your whole body is working together when you are working hard.

Let's do a quick check for understanding.

Which body system is responsible for pumping blood.

Is it A: the muscular system, B: the respiratory system, or C: the cardiovascular system?

That's right.

Well done.

It's C, the cardiovascular system is in it, so cardio meaning heart, and it's the heart that pumps blood around the blood vessels or the vascular system.

So your arteries, your capillaries, and your veins.

Lucas has got a question for us.

"What can you do to increase intensity if you are finding the exercises too easy but still maintain good technique?

" Well, Sam suggests that you will find some exercises easier than others and to overload, you can perform more repetitions, perform more sets, increase the exercise duration or reduce or perhaps even remove the rest between exercises.

So if you need to make it harder for you, which of these things are you going to do?

Or maybe a combination of them.

And to make it easier, of course, sometimes we need to make the exercises easier and more accessible.

You can reverse any of these changes.

So you could perform less reps, less sets, a shorter duration, or add a longer rest in, or perhaps modify.

So for example, if you were doing press-ups, you might lower down onto your knees to perform the press-ups from your knees.

And remember, it's satisfying to complete a hard training session, isn't it?

So don't go for an easier workout, try and push your body as hard as you can.

Aisha here is saying that she did 10 burpees in 30 seconds.

So remember in a burpee is standing up tall, squatting down, jumping both feet back into that front support position, performing a press up, then squatting or jumping both legs back into the squat and jumping up and reaching as high as you can.

That is one burpee.

How could you overload that further?

Well, perhaps next time you could work for a whole minute rather than 30 seconds.

And it's just really important, isn't it, that it's human nature to stick within our comfort zone, what we're normally used to.

But if you want to get fitter, stronger, healthier, it's important within reason to push into that training zone where it's a little bit uncomfortable.

So if you are in your comfort zone, then the intensity of exercise feels familiar and fairly easy to you.

You experience minimal stress or discomfort in your comfort zone and therefore need to train your body just beyond that if you want to improve.

Staying motivated is sometimes hard to do when training, isn't it?

And I've certainly suffered with this sometimes.

A good strategy is to challenge yourself, to improve your personal best, someone else to complete the workout with you.

Is there someone there that could complete this workout with you?

And by keeping a record of the reps and the sets, you can monitor progress over time.

So a lot of people that I see at the gym have got a little book that they keep a record of their reps and sets over the sessions in the week and over the weeks to help keep them motivated.

Okay, that brings us into the second and final task for this lesson where you're gonna perform another AMRAP of the following exercises.

You're gonna note down your reps in 30 seconds and then try to achieve more in your second set and then more still in your third set.

I want you to do burpees, followed by mounting climbers, followed by squat and jumps, followed by split leg burpees, followed by plank, pike, press-ups.

You're gonna need to watch the video to see how to do these five exercises, and then you'll want to pause it whilst you complete your sequence of those five exercises and repeat it three times.

You may even want to play the video to perform alongside it and then rewind it and play it again for your second set.

And again, for your third set.

Jun is saying that, let's remember endorphins are those natural chemicals that are released when working at high intensity and they help you to feel energized.

They give us that almost runner's high or that buzz from exercising.

So if the exercise is too hard, you can rest for 30 seconds between each station or if it's too easy, maybe you need to exercise for 45 seconds instead of 30 on each of these exercises.

Well done then.

So you've come back to me because you've performed that sequence of exercises and I'd like you to reflect a bit with me.

Did you maintain good technique throughout and in all of those exercises?

It's really important that you did in order to reduce the risk of injury, but also get maximum benefit from the exercises.

I wonder, which exercises did you find the hardest?

I always find the burpees a hard exercise.

Did you push yourself just beyond your comfort zone and into what we call that training zone?

Remembering that we've gotta push just outside our comfort zone if we want to get fitter and stronger.

And did you manage to challenge someone else to complete this exercise program with you?

Okay, it's time to cool down then.

So can you perform the following sequence of exercises?

I want you to walk around the space slowly to start off with, to reduce your heart rate and your breathing rate.

I want you to then perform 10 lunges with alternating legs.

So you step forward with one leg and lunge down til your knee touches the floor, then back up again and switch legs and repeat.

Then eight cat-cows where you get in that position on all-fours on the floor.

Arch your back and stretch it the other way.

So you're moving your belly button up and down.

Six big arm circles.

Keep going for six.

Forward fold and work out.

Walk out, sorry.

So as you stand up tall, tuck your neck in, fold all the way down to the floor, walk out along the floor on your hands, then back in and fold slowly back up again.

Repeat that four times, followed by two deep breaths.

And you are done.

Whilst you are doing that sequence of exercises, I'm gonna challenge you to reflect on whether you feel better now compared with how you felt at the start of this lesson.

And whether you feel more energized.

I'm gonna challenge you to a commitment before we see each other again.

I wonder, when could you repeat this sequence of exercises and how might you slightly increase the intensity to make it work your body even harder?

So to overload or stress your body a little further.

Well done for today's lesson.

We've just got time to summarize the learning from it.

So we looked at repetitions of body weight exercises that need to be performed with good form and technique to reduce the risk of injury.

We looked at working at a high intensity, which results in the release of endorphins that help you feel energized.

And by working at a high intensity, it can feel uncomfortable, but it's more satisfying after the session than just going through the motions with a really easy program inside of your comfort zone.

And I wonder, did you choose to keep a record of your reps and sets to allow comparison with yourself over time or perhaps even with others?

Because that's a good habit to get into.

Thanks for working hard in today's lesson, and I hope to see you again soon.