F.I.T.T Principle

The F.I.T.T. principle should be your guiding principle when choosing your workout routines.  F.I.T.T. stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise one should do as part of a regular exercise program.  These principles can be applied to the whole workout or just a specific component of the program.

Frequency refers to how often one will exercise.  The frequency often depends on the factors such as type of exercise, its intensity, where you are at as far as being fit, and your weekly goals but in general everyone should exercise every day ideally but at least three times a week.  Certain exercises such as cardio workouts are recommended between three and five days a week depending on your final goal.

For strength training, they recommend two to three non-consecutive days per week to give your muscles a chance to recover. The strength training should be such that your whole body is worked but it is possible to spit the workout up so you do upper body one day and lower body the next with a day off before repeating the sequence.  

As far as intensity goes, it again depends on the type of exercise.  For cardio workouts, you want a mix of low, medium and high intensity to stimulate different parts of the body and keep you from overtraining.   I often choose interval workouts because they alternate medium with high intensity and are often a bit shorter.  

On the other hand, intensity is defined differently when talking about strength training.  Intensity is defined by the exercise chosen, the number of repetitions, the amount of weight, and the total sets done.  If you are a beginner, you might want to build muscle stability and endurance by using weights that weigh less but have sets with a higher number of repetitions.

  On the other hand, if you want to develop your muscles, you would do fewer sets with a higher number of repetitions while using moderate weights.  If you want to build strength consider doing more sets containing fewer repetitions while using heavier weights.

Time refers to the length of time you exercise.  For cardio workouts, it is recommended  that a person workout for 30 to 60 minutes but if you are a beginner, you might only do 15 to 20 minutes. On the hand if your cardio workout is high intensity, you might only do 20 minutes for the day instead of 30.  In regard to the strength training workout, the time involved, depends on the type of training you are doing.  

Last is type which might be cardio such as running, walking, dancing, or anything that requires movement while strength training includes, kettlebelly, bands, dumbbells, or resistance machines.  If at any time, you start getting bored, adjust to the level of intensity, or your weight loss stalls, think about changing one of the F.I.T.T components to shock your body into burning calories more efficiently.

I try to change mine around but I am not as successful as I might be. Let me know what you think, I’d love to hear.  Have a great day.