1. The Talk Test The Poor Man’s Way to Gauge Exercise Training Intensity
Carl Foster, Ph.D., FACSM
Department of Exercise and Sport Science
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

2. Every Story Starts Someplace Some Stories Start Twice

3. Exercise is Medicine Overwhelming Epidemiologic and Clinical Evidence
Event Free Survival
R Hambrecht et al.
Circulation 109: , 2004
Months

4. Exercise is Medicine Order of Magnitude Effect
Effect of Walking on 5 Year Mortality
Vs -1% with Rx for HTN & Cholesterol
-8%
=stopping smoking vs continuing to smoke
after first MI

5. Components of an Exercise Program
Frequency
5-7 x weekly
Intensity
Hardest to define
Time
20-60 min
Type

6. Prescription of Exercise Training Intensity
Objective Markers
VO2 & METs
60-80% max
45/50-85% reserve
Heart Rate
50/65-90% max
40/50-85% reserve
Limits of the “relative percent concept”
Individual response thresholds
Wide prescriptive window
Metabolic markers
Ventilatory Threshold
Lactate Threshold
Subjective Markers
RPE
Talk Test

7. Talk Test

8. What Does the Talk Test Look Like?

9. Speech Provoking Stimulus
N Shafer et al. JCRP 20: 289, 2000
JP Porcari et al. JCRP 22: 369, 2002
(Amy Kelso-Amann)

10. Evidence that the Talk Test is a Marker of Appropriate Exercise Intensity

11. C Foster et al. J Str Cond Res 23: 2425-2429, 2009 (Neepa Talati)
E Jeanes et al. J Str Cond Res 25: , 2011

12. +Talk Test vs VT
M Dehart-Beverley et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 2: 34-38, 2000
N Shafer et al. JCRP 20: 289, 2000
S Voelker et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 4: , 2002
P Recalde et al. S Afri J Sports Med 9: 5-8, 2002
R Persinger et al. MSSE 36: , 2004

13. +/-Talk Test vs VT
M Dehart-Beverley et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 2: 34-38, 2000
N Shafer et al. JCRP 20: 289, 2000
S Voelker et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 4: , 2002
P Recalde et al. S Afri J Sports Med 9: 5-8, 2002
R Persinger et al. MSSE 36: , 2004

14. -Talk Test vs VT
M Dehart-Beverley et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 2: 34-38, 2000
N Shafer et al. JCRP 20: 289, 2000
S Voelker et al. Clin Exerc Physiol 4: , 2002
P Recalde et al. S Afri J Sports Med 9: 5-8, 2002
R Persinger et al. MSSE 36: , 2004

15. VT vs Talk Test * *

16. -Talk Test vs RCT
P Recalde et al. S Afri J Sports Med 9: 5-8, 2002

18. Ok, the Talk Test Matches VO2, HR and VT Markers of Exercise Capacity……Does it Work in Real Life?

19. Does the Talk Test Reflect Changes in Exercise Intensity?
“If we’re going to keep talking,
you have to slow down”

20. Can the Talk Test Prevent Exertional Myocardial Ischemia?
Exertional ischemia is the one substantial danger in ExRx
K Meyer (Eur Heart J 16: 623, 1995) has shown that the VT often precedes ST segment changes in patients with CAD
CA Cannon et al. Am J Med Sport 6: 52-57, 2004

21. Can the Talk Test Track Permutations in Exercise Capacity?

22. Can You “Translate” From Exercise Testing to Exercise Training with the Talk Test?
C Foster et al.
J Str Cond Res 23: , 2009
Neepa Talati
Sedentary individuals
Incremental exercise test to identify + +/- - stages of Talk Test
20 min exercise bouts at LP-1, LP, EQ

23. Translating GXT to Training

24. Does “Translating” Exercise Intensity Work for Fitter Individuals?
EA Jeanes et al.
J Str Cond Res 25: , 2011
Well-trained non athletes including several “t-shirt runners”
Incremental exercise to identify stages of TT
40 min stead state exercise sessions at
LP-1, LP, EQ

25. Newest Data on Translating Exercise Training Intensity
C Foster et al. J Str Cond Res 23: , 2009 (N Talati)
EA Jeanes et al. J Str Cond Res 25: , 2011
+ L Walraven
+ J Lueck

26. So, Where Does this Leave Us?

27. Summary Talk Test---a good ‘old idea’ Easy to perform
eliminates need for maximal exercise
forgiving of variations in speech producing stimulus
Accurately places exercisers in exercise intensity defined by conventional criteria
%HRmax
%VO2max VT
RPE
Apparently useful as tool for avoiding exertonal ischemia
Responsive to permutations in exercise capacity
Easy to translate into exercise training intensity