The talk test: how to know how hard you are training
No heart rate monitor and no maths: the talk test tells you whether you are going easy, moderate or hard. How to use it and why it works.
2 min read
How to do it
While you move, try to talk. If you could sing, you are going easy. If you can hold a conversation in full sentences, you are at moderate intensity. If you can only get out a few words before needing air, you are going hard.
Why it works
The point at which talking starts to get difficult matches the moment your breathing speeds up to keep pace with the effort. Reviews of the test consider it a valid and practical way to regulate intensity.
How much of each
Most of what you do should be easy or moderate. Hard work, a little and only once you have a base: it improves capacity a lot, but it is tiring and demands recovery.
How Welfitlab applies it
When you log an activity you choose between easy, moderate and hard with this same rule. Over time you see how you spread your effort.
Sources
- Reed and Pipe, Current Opinion in Cardiology, 2014
- Bull et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020
This text is for information only and is not a substitute for advice from a healthcare professional.