You have to get FITTE to get fit!

Do you want to get in shape? So you need to understand what FITTE really means. No, I didn’t misspell it … FITTE stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type and Enjoyment. When thinking about designing your exercise routine, understanding what the FITTE principle means will help you with your fitness and weight loss goals.

FREQUENCY: It means how often you should exercise. Frequency is closely related to intensity. If you’re going to be exercising at a moderate pace (and we’ll get to intensity in a minute), you’re looking for 5 days a week to see the health benefits. There is really little benefit to spending more than 5 days a week and if you do, you risk injury or even hit a fitness plateau.

If you are planning a vigorous intensity, your goal is 3 days a week. Of course, you can combine weeks of moderate and vigorous training, so use a combination 3-5 days a week. If you are overweight and losing weight is the main goal, push yourself 5 days a week to increase calorie burn.

INTENSITY: There is a minimum intensity in which lowering it will have no effect. That intensity is about 40% of your maximum heart rate or something around a 10 rating for perceived exertion. Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) is a scale from 6 to 20 (I don’t know why it starts at 6 OK … it just does!) If you measure your intensity using this scale, then a moderate intensity is 12-13. Vigorous activity will be 14-16 using the scale. And working with a score of 10 … well that’s like walking to the fridge for a soda or something, that’s not good!

TIME (DURATION): For general fitness increases or those not used to exercising, the minimum is 30 to 60 minutes a day for a total of 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. You can do it !! However, this should progress to 50-60 minutes a day of moderate activity for a total of 250 minutes a week. If you exercise at a vigorous intensity, your goal is 150 minutes a week. Fortunately, you can get health benefits by dividing this time throughout the day … let’s say 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night … I told you I could do it!

TYPE: It can be any type of activity that gives you a sustained increase in heart rate using your large muscle groups. Walking / jogging on a treadmill, stationary bike, or even playing a sport or swimming. The key is to choose something that you like … that leads us to the E in FITTE … Enjoy!

ENJOY: You have to choose activities that you like or otherwise; or else you will not do them again. Don’t you like the treadmill? Then don’t use it! Whatever activity you choose, it should be enjoyable and create a positive experience for you. Don’t do what other people do just because … choose something you like.

Whichever activity you choose, you must continue to progress to avoid stages. Before increasing the intensity, you should first try to increase the frequency and duration.

Have fun !!!

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