UNIT 3: Designing A Personal Fitness Program

In this lesson, you will design a personal fitness program using the FITT principle.

prevents diseases develops muscles and bones for increased strength and endurance controls body weight by burning calories reduces stress, anxiety, and depression and improve mood

The five components of health-related fitness are cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition.

The amount of exercise needed to maintain physical health varies depending on age, health status, fitness, and other factors. It is recommended that children and teenagers get at least 60 minutes of physical activity five days a week. Adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity a week and two or more days a week of muscle-strengthening activities to work all of the major muscle groups.

Cardiovascular Exercise, Strength Training, and Flexibility

, or cardio, are activities that raise your heart rate. Running, cycling, hiking, walking, and jumping rope are examples of cardio. Just about any activity that triggers an increased heart rate qualifies as cardiovascular exercise.

is any group of exercises performed to improve overall physical strength. Weight training is the most common type of resistance training. Training with resistance increases muscle mass and makes you stronger. You should train each of the major muscle groups at least once a week. Major muscle groups include your back, legs, arms, chest, shoulders, and abdominals.

Being flexible means you can move your joints through their entire range of motion. The purpose of flexibility training is to increase your range of motion. Stretching is a form of exercise that increases or maintains flexibility. You should stretch at the beginning of every workout after you've completed your warm-up, as well as at the end of your workout as you cool down.

It is recommended that children and teenagers exercise for at least 60 minutes five days a week.

Muscular development are specificity, overload, progression, recovery, variation, transfer, individualization, balance, and reversibility.

The principle of specificity states that exercising a specific body part or skill mainly targets the development of that part or skill. Therefore, how you exercise should be specific to your goals. Practice is necessary for improving a particular exercise or skill.

Your body is continuously adapting, or adjusting, to the stresses it encounters. When you overload, or place stress on the body in a manner it is unaccustomed to, the body reacts by adapting to that stress. This is the idea behind overload. The principle of overload states that a greater-than-normal stress load on the body is needed for the body to adapt to training. Once the body adapts to the stress, a different type or level of stress is needed for the body to continue to adapt.

Overload is the amount of load, or resistance, and progression is how you increase that load. The principle of progression states that a gradual and steady increase of a workload over a period of time will result in improvements in fitness. Increasing overload too slowly can result in little or no improvement, while increasing overload too quickly can cause injury.

Overtraining can lead to exhaustion and injury. It is essential that you give your body time to recover from the progression of stress during any program. The principle of recovery emphasizes the need for rest and recuperation. Recovery is essential to any workout program, especially if strength training is involved. Strength training tears muscle fibers. As you recover from a workout, your muscle fibers become stronger and larger as they heal. To help your body recover, get plenty of rest, stretch your muscles, cool down after workouts, follow a nutritious diet, and drink plenty of water.

Variation is similar to progression and overload in that it encourages you to periodically change your routine. The principle of variation states that small changes in training routines produce more consistent gains. To prevent boredom and avoid plateaus, or periods of little or no progress, you must change your routine regularly. Your body adjusts and adapts to routine, so periodically changing workouts will ensure continued physical fitness.

Transfer relates to the principle of specificity. The improvements you make by focusing your training on specific body parts and skills can be transferred to other activities. The idea behind transfer is that some activities can improve the performance of other activities that require similar skills. For example, doing agility work to improve coordination and speed up footwork can help with skill development for both boxing and soccer.

Every body responds to stress in a different way. That is why people progress at different rates, and the amount of time needed for recovery varies from person to person. Keeping body type differences in mind, the principle of individualization states that your workouts should be designed specifically for you. Your fitness program should match your fitness level and experience. Although basic training principles apply to everyone, they should be implemented differently depending on the person. Other factors, such as medical history, preexisting health conditions, attitude, safety, skill level, injury, and availability of equipment also determine the type of program to follow.

Transfer relates to the principle of specificity. The improvements you make by focusing your training on specific body parts and skills can be transferred to other activities. The idea behind transfer is that some activities can improve the performance of other activities that require similar skills. For example, doing agility work to improve coordination and speed up footwork can help with skill development for both boxing and soccer.

Reversibility affects progression and relates to recovery. The principle of reversibility identifies your body's ability to undo the progressive benefits of the continued training it undergoes. You must continue to work out to maintain fitness. While rest is necessary for recovery after workouts, extended rest periods reduce physical fitness. If you do not maintain your program, the physical effects of your fitness training will diminish, or fade, over time. If you work out consistently for a year to become fit and then take three months off, your fitness level will decrease. Your fitness level will also decrease if you slow your progression because you will be unable to sustain the same load as before.

Overload is the principle that a greater-than-normal stress load on the body is needed for the body to adjust to training.

