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One of the biggest challenges with exercise is knowing where to start and how to get better. To improve your fitness, you must self-monitor your workouts and make changes when necessary. One of the best tools you can use to help you is the FITT Principle. FITT is an acronym that outlines the basic components of a successful exercise plan.
How Often Should You Exercise?It is a myth that you must work out for extended periods every day to lose weight and keep it off. What is considered an “effective” exercise varies between people. Factors that affect this include age, fitness level, mobility, health conditions, etc. Before you begin an exercise plan and decide how often to exercise, consider these key factors.
Build your plan off of the answers to these questions. If you are a busy mom and you want to lose weight to gain more energy, you might not have a lot of time. Maybe your only form of exercise is keeping up with your kids. In this case, you may want to start small. For example, you could plan workouts for weekend afternoons when your spouse can watch the kids. How Hard Should You Exercise?The best way to see how hard you are working is to monitor your heart rate. You can do this by wearing a fitness tracker, heart rate monitor or smart watch. You can also feel for your heartbeat and count it over a 15-second period.
How Long Should You Exercise?The time you spend exercising will usually depend on what you are doing. Health experts recommend at least 30 minutes of cardio exercise each workout. However, if you are doing a strength-based exercise, you will likely pay more attention to your number of “sets” and “reps.” Regardless, many other factors are involved.
What Should You Do for Exercise?Should you hit up the elliptical at the gym? Should you go for a hike? The type of exercise you do depends on what you like and what results you want. For example, if you want to improve your cardio-vascular fitness and you love the outdoors, try exercises like hiking, swimming and biking. If you want to improve your muscle strength and you enjoy the convenience of the gym, try using free weights or machine weights. You can also use your body weight for exercises like push-ups, chin-ups, planks, etc. The FITT Principle: Final ConsiderationsYou can use the FITT Principle for cardio exercise, strength-based exercise, stretching and more. However, before you start any exercise plan, first consult with your healthcare provider. They will help you develop a plan that is safe and effective. By using the FITT Principle, you can not only improve your fitness level with time, but you can also prevent serious injury. For more information on this topic, CLICK HERE for education from the Obesity Action Coalition.
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Think of The FITT principle as a set of rules that must be adhered to in order to benefit from any form of fitness training program. These rules relate to the Frequency, Intensity, Type and Time (FITT) of exercise… These four principles of fitness training are applicable to individuals exercising at low to moderate training levels and may be used to establish guidelines for both cardiorespiratory and resistance training. The FITT principle is used to guide the development of unique and bespoke fitness plans that cater for an individual’s specific needs. FrequencyFollowing any form of fitness training, the body goes through a process of rebuild and repair to replenish its energy reserves consumed by the exercise. The frequency of exercise is a fine balance between providing just enough stress for the body to adapt to and allowing enough time for healing and adaptation to occur…
INTENSITYThe second rule in the FITT principle relates to intensity. It defines the amount of effort that should be invested in a training program or any one session. Like the first FITT principle – frequency – there must be a balance between finding enough intensity to overload the body (so it can adapt) but not so much that it causes overtraining. Heart rate can be used to measure the intensity of cardiorespiratory training. Workload is used to define the intensity of resistance training.
Heart Rate & Maximum Heart Rate Target Heart Rate For fitter, more advanced individuals, a target heart rate zone of 70-85 percent of their maximum of heart rate may be more appropriate. Staying with the example above, that 40 year old now has a heart rate zone of 126bpm – 153bpm. There are limitations with heart rate and the heart rate reserve method, while no means flawless, may be a more accurate way to determine exercise intensity.
TYPEThe third component in the FITT principle dictates what type or kind of exercise you should choose to achieve the appropriate training response… Cardio Respiratory Training Resistance Training TIMEThe final component in the FITT principle of training is time – or how long you should be exercising for. Is longer better? Cardio Respiratory Training Beyond the 45-60 minute mark there are diminished returns. For all that extra effort, the associated benefits are minimal. This also applies to many athletes. Beyond a certain point they run the risk of overtraining and injury. There are exceptions however – typically the ultra-long distance endurance athletes. In terms of the duration of the program as a whole, research suggests a minimum of 6 weeks is required to see noticeable improvement and as much as a year or more before a peak in fitness is reached. Resistance Training Perhaps the most important principle of training (that ironically doesn’t have it’s own letter in the FITT principle) is rest. Exercising too frequently and too intensely hinders the body’s ability to recover and adapt. As a rule of thumb, the harder you train, the more recovery you should allow for. Unfortunately many athletes don’t have that luxury! Sports Training PrinciplesThe FITT principle is designed more for the general population than athletes. Sport-specific training should be governed by a more in-depth set of principles. These include:
For a more detailed look at the the principles of training for athletes, see the excellent “Sports Training Principles” (1997) by Frank Dick. |