The FITT Principles

Principles of Training

When prescribing an exercise prescription to someone, there are certain principles of training that should be taken into consideration. These include:

Frequency
How often should your client workout? A guideline to improve general fitness would be to exercise for 30 minute sessions, 3 times a week.

Intensity
How intense should the workout be? An assessment of the clients current fitness levels will give an indication of the level they should work at, i.e. lower intensity for a beginner, and a higher intensity for someone who already does some form of exercise, such as playing a regular sport.

Type
The type of exercise that should be given to the client. Again, the appropriate exercises should be given depending on whether the client is a complete beginner or not.

Time
Time taken for each period of exercise should also be considered.

Of course, there are other individual differences that should also be taken into account. These include:
• Sex.
• Age.
• Any health problems.
• Any current injuries.
• If the person already exercises regularly or not at all.
• Lifestyle – fitting an exercise regime around work and other commitments.
• Aim – what the client wants to achieve from a regular exercise regime.


Other Considerations

When preparing your exercise programme for your client, you must also take into consideration if they are training specifically for a chosen sport.

The programme should also show progression of exercises to ensure that your clients fitness improves, and more importantly that they can see an improvement as well.

If your client usually exercises regularly but has been unable to due to injury, you must be aware of reversibility. Although your client may have been reasonable fit (they may think that they still are as fit) you must be aware that fitness levels decline during sustained periods of inactivity. (You lose fitness 3 times more quickly than you improve fitness.)

An exercise programme that offers variety will help to prevent boredom while exercising.