Key takeaways:
Moderate-intensity exercise is defined as getting your heart rate up between 50% and 70% of your maximum heart rate.
With moderate-intensity exercises, you can talk but not sing without losing your breath. This can be achieved with activities like dancing, walking up stairs, or jogging.
The benefits of moderate-intensity exercise include improved heart health, increased endurance, a longer lifespan, and reduced risk of cancer and diabetes.
Whether you’re working out as a hobby or for health reasons, you may be looking for ways to maximize the benefits of your exercise. It’s important to know that it’s not just about the time you spend working out, but also the intensity — or how hard you’re working. Any type of exercise is good for your health, but experts recommend aiming for at least moderate-intensity workouts to see measurable health benefits.
Adults should engage in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise per week for heart health. This exercise can be broken up into short periods of time. For example, you could do 30 to 60 minutes of exercise, 5 days a week. You can also do 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise, such as running. Experts also recommend strengthening exercises, such as weight lifting, at least 2 days a week.
What is considered moderate-intensity exercise?
Moderate-intensity exercise is a description of the intensity of your exercise. It’s typically exercise that’s defined by:
Talk test: Your breathing quickens, but you shouldn’t be out of breath when talking.
Perceived exertion: You feel like you have exercised intensely, but still have some energy left
Heart rate: Your target heart rate should be 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate.
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In practical terms, the talk test is a good way to measure your intensity. With moderate-intensity exercise, you should be able to talk easily. With vigorous-intensity exercise, you can’t say more than a few words without losing your breath.
Another way to gauge intensity is to pay attention to how you feel. With moderate-intensity exercise, you’ll notice that your breathing rate increases, your heart beats faster, and you may start sweating after 10 minutes or more. Keep in mind that sweating isn’t always a reliable indicator of intensity, though. Factors like outside temperature, hydration, and even genetics can also affect how much you sweat.
Examples of moderate-intensity exercise
There are many activities that can achieve a goal of moderate-intensity exercise. Here are some great examples of moderate-intensity exercises:
Jogging
Cycling (at a speed of less than 10 miles per hour)
Basketball
Water aerobics
Dancing
Tennis doubles
Walking stairs
Hiking
Pilates
Body-weight exercises (push-ups, sit-ups, squats)
Free weights or weight machines
Resistance band exercises
Elliptical trainer
Volleyball
Benefits of moderate-intensity exercise
Research shows that moderate-intensity exercise in particular has many benefits. A 2023 study found that a regular moderate-intensity exercise routine can:
Improve overall physical fitness
Reduce body fat
Burn calories
Lower cardiovascular risk factors
Improve endurance
Strengthen the heart
A 2022 study found that doing moderate-intensity exercise for 150 to 300 minutes each week can lower your risk of dying by about 20%. If you increase your exercise range to 300 to 600 minutes a week, you can reduce your risk by up to 30%. If you have heart disease, this amount of exercise can cut your risk of death from it by almost 40%.
How does exercise affect your blood pressure? Blood pressure can stay up for a short time after you work out. Learn what’s normal, what’s not, and how to track patterns as your fitness improves.
A closer look at exercise safety: Starting a new fitness routine? Learn how to stay safe — especially if you’re managing diabetes — with this guide.
More ways to support your heart health: Certain foods can naturally help lower cholesterol levels. Explore how diet changes can complement your exercise routine to support long-term heart health.
Another study found that regular moderate-intensity exercise reduces the risk of developing diabetes and other metabolic conditions. For those with Type 2 diabetes, doing just 90 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week helped lower fasting blood glucose levels.
There are many benefits to having an active lifestyle of any intensity. Research shows that physical activity in general can help to:
Prevent cancers
Improve metabolism
Improve mental health
Improve overall quality of life
What should your heart rate be during moderate-intensity exercise?
The target heart rate for moderate-intensity exercise is 50% to 70% of your maximum heart rate. Your maximum heart rate is found by subtracting your age from 220. The American Heart Association (AHA) provides a chart that allows you to determine your maximum heart rate based on your age, as well as the ideal heart rate for moderate-intensity exercise.
How to measure your exercise intensity
You can check how hard your body is working during exercise in several ways:
Talk test: The talk test is the easiest way to determine your intensity by gauging how out of breath you are. If you can talk but not sing, then that is a moderate-intensity exercise. If you can easily sing while exercising, that means you need to increase the intensity by increasing the speed or resistance.
Perceived exertion: The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) is a subjective measure of exercise intensity. You rate your workout on a scale of 0 (no exertion at all) to 10 (maximum effort). Moderate-intensity exercise is around a 4 or 5 on this scale.
Heart rate: To find your target heart rate, use a wearable activity tracker like a smartwatch or heart monitor. This helps you stay in the right heart rate zone. You can also check your pulse manually to confirm your heart rate by following these steps.
