The most difficult part of the exercise is generally not the exercise itself. Is to know how to start. It can be intimidating to understand what to do, how long and how often. Create a safe and efficient exercise routine on which you can really stick to a strategy. Enter: the Fitt principle.
Also known as Formula Fitt, this is a set of simple directives that you can follow to design a training program adapted to your goals, your fitness experience and your lifestyle.
What is the FITT principle?
The Fitt principle represents frequency,, intensity,, timeAnd typeWho are key variables you can adjust to help you get the results you want from training – all in a timely time with a limited risk of burning or injuring yourself.
“These variables work together to match your total exercise workload,” explains Cody Braun, CSCS. Learning to effectively modify the four components of the FITT principle can help you define and achieve the achieveable fitness objectives and prevent injuries, he explains.
Here is a deeper dive in how each part of the formula works to create the best training program for you.
1. Frequency
The frequency simply refers to the number of days in your training routine, and this is the foundation of your training program. “This is where you design the layout of when to train each muscle group and when to take rest days,” explains Braun.
Do you want to do a five-day routine, or can you get started at three days?
Your training frequency will finally depend on your schedule and goals, but the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends a minimum of three days a week.
2. Intensity
Intensity is an indicator of the difficulty you work with – in other words, that you break through a training session or that you barely hold on.
When you try to understand what level of intensity you should aim, one thing to consider is your goals. If you want to fire fat and develop muscles, training at high intensity intervals (HIIT) can be an excellent option.
If you want to improve your cardiovascular endurance, turn to activities with a moderate intensity equilibrium such as race and bicycle. It all depends on what you strive to achieve.
A second aspect to consider is your level of physical form. For example, if you are new in fitness, HIIT training could be too much and make you too tired or bad the next day. Being too much beating your previous training can be discouraging, and it could lead you to abandon your program. This could also cause injuries if your body is not ready for this level of intensity.
It is normal to start with training which is not as rigorous at the beginning. Then, while you start to improve your level of physical shape, you can increase the intensity little.
How to assess the intensity
To assess the intensity, Mike Donavanik, CSCS, says that you can use the perceived effort rate (RPE) to determine the effort you make. Depending on your maximum heart rate in a drive, the RPE scale allows you to associate a number with the intensity of the training. The lower the number, the easier the training.
Another option to assess the intensity of a drive is the “discussion test”. If you can barely mumble a word while you are doing the exercise, you probably reach your maximum intensity. But if you can easily maintain a conversation, training is on the lighter side of the ladder.
3. Time
This part of the acronym Fitt refers to the duration of each training session. Are you cracked on time and can you only press the 20-minute training sessions? Or do you have the leisure to spend a full hour at the gymnasium?
Whatever the duration of the training you choose, keep in mind that there is an opposite relationship between time and intensity during the exercise, says Braun. “When the intensity is higher, the [time] will be lower, and vice versa, ”he explains.
This means that you can always operate these 20 -minute as well as the longest routines: the intensity must simply be in force. If you want to follow the ACSM recommendation, they suggest doing five days of moderate intensity exercise per week to total a minimum of 150 minutes, or three days per week of high intensity exercise to total a minimum of 75 minutes.
4. Type
The type refers to the specific training activity: running, weightlifting, kickboxing, etc. “All training is not equal,” says Braun, which is why it is important to choose the exercise that will propel you to your goals.
If you want to run a marathon, you need to focus on activities that improve your cardiovascular endurance. Maybe you want something sweet for your joints, so you opt for a low impact activity such as swimming.
Or maybe you want to lose fat. For this goal, Braun suggests focusing on the training that burn calories and strengthen muscles, such as a healthy combination of cardio training and resistance.
How to use the Fitt principle
Whether you create a training plan yourself or try to choose between training programs that have already been designed, the FIIT principle can help make the process overwhelming to become more manageable.
By breaking down the process into four parts, “it allows you to get a better idea of what your training routine looks like, how you can modify it to achieve your goals or where certain activities can miss,” explains Donavanik.
When you start a program, check yourself every two weeks to assess your progress and see what you feel. “If you start noticing a tray, it is probably time to change one of the variables,” says Braun.
The change of one to two variables every six to eight weeks gives you time to control a routine while maintaining progress.
“For example: the frequency, time and type can all stay the same, but you may want to increase the intensity of your training sessions – it could be heavier weights, more repetitions or faster racing speeds,” explains Donavanik.
On the other hand, if you feel perpetually painful or tired, Braun recommends reducing a variable to avoid injury and professional exhaustion. This could happen, for example, if you exercise five days a week at maximum intensity for 50 minutes.
In this case, you could resume four days of exercise and assess what you feel then. Or, maybe you stick to the same number of days, but you shorten each 15-minute drive.
By refining the components of the FITT principle, you can adjust a program to meet your needs and reach your goals effectively without injuring yourself.
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