Fit ASSIST!
Cardio Medley Workout
Choose 3 (or more) different cardio machines and do 10 minutes on each machine, keeping the intensity relatively high. Increase or decrease the speed according to your fitness level.
Use the Perceived Exertion Scale below to determine how hard you're working.
Treadmill:
TIME |
Intensity/Speed |
Incline |
Perceived Exertion |
5 min |
3.0 mph - warm-up |
1% |
Level 2-3 |
3 min |
4.0+ |
3% |
4-5 |
1 min |
4.5+ |
6% |
5 |
3 min |
5.0+ |
2-4% |
6 |
1 min |
4.5+ |
5% |
5 |
1 min |
6.0+ |
2-4% |
6-7 |
1 min |
3.0-4.0 |
0% |
3-4 |
Bike:
TIME |
Intensity/Speed |
Resistance/Level |
Perceived Exertion |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
1 min |
100-110 RPM |
6-8 |
6 |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
1 min |
100-110 RPM |
6-8 |
6 |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
1 min |
100-110 RPM |
6-8 |
6 |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
1 min |
100-110 RPM |
6-8 |
6 |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
1 min |
70-80 RPM |
5 |
4 |
Elliptical Trainer:
TIME |
Resistance/Level |
Perceived Exertion |
3 min |
4/5 |
5 |
2 min |
6/6 |
6 |
3 min |
5/5 |
5-6 |
2 min |
6/7 |
6 |
5 min |
2/1 |
3-4 (cool down) |
Perceived Exertion Scale
When exercising, it's important to monitor your intensity to make sure you're working at a pace that is challenging enough to help you reach your goals, but not so hard that you blow a lung. One way to do that is to use a Perceived Exertion Scale. The standard is the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion, which ranges from 0-20. Here’s a homemade scale (see below) that's a little easier to remember. In general, for most workouts you want to be at around Level 5-6. If you're doing interval training, you want your recovery to be around a 4-5 and your intensity blasts to be at around 8-9. As you'll see below, working at a level 10 isn't recommended for most workouts. For longer, slower workouts, keep your PE (perceived exertion) at Level 5 or lower.
- Level 1: I'm watching TV and eating bon-bons
- Level 2: I'm comfortable and could maintain this pace all day long
- Level 3: I'm still comfortable, but am breathing a bit harder
- Level 4: I'm sweating a little, but feel good and can carry on a conversation effortlessly
- Level 5: I'm just above comfortable, am sweating more and can still talk easily
- Level 6: I can still talk, but am slightly breathless
- Level 7: I can still talk, but I don't really want to. I'm sweating like a pig
- Level 8: I can grunt in response to your questions and can only keep this pace for a short time period
- Level 9: I am probably going to die
- Level 10: I am dead
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