Light- vs. moderate- vs. high-intensity exercise
Physical activity is broken up into the following intensities, based on both how you’re feeling during exercise and your heart rate. Here’s a quick way to help you determine your activity level:
Light intensity: This type of exercise gets your body moving and your blood flowing. It is a good warm-up or way to get your body moving after an injury. With this activity, your heart rate won’t go up much past your resting heart rate. These types of activities include walking slowly, washing dishes, light stretches, or making your bed.
Moderate intensity: With moderate-intensity exercise, you start breathing faster but aren’t out of breath when talking. You should be out of breath if you try to sing, however. These activities include brisk walking, jogging, water aerobics, and cycling on a flat surface.
Vigorous intensity: With vigorous intensity exercise, you can’t say more than a few words without losing your breath. Your heart rate and breathing rate increase. Your target heart rate is 70% to 85% of your maximum heart rate. These activities include running, jumping rope, cycling uphill, or high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Frequently asked questions
Weight lifting, which includes using free weights, machines, or resistance bands, can be considered moderate- or vigorous-intensity exercise, depending on how hard you work. You can reach the moderate- or vigorous-intensity zone by increasing the weight and repetitions and decreasing the time you rest between sets.
You calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, a 50-year-old’s maximum heart rate is 170. This means you should aim to keep your heart rate between 50% and 70% of the target for moderate exercise, or up to 85% for vigorous exercise. For a 50-year-old, that means keeping your heart rate between 85 and 145 beats per minute while exercising.
Yes, you can overexert yourself with moderate-intensity exercise. If you exercise for too long or don’t allow enough rest in between, you can do more harm than good. If you experience persistent soreness, overuse injuries, increased fatigue, mood changes, or you can no longer perform at the same level, you should cut back. Gradually progress your exercise routine as tolerated.
Weight lifting, which includes using free weights, machines, or resistance bands, can be considered moderate- or vigorous-intensity exercise, depending on how hard you work. You can reach the moderate- or vigorous-intensity zone by increasing the weight and repetitions and decreasing the time you rest between sets.
You calculate your maximum heart rate by subtracting your age from 220. For example, a 50-year-old’s maximum heart rate is 170. This means you should aim to keep your heart rate between 50% and 70% of the target for moderate exercise, or up to 85% for vigorous exercise. For a 50-year-old, that means keeping your heart rate between 85 and 145 beats per minute while exercising.
Yes, you can overexert yourself with moderate-intensity exercise. If you exercise for too long or don’t allow enough rest in between, you can do more harm than good. If you experience persistent soreness, overuse injuries, increased fatigue, mood changes, or you can no longer perform at the same level, you should cut back. Gradually progress your exercise routine as tolerated.
The bottom line
Moderate-intensity exercise for 150 to 300 minutes each week is an important part of health maintenance. You can check the intensity of your exercise by the talk test — making sure you are able to talk but not sing without getting out of breath. Another way is to monitor your heart rate, keeping it between 50% and 70% of your maximum. Moderate exercises include brisk walking, cycling on flat roads, water aerobics, weight training, and light jogging. These activities can improve your heart health and fitness, lower your risk of cancers and diabetes, and help you live longer.
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References
American Heart Association. (2024). American Heart Association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids.
American Heart Association. (2024). Target heart rates chart.
Baker, L. B., et al. (2018). Exercise intensity effects on total sweat electrolyte losses and regional vs. whole-body sweat [Na+], [Cl−], and [K+]. European Journal of Applied Physiology and Occupational Physiology.
Cave, K. (n.d.). The rate of perceived exertion (RPE) scale explained. NASM.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Measuring physical activity intensity.
El-Ashker, S., et al. (2023). The effect of moderate-intensity exercises on physical fitness, adiposity, and cardiovascular risk factors in Saudi males university students. Journal of Medicine and Life.
Kwon, Y., et al. (2023). The talk test as a useful tool to monitor aerobic exercise intensity in healthy population. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation.
Lee, D. H., et al. (2022). Long-term leisure-time physical activity intensity and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A prospective cohort of US adults. Circulation.
MedlinePlus. (n.d.). Are you getting too much exercise?
MedlinePlus. (2025). How much exercise do I need?
MedlinePlus. (2025). How to take your wrist pulse.
Nagata, J. M., et al. (2021). Moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity from young adulthood to middle age and metabolic disease: a 30-year population-based cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Silva, V. R. R., et al. (2020). The effects of ninety minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic exercise on metabolic health in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes: A pilot study. Journal of Rehabilitation Therapy.
South Dakota State University Extension. (2024). Light, moderate, and vigorous activity.
Yang, Y. J. (2019). An overview of current physical activity recommendations in primary care. Korean Journal of Family Medicine.
