Creating an exercise program can be daunting to some. You may not even know where to start! Luckily, if you have a few health goals in mind, it can be pretty simple when using the FITT principle. FITT is a principle that many fitness and health professionals use when prescribing physical activity. This easy to remember acronym compiles 4 concepts that all exercise programs utilize.
To get started, it is best to write down 2-3 goals, be specific, try SMART goals. Using your goals, you can use the following categories to design your own basic plan.
F.I.T.T. Principle
Frequency – This refers to the number of exercise sessions completed in a
given amount of time. In the strength and conditioning world, this is typically a week (we generally refer to a 1 to 4-week period a “microcycle”).
Training Status and Frequency Guidelines
Beginner: 2-3 sessions/week
Intermediate: 3-4 sessions/week
Advanced: 4-7 sessions/week
Ask yourself: “According to my goals and current fitness level, how often should I exercise?”
Intensity– This refers to how hard the work is performed. This can be affected by many different factors such as amount of resistance or weight used, the speed or power exerted, changes in the sets and reps, amount of rest time, etc.
Set and repetition ranges
Power: 3-6 sets of 1-5 reps
Strength: 3-5 sets of 3-8 reps
Hypertrophy: 3-4 sets of 10-12 reps
Muscular Endurance: 3-4 sets of 15+ reps
Ask yourself: “According to my goal, how (heavy should I lift?, far/fast should I run?, many sets and reps should I complete? etc.)?
Time–This refers to the amount of time spent during an exercise session. Depending on the intensity and type of exercise, your exercise sessions should be anywhere between 45min-80min.
Ask yourself: “According to my goal, how long should I exercise?” or “How much time do I have to exercise today?”
Type –This refers to the kind of exercises performed to help you achieve your goals.
Example: If your goal is strength or hypertrophy, then you would do strength-building exercises such as squats, deadlifts, and bench presses (also known as compound lifts: exercises involving 2 or more joints and muscle groups).
Ask yourself: “According to my goal, what type of exercise movements or type of running should I do?”
Here are the benefits of creating your own program:
Your goals – The plan you create is great because it is customized to you and your goals and abilities.
Structured plan – Structured planning leads to consistency with leads to lifelong
changes.
Injury prevention – Having an exercise plan helps with strengthening your body, greatly decreasing your risk for injury.
You can allow yourself variability – having days, where your program can get stale, will happen, that’s why you have the freedom to slightly change your exercise. Having this ability decreases the risk of overtraining syndrome.
If you have additional questions about the F.I.T.T Principle or would like to talk to someone at Home Base about setting your own exercise program, visit www.homebase.org/fitness to get in touch with our Warrior Health & Fitness Team.
For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:
- Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. To provide even greater health benefit and to assist with weight loss or maintaining weight loss, at least 300 minutes a week is recommended. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefit.
- Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.
Moderate aerobic exercise includes activities such as brisk walking, biking, swimming and mowing the lawn. Vigorous aerobic exercise includes activities such as running, heavy yard work and aerobic dancing. Strength training can include use of weight machines, your own body weight, heavy bags, resistance tubing or resistance paddles in the water, or activities such as rock climbing.
As a general goal, aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. If you want to lose weight, maintain weight loss or meet specific fitness goals, you may need to exercise more.
Reducing sitting time is important, too. The more hours you sit each day, the higher your risk of metabolic problems. Sitting too much can negatively impact your health and longevity, even if you get the recommended amount of daily physical activity. And some research has found that people who've lost weight may be more likely to keep off the lost weight by sitting less during the day.
Short on long chunks of time? Even brief bouts of activity offer benefits. For instance, if you can't fit in one 30-minute walk during the day, try a few five-minute walks instead. Any activity is better than none at all. What's most important is making regular physical activity part of your lifestyle.
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Sept. 22, 2021
- Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. 2nd ed. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. //health.gov/our-work/physical-activity/current-guidelines. Accessed June 15, 2021.
- AskMayoExpert. Physical activity (adult). Mayo Clinic; 2021.
- Tips for starting physical activity. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. //www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/weight-management/tips-get-active/tips-starting-physical-activity. Accessed June 15, 2021.
- Roake J, et al. Sitting time, type, and context among long-term weight-loss maintainers. Obesity. 2021; doi:10.1002/oby.23148.
- Laskowski ER (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. June 16, 2021.
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