The principle of individualization is that no two people are the same. Your fitness program should be tailored to meet your own unique needs. The principle of specificity is that exercising a certain body part or a particular skill primarily develops that part or skill.

The FITT principle allows you to apply the nine basic training principles to your workout. FITT is an acronym for frequency, intensity, time, and type. You can manipulate these four variables to change your workout.

Frequency is how often you exercise. It is recommended that children and teens perform at least 60 minutes of physical activity five days a week. Three of these days should involve some type of strength-training exercises, keeping in mind that adequate rest and recovery time is needed for any program.

Intensity is the level of effort required to do an activity. Your intensity, or how hard you work during exercise, reflects how difficult an exercise is for you to accomplish. Low-intensity activities, such as walking, are easier, require less effort, and burn fewer calories.

increased heart rate, faster breathing, light sweat, and ability to carry on normal conversation 40−50% of your maximum heart rate

increased heart rate, faster breathing, constant sweating, the ability to feel your muscles working, and ability to carry on a conversation of brief sentences 50−70% of your maximum heart rate

increased heart rate, profuse sweating, light strain in your muscles, and the inability to speak 70−85% of your maximum heart rate

Time is the duration, or how long, you exercise. For cardio, time is measured in seconds, minutes, and hours. For strength training, time is measured by the number of repetitions and sets, in addition to how much rest time is taken between sets. For example, if you need to do two sets of push-ups, and there are eight repetitions in a set, you will complete 16 push-ups in total. The amount of time needed per activity varies based on intensity and type.

What type of exercise or activity are you doing? Any workout should include a combination of cardio, strength training, and flexibility.

A set is a group of repetitions. Sets and repetitions are common in strength-building exercises. For example, you might do one set of 10 push-ups: there are 10 repetitions in the set. If you do a second set of push-ups, you will have done 20 push-ups in all. In this case, two sets represent 20 repetitions.

You should complete a fitness program designed to meet your personal needs. When determining your needs, you must consider your fitness goals and do research. Once you figure out what needs to be done, develop a plan and stick to it.

The first step in designing a program is to set specific and realistic goals. What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to gain muscle? Do you want to increase your overall fitness level? Your program will differ depending on your goals.

The next step is to research and plan. Seek information from publications and health professionals to determine how you will reach your goals. Make sure the information is accurate, and then come up with a detailed plan that describes how you will reach your goals.

It is important that you know your fitness level before you begin any new fitness program. See a physician to make sure that you are healthy enough to complete a program.

Consider your fitness goals and use your research to write your fitness program. Your plan should be detailed enough to answer these questions: When should I exercise? When should I rest? When should I stretch? What type of cardio exercise should I do and for how long? How long should the warm-up and the cooldown last? How many days a week should I exercise? How many days a week should I do strength training? What types of strength-training exercises should I do and for long? How many sets and repetition should I do? How much weight should I lift?

As you begin your program, it is important that you take it slow. Listen to your body. If you feel pain or experience breathing trouble, dizziness, or nausea, you may be working too hard. Take a break and decrease the intensity. These signs may also indicate a health issue. In that case, stop the workout and seek medical advice. Track your workouts each day by keeping a workout log to monitor your progress. Write down every activity, how long you performed it, and how you felt afterward. Are the exercises becoming easier over time? If so, it may be time to increase the intensity. Is your plan working to accomplish your goals? If your plan is not working, use the knowledge gained from your research to alter your plan.

Make it fun. Find an activity you enjoy, and make it part of your program. Reward yourself. Each time you reach a fitness milestone or goal, celebrate your accomplishment. Find a workout partner. Join a fitness group, or try a new exercise class with a friend. Change keeps you from becoming bored. Meeting and working out regularly with a friend or a group will improve your attitude. Having someone to help, encourage, and push you will help you stick to your program. Write it down. Keep a running total of your workouts. This will help you set new goals. Seek help. If you have trouble staying motivated, find a personal trainer or coach. A personal trainer will help push you to complete each workout.

The decision to begin a regular physical fitness program is an important one. It requires a commitment of time and effort. Remember to set goals. Your goals will determine how long, hard, and often you exercise, as well as the types of exercises you do. Your goals, health, fitness level, age, interests, and convenience are among the many aspects to consider when planning your program. Your program should include a combination of cardio, flexibility, and strength training. Each workout should begin with a warm-up and end with a cooldown. Remember, rest and recovery are just as important as the workouts themselves. Exercise should become a part of your regular routine that you do without question, like brushing your teeth and bathing. But that does not mean that it cannot be enjoyable. Exercise can and should be fun. Through careful planning, time management, dedication, and discipline, you can establish a fun, healthy routine that lasts a lifetime.