Home   |   Personal Trainer   |   Resume   |   Training   |   Online Fitness   |   Philosophy   |   FAQ   |   Articles   |   Books   |   Contact

The Exercise F.I.T.T. Principles

Frequency, Intensity, Time, & Type Of Exercise

THE EXERCISE FITT PRINCIPLES

1. Partly based from the guidelines recommended by the ACSM, ACE, and the NSCA
2. Note:

• Always think safety first!
• This is a generalized guideline for most healthy individuals; nevertheless, remember everyone is different and programs do vary
• Beginners should start slowly with lower weight and higher repetition for safety
• Remember individuals will progress more quickly to their goals without injury
  *Functional Capacity = ((220 - age) x resting heart rate) x target % + Resting heart rate

• Always consider safety first-Progression toward your goals will occur much faster when injuries from overuse or abuse are avoided.
• These are reasonable guidelines for healthy individuals - Your routine way vary. Individuals interested in body fat loss should increase duration of lower intensity cardiovascular workouts before increasing intensity.
• Individuals interested in muscular fitness gains should perfect technique before increasing intensity.
• As a general rule, 6 repetitions or less primary concentrates on strength; 12 repetitions or more focuses on muscular endurance.  It is recommend to choose exercises working larger muscle groups first, gradually adding small group assistance exercises.
• To achieve total fitness, include both cardiovascular and muscular fitness aspects of training as well as a flexibility routine.  Please see your exercise counselor for proper advice on warm-up, cool down, and changes to your workout.
  

*Functional Capacity = ((220 - age) x resting heart rate) x target % + Resting heart rate
Based in part form the guidelines recommended by the American college of Sports Medicine, The American Council on exercise and The National Strength and Conditioning Association

The ACSM defines the four components of fitness, the FIT Principles, as follows:

1. Cardiorespiratory - the ability of the heart to pump blood and transport nutrients such as oxygen to and from the working muscle fibers and the rest of the body
2. Muscular - muscular strength and endurance
3. Flexibility - the ability of the joint to move through the full range of motion
4. Body composition - body fat percent and lean mass percent

• Cardiorespiratory training is aerobic exercise, which "burns" carbohydrates with oxygen, so it also "burns" stored body fat to produce energy.
• Muscle training is anaerobic exercise, which "burns" carbohydrates without oxygen to produce energy. It yields lactic acid as a byproduct, which causes that "burning sensation" and fatigue in the muscles.
• Muscular strength is power which equals force times velocity, usually 1 repetition maximum.
• Muscular endurance is the ability to repeat many repetitions, usually 12 to 30.
  

EXERCISE PRINCIPLES

Specificity - the specific exercises as a function of your goals; training certain body parts to assist in a sport
Overload - each body part must be overloaded high enough above normal for it to adapt to become stronger
Progression - overload is progressively increased
Whole Body Exercise - The muscles must be in balance.  Many people do not exercise their whole body; they will work only certain body parts, such as their stomach, hips, and thighs.  The body must be in balance or an injury is more likely to occur.  The saying “a system is strongest by it’s weakest link” is true.  The body is a system and if certain body parts are not correctly exercised, such as the lower back, they will most likely become injured or muscle asymmetry may develop.
Full Range of Motion - each exercise should move through the full range of motion for maximal benefit; injury or muscle asymmetry may develop otherwise.
Speed of movement - the speed of the positive part of the exercise (resistance) should be about 2 seconds and the speed of the negative should be about 3- 4 seconds.
Control - control the weight and do not let it control you.
Breathing - exhale through the positive/ resistance part of the exercise and inhale through the negative
Intensity - amount of stress on a body part.  One popular method is the 1 to 10 scale, with 1 being very easy, 5 being moderate, and 10 being very hard.  Another method involves the heart rate, as shown on page x.
Frequency - number workouts per week; number exercises per workout; number sets per exercise; number repetitions per set
Duration - amount of time to performs the workouts, exercises, sets, and repetitions
Perseverance - continuing exercise until the goals are met and then continuing on a maintenance program

MUSCLE CHARACTERISTICS

Agonist - the primary working muscle group
Antagonist - the opposing stabilizing muscle group, i.e. if the biceps is the agonist then the triceps is the antagonist
Concentric Contraction - when a muscle group exert a force and shortens, as in the positive part of the exercise (resistance).
Eccentric Contraction - when a muscle group exert a force and lengthens, as in the negative part of the exercise, popularly known as a “negative”.
Isometric Contraction - when a muscle group exert a force and no change occurs i.e. pressing your hand against a wall and holding it there.
Slow twitch muscle fiber - endurance muscle fibers primarily used in cardiorespiratory “aerobic” training
Fast twitch muscle fiber- strength muscle fibers primarily used in muscular “anaerobic” training

WORKOUT COMPONENTS

Warm- up - low intensity exercise that prepares the body for more intense exercise
Cardiovascular / Cardiorespiratory / Cardiopulmonary training / Cardio - aerobic exercise, which "burns" carbohydrates with oxygen, therefore it also "burns" stored body fat to produce energy; a component of total fitness involving the heart, lungs, blood, and blood vessels.
Muscular training - anaerobic exercise, which "burns" carbohydrates without oxygen to produce energy. It
yields lactic acid as a byproduct, which causes that "burning sensation" and fatigue in the muscles; a component of total fitness involving muscle strength and endurance.
Muscular strength - power which equals force times velocity, usually 1 repetition maximum.
Muscular endurance - the ability to repeat many repetitions, usually 12 to 30.
Cool down - low intensity exercise that prepares the body for more intense exercise
Flexibility - the ability to move a joint through its full range of motion
Max VO2 - maximum oxygen uptake; relative test for fitness

PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE EXERCISE

Hypertrophy - enlargement of skeletal muscle
Tendon - connects muscle to bone
Ligament - connects bone to bone
Fast twitch muscle fiber - anaerobic muscle fibers used in explosive activities
Slow twitch muscle fiber - aerobic muscle fibers used in slow, continuous activities
Absolute fat - pounds of fat
Relative fat - percent of fat
Isotonic contraction - muscles shortens with varying tension while lifting a constant load (concentric or dynamic)
Isometric contraction - tension develops but there is no change in muscle length (static contraction)
Eccentric contraction - muscle lengthens while developing tension (negative contraction)
Circuit training - combines both muscular and cardiovascular conditioning to a less intensity; typically 10-15 reps at each exercise station of 10 to 20 stations within a 30 second period followed by a 15 second rest between exercises; moderate improvements, higher in safety (less joint stress), and time efficient compared to performing either cardiovascular or muscular conditioning separately

Los Angeles Personal Trainer  |   Background  |   Resume  |   Fitness Training   |   Online Program   |   Philosophy  |   Links  |   Donations  |   Contact