At NestEgg Health, we use Exercise Points to measure the value of your workouts during a challenge. It’s not just about how long you move—it’s about how hard you work while moving.
A key goal for how we designed Exercise Points was to align with the U.S., European and World Health Organisation recommendations for physical activity:
Adults aged 18–64 years
- Should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity throughout the week, or do at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity physical activity, or an equivalent combination of both.
- For additional health benefits, adults should increase their moderate-intensity physical activity to 300 minutes per week, or equivalent.
- Muscle-strengthening activities should be done involving major muscle groups on 2 or more days a week.
(https://www.who.int/initiatives/behealthy/physical-activity)
Here’s how it works in NestEgg.
How Exercise Points Are Calculated
Every time you log a workout, your Exercise Points are calculated using the formula:
Exercise Points = Duration × Intensity + 25% bonus (for strength training)
Let’s break that down:
- Duration = time spent exercising (in minutes)
- Intensity = how hard you worked, based on heart rate data
- Strength Bonus = if the workout is primarily resistance training, you get an additional 25% added to your score
What Is Intensity?
Intensity reflects how hard your cardiovascular system is working during a workout. It’s based on your Heart Rate Reserve (HRR%), calculated as:
HRR% = (Average HR – Resting HR) / (Max HR – Resting HR)
Where:
- Average HR = your average heart rate during the workout
- Resting HR = your typical resting heart rate, ideally measured in the morning
- Max HR = the higher of either:
- 207 – 0.7 × Age, or
- the highest heart rate you've recorded (Peak HR) in a workout
- 207 – 0.7 × Age, or
This is then used to compute the Intensity:
Intensity = Min (fn(HRR%), 4.0)
Please note our exact function for computing exercise intensity is part of a pending patent review and we are not able to disclose it for the moment.
Why Intensity Matters
The Intensity score captures how much cardiovascular effort you're putting in. Here’s how we categorize it:
You’ll see both the number and the descriptor in the NestEgg app to help you understand your effort more intuitively.
NOTE: We cap Intensity at 4.0 for safety and fairness. That level typically corresponds to training at about 90%+ of your maximum heart rate.
The Strength Bonus
Most health organisations have now realised that strength training is very important for all aspects of your health - both short-term and longterm. Most people (particularly women) do not challenge their bodies with enough weight and resistance. To encourage Eggs to do strength training, we award a 25% exercise points bonus for “approved” strength workouts.
The NestEgg app automatically reads the description of your workout from Apple Health, Google Health Connect and Fitbit. The following workouts will receive the extra 25% bonus:
Apple Health
- Traditional Strength Training
- Climbing
- Core Training
- Functional Strength Training
- Gymnastics
- Pilates
- Wrestling
- Martial Arts
Google Health Connect
- Strength Training
- Pilates
- Weight Lifting
- CrossFit
- Rock Climbing
- Hiking
Fitbit
- Strength Training
- Pilates
- Powerlifting
- Weightlifting / Weights
- CrossFit
- Indoor climbing
Example: Calculating Exercise Points for a Strength Workout
Let’s say an Egg completes the following:
- Workout Type: 40-minute resistance training session (e.g. full-body weights session)
- Duration: 40 minutes
- Average Heart Rate: 120 bpm
- Resting Heart Rate: 60 bpm
- Peak Heart Rate: 140 bpm
- Age: 35
- Strength Training? Yes
Step 1: Calculate Max Heart Rate
Max HR = Max (207 – 0.7 × Age, Peak HR)
= Max (207 – 0.7×35, 140)
= Max (182.5, 140)
= 182.5 bpm
Step 2: Calculate Heart Rate Reserve %
HRR% = (Avg HR – Rest HR) / (Max HR – Rest HR)
= (120 – 60) / (182.5 – 60)
= 60 / 122.5
≈ 0.49
Step 3: Calculate Intensity
Intensity = Min (fn(HRR%), 4.0)
≈ 1.25
This lands in the Moderate intensity zone.
Step 4: Compute Base Exercise Points
Exercise Points = Duration × Intensity
= 40 × 1.25
= 50.0
Step 5: Apply Strength Bonus
Final Exercise Points = Base × 1.25
= 50.0 × 1.25
= 62.5 Exercise Points
Example Summary
