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From Mayo Clinic to your inboxSign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. ErrorEmail field is required ErrorInclude a valid email address Learn more about Mayo Clinic’s use of data.To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices. You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail. If you are wondering how to structure your exercise and track your progress, you may want to look into the FITT principle. Below, we explain what it is and how to use it to reach your fitness goals. FIIT PrincipleThe FIIT principle is a straightforward guideline for revising and improving any workout plan. FIIT stands for frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise. You need to think about these four elements to create workouts that fit your goals and fitness level. For instance, working out 3 to 5 days a week with a mixture of low, medium, and high-intensity exercise for 30 to 60 minutes per session, and performing cardio and strength training. Working out these details and progressing them over time helps create an effective program. 1:15 Watch Now: How to Use FIIT In Your WorkoutsFrequencyThe first thing to set up with your workout plan is frequency—how often you will exercise. Frequency often depends on various factors, including the type of workout you're doing, how hard you're working, your fitness level, and your exercise goals. In general, the exercise guidelines set out by the American College of Sports Medicine give you a place to start when figuring out how often to work out for both cardio and strength training. Cardio WorkoutsCardio workouts are usually scheduled more often. Depending on your goal, guidelines recommend moderate cardio exercise five or more days a week or intense cardio three days a week to improve your health. If you want to lose weight, you may want to work up to more frequent workouts, up to six or more days a week. Just remember that more is not always better, and recovery time is essential. How Much Do You Need to Exercise to Lose Weight? Strength TrainingThe recommended frequency for strength training is two to three non-consecutive days a week. You should have at least one to two days between sessions. Your frequency, however, will often depend on the type of training sessions you perform as well as your goals. You want to work each muscle group at least two times a week if your goal is to build bigger muscles, for example. If you do a split routine, like upper body one day and lower body the next, your workouts can be more frequent than total body workouts. How Often You Should Exercise IntensityIntensity has to do with how hard you work during exercise. How you increase or decrease intensity depends on the type of workout you're doing. Cardio WorkoutsFor cardio, you will usually monitor workout intensity by heart rate, perceived exertion, the talk test, a heart rate monitor, or a combination of those measures. The general recommendation is to work at a moderate intensity for steady-state workouts. Interval training is done at a higher intensity for a shorter period. It's a good idea to have a mixture of low, medium, and high-intensity cardio exercises, so you stimulate different energy systems and avoid overtraining. What Is Moderate Exercise? Strength TrainingMonitoring the intensity of strength training involves a different set of parameters. Your intensity comprises the amount of weight you lift, and the number of reps and sets you do. The intensity can change based on your goals.
How to Determine Exercise Intensity TimeThe next element of your workout plan is how long you exercise during each session. There isn't one set rule for how long you should exercise, and it will typically depend on your fitness level and the type of workout you're doing. Cardio WorkoutsThe exercise guidelines suggest 30 to 60 minutes of cardio, but the duration of your workout will depend on your fitness level and what type of exercise you're doing. If you're a beginner, you might start with a 15- to 20-minute workout. If you have some experience and are doing steady-state cardio, such as going for a run or using a cardio machine, you might exercise for 30 to 60 minutes. If you're doing interval training and working at very high intensity, your workout will be shorter, around 10 to 15 minutes for all-out effort-based interval training. Having a variety of workouts of different intensities and durations will give you a solid, balanced cardio program. Strength Training Techniques and Strategies Strength TrainingHow long you lift weights will also depend on the type of workout you're doing and your schedule. For example, a total body workout could take over an hour, whereas a split routine could take less time because you're working fewer muscle groups in one session. Total Body 30-Minute Strength-Building Workout TypeThe type of exercise you do is the last part of the FIIT principle. It is easy to manipulate to avoid overuse injuries or weight loss plateaus. Cardio WorkoutsCardio is easy to change since any activity that gets your heart rate up counts. Running, walking, cycling, dancing, swimming, and the elliptical trainer are some of the wide variety of activities you can choose. Having more than one go-to cardio activity is the best way to reduce boredom and increase variability. 19 Effective Cardio Exercises for a Gym-Free Workout Strength TrainingStrength training workouts can also offer variety. They include any exercise where you're using some type of resistance (bands, dumbbells, machines, etc.) to work your muscles. Bodyweight exercises can also be considered a form of strength training. You can easily change the strength workouts you do, from total body training to adding things like supersets or pyramid training, to liven things up. Incorporating new exercises for each body part is another way to vary the type of workouts you do. You may wish to spend a few weeks working on functional strength-based movements, then move to hypertrophy or strength-based programming. Each of these modalities includes various alternative types of strength-based exercises to try. Total Body Workouts to Try How to Use FIITThe FIIT principle outlines how to manipulate your program to get in shape and get better results. It also helps you figure out how to change your workouts to avoid boredom, overuse injuries, and plateaus. For example, walking three times a week for 30 minutes at a moderate pace might be a great place for a beginner to start out with a workout program. After a few weeks, however, your body adapts to these workouts. As a result, you notice that you burn fewer calories, that you get bored, or your weight management efforts stall. It's at this point you want to manipulate one or more of the FIIT principles. For example, you might:
Even just changing one of these elements can make a big difference in your workout and in how your body responds to exercise. It's important to change things up on a regular basis to keep your body healthy and your mind engaged. FIIT and Injury PreventionOne of the best things about using FIIT is that it allows you to monitor the length and intensity of your workouts. When you are working out too frequently or not getting enough rest, you run the risk of overuse injuries, burnout, and muscle strains. What's more, the FIIT principle encourages you to add variety to your workouts. When you do this, you allow your body to rest and recover. Plus, you are not working the same muscle groups over and over again, which in the end will produce better results. If you notice that you are starting to have less energy, experience more aches and pains, or are feeling fatigued, you may want to make some changes to your exercise regimen. And if your symptoms persist, be sure to consult with a healthcare provider. They can help you pinpoint the root cause of your symptoms. A Word From VerywellThe FIIT principle is a well-established way of modifying and adapting exercise programming to fit your unique goals, lifestyle, preferences, and progress. You can change and adapt each of the factors to suit these needs. Incorporating changes to frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise helps to stave off boredom while also providing a framework for continued progress. Frequently Asked Questions
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