Human Effort Levels - Energy and Heart Rates
Work effort levels, energy expenditure and associated heart rates
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Human work effort levels and associated heart rates and energy expenditure are indicated in the table below.
| Effort Level | Typical Tasks | Heart Rate Elevation (beats per minute) |
Body Energy Expenditure (Watts) |
Work Duration Restriction (hours) |
| Light | riding bicycle at 10 km/h, canning paint, raking leaves, making drawings, machining light objects, sewing by hand | 0 - 35 | 70 - 175 | none |
| Moderate | building brick wall, cleaning boiler, planing softwood, sheet-metal working, soldering, using screwdrivers, walking on level | 35 - 55 | 175 - 260 | > 2 |
| Heavy | digging trenches, using sledge-hammer, stoking furnace, metal grinding, walking up 5% gradient | 55 - 75 | 260 - 420 | < 1 to 2 |
| Very Heavy | shoveling sand, using jackhammer, stacking concrete blocks, stone masonry, climbing normal stairs | 75 - 90 | 420 - 700 | < 1 to 2 |
| Extremely Heavy | sawing wood, climbing vertical ladder | > 90 | > 700 | < 0.25 to 0.3 |
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