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High Intensity Exercise vs Low Intensity Exercise

The rehab department at Performance is dedicated to assessing the injury at hand and then designing custom exercise programs to help patients heal faster, become stronger and stay stronger.

By Performance Spine and Sports Medicine
What is exercise intensity?
Exercise intensity refers to the amount of work that is done during exercise, and how the amount of work being done affects what kind of fuel the body uses to supply energy to sustain this type of work.
The body’s 3 main sources of fuel:
Carbohydrate – the body’s primary source of energy
Fat – the body’s second largest contributor to fuel and energy
Protein – serves many functions in the body, but is a last resort as the body’s energy source
Low Intensity Exercise
50-70% of their maximum heart rate
Max Heart Rate = 220-your age
Low intensity exercise uses fat as its primary source of energy and burns around 50% fat during the exercise
Benefits of low intensity exercise:
low injury risk
increases cardiovascular health
boosts metabolism
ideal for people just beginning to exercise or just reintroducing their body to exercise after an injury
no experience need to exercise moderately 
Examples of low intensity exercise:
Walking or jogging at a moderate pace
Using the elliptical at a moderate pace and incline
Bicycling at a moderate pace
Gentle swimming
High Intensity Exercise
75-85% of an individual’s maximum heart rate
During higher intensity exercises the primary fuel source switches from fat to carbohydrates so only about 30-40% fat is burned during high intensity exercise.
Performing high intensity exercise burns more overall calories
Benefits of high intensity exercise:
Burns more overall calories, therefore allows for greater weight lose if desired goal
Boosts metabolism during and after exercising
Increases muscle tone
Decreases the amount of time that is needed to workout
Examples of high intensity exercise:
Sprints
Interval work: Intervals on a treadmill, elliptical, bike, rowing machine, swimming, etc.
Running stairs
Exercises that involve plyometrics, such as jumping
Ladder shuffles
Jump roping
What can Performance Spine and Sports Medicine do for you?
The rehab department at Performance is dedicated to assessing the injury at hand and then designing custom exercise programs to help patients heal faster, become stronger and stay stronger.
The stronger patient’s become the more they will progress and advance their exercises until they are ready to transition to a home exercise plan. Once discharged patients can incorporate cardiovascular exercise at various intensities to their workout plan and decided which style suites them and their lifestyle the best.