FITT Principle: What Is It and How Does It Work?

The most difficult part of the exercise is not the same exercise. He knows how to start. It can be scary to find out what to do, how much, and how many times. Create a safe and effective exercise routine that you can actually stick to it takes some strategy. Enter: Fitt principle.

It is also known as Fitt Formula, a set of simple guidelines that you can follow to design an exercise program specifically designed for your goals, fitness and lifestyle.

What is the principle of Fitt?

The Fitt principle symbolizes to repetitionand intensityand timeAnd He writesAnd they are the main variables that you can adjust to help you get the results you want from exercise – all in time with a limited risk of burning or harm.

“These variables work together to equal the overall exercise,” says Cody Brown, CSCS. He explains that learning how to modify the four components of the FITT principle can help you effectively define and reach the metabolic fitness goals and prevent injury.

Here is a deeper diving on how each part of the formula works to create your best exercise program.

1. Frequency

The frequency simply indicates the number of days in the exercise routine, which is the basis of the exercise program. “This is the place where you are designed to train each muscle group and when it takes rest days,” says Brown.

Do you want to do a five -day routine, or can you only adhere to?

The exercise frequency will eventually depend on your schedule and goals, but the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends at least three days a week.

2. The severity

The density is an indication of how difficult your work – in other words, whether you are consistent with exercise or barely hanging.

When you try to know the level of intensity you should aim at, the only thing to consider is your goals. If you want a fat of fat and muscle development, HIIT is a great option.

If you want to improve heart and blood vessels, move to moderate stable condition such as running and cycling. All this depends on what you strive to achieve.

The second aspect that must be observed is the level of fitness. For example, if you are new to physical fitness, Hiit may be too much and make you very tired or painful the next day. Beat the previous exercise may be inhibitors, and it may lead you to surrender to your program. This may also cause an injury if your body is not ready for this level of severity.

It is okay to start training that is not strict at first. After that, when you start improving the fitness level, you can increase the density little by little.

How to measure severity

To assess intensity, Mike Donavanic, CSCS says, you can use the RPE rate to determine the amount of effort you make. Based on your maximum heart rate in exercise, the RPE scale allows you to connect a number of exercise intensity. The lower the number, the easier the exercise.

Another option to measure the severity of the exercise is the “Test of the Hadith”. If you cannot mute the word while exercising, you are likely to reach your maximum intensity. But if you can maintain a conversation easily, the exercise on the lighter side of the scale.

3. Time

This part of the FITT shortcut indicates the duration of each exercise session. Have you been destroyed on time and you can only press the exercises for 20 minutes? Or do you have time to spend an hour in the gym?

Whatever the duration of the exercise you choose, keep in mind that there is an inverse relationship between time and intensity during exercise, says Brown. “When the intensity is higher, [time] It will be less, vice versa. “

This means that you can still make these 20 -minute routines work exactly as is the longest: the intensity should be only in full strength. If you want to follow the ACSM recommendation, they suggest doing five days of moderate exercises per week to a total of at least 150 minutes, or three days a week from high -density exercises to at least 75 minutes.

4. Type

The type indicates the specific exercise activity: running, weightlifting, kickboxing, etc. “Not all exercises are equal,” says Brown, and for this reason it is important to choose the exercise that will push you towards your goals.

If you want to run the marathon race, you should focus on activities that improve the ability to withstand cardiovascular. You may want something nice to your joints, so you choose a low -effect activity like swimming.

Or you may want to lose fat. For this goal, Brown suggests focusing on training that burns calories and building muscle, such as a healthy mixture of heart and resistance training.

How to use the Fitt principle

Whether you are creating an exercise plan yourself or trying to choose between the exercise programs that are already designed, the FIIT principle can help in making the overwhelming process of obtaining a more management shape.

By dividing the process into four parts, “it allows you to get a better idea than what the exercise routine looks like, and how you can adjust it to achieve your goals, or where some activities may not be present,” says Donavanic.

When you start a program, check with yourself every two weeks to assess your progress and know what you feel. “If you start noticing a plateau, it’s time to change one of the variables,” says Brown.

It gives you one or two variables, each to eight weeks, give you time to master a routine while maintaining progress.

“For example: frequency, time and type can remain the same, but you may want to increase the intensity of your exercises – weights may be heavier, more actors, or faster operating speeds,” explains Donavanic.

On the other hand, if you feel permanently tired or tired, Braun recommends a variable reduction to avoid infection and exhaustion. This may happen, for example, if you are doing five days a week with a maximum density for 50 minutes.

In this case, you can return to four days of exercise, and evaluate what you feel at the time. Or, you may adhere to the same number of days, but you shorten each exercise for 15 minutes.

By modifying the components of the Fitt principle, you can set a program to suit your needs and reach your goals in an effective way without being hurt.

Struggle to put an exercise routine together? Leave the programming for experts and try one of the Bodi exercise programs, which are all different in the duration of the program, the duration of the exercise, the severity and type of exercise. From weightlifting, HIit to Barre and Yoga, we offer dozens of programs that can suit your unique goals and preferences.