Get vocal to measure fitness
Can you talk the talk after a (vigorous) walk or run? Stephen Heard finds out.
The basics
The talk test is one of the simplest ways to measure and maintain an appropriate intensity of aerobic exercise without splashing out on fitness technology or attaching yourself to a heart rate monitor. If you’ve got a voice, then you can apply the talk test. It’s an informal, selfadministered technique that sees the participant launch into a basic conversation after performing an activity – either with a workout partner or alone repeating a familiar phrase. If the conversation or phrase becomes far too difficult to continue, it’s a sign that you may be putting too much stress on the body.
Giving it a bash
For this talk test, I would be performing a combination of aerobic exercises while attempting to carry out an everyday conversation. What would be harder? Completing the regime of high-intensity intervals to exhaustion, or keeping the subject matter fresh for 45 minutes? It all started off well with an introductory 15-minute run.
The conversation flowed naturally from future travel to babies and income tax. We moved to sprinting. As expected, the more intense the action, the harder it was to converse properly between sets. The subject matter soon progressed to perspiration, the value of bananas as a pre-workout snack, and muscle soreness sinking in the next day.
After a never-ending round of skipping, the chatter nosedived from a constant string of words to wobbly statements between breaths, sometimes one or two…words…at… a…time. I took the mangled spew of words as a sign to dial it back a notch. The theory is that if you’re really struggling to put two words together, then perhaps it’s time to adjust the intensity or take a rest. In this instance it worked. Though it’s all just common sense, really.
Why you should try it
There really couldn’t be a simpler way to listen to your body. The talk test is possible with any kind of aerobic fitness: running, cycling, rowing, skipping and boxing. It’s the epitome of multi-tasking, and in no time you’ll be fleshing out your aerobic workout with conversations that need to be
There really couldn’t be a simpler way to listen to your body... Your subject matter of choice will hopefully make you forget that you’ve still got another 20 sprints to go.
addressed. It’s also a great distraction from the exercise at hand; your subject matter of choice will hopefully make you forget that you’ve still got another 20 sprints to go.