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To really get the most out of your fitness/strength & conditioning program, you are going to have to learn and live by the FITT principle.  Applying the FITT principle to your program will allow you to progress through those frustrating plateaus that everyone faces from time to time.  The reason why you are not achieving success in your program is because your body is getting used to the same routine day in and day out.  ROUTINE IS THE ENEMY! However, implementing the FITT principle into your program will take you to the next level.

Frequency:  Is the number of days you are working out in the week.  You may have to increase your frequency or decrease your frequency depending on how your body is adapting to the program.  Most hardcore athletes need to decrease their frequency due to overtraining because they are not getting enough rest for the body to repair itself.  However, people who are trying to lose weight need to increase their frequency so they are achieving an overall calorie expenditure.   This does not mean that you have to “workout” more but, you do have to increase your levels of physical activity which means…

• Walk or bike instead of drive
• Wash your own dam car
• Join a sports league
• Learn a new sport
• Just stop sitting on your ass

Intensity:  Training intensity is defined as an individual’s level of effort compared with their maximum effort.  This means different things for different goals.  If you are trying to lose weight you must cut down your rest time to keep your heart rate up to burn the most calories.  For example, circuit training, interval training, and Crossfit do a good job at keep you moving with little to no rest in between workout.  However, if you are trying to pack on some muscle you must make sure that every set is to failure.  Thus, increase weight = increase in intensity!  And for athletes who are trying to make it to the next level, intensity means not to take plays off and practice hard day in and day out.  Only the strong will survive in the world of sports and if you don’t work hard at your craft 24/7 you will be left in the dust.

Type:  This corresponds to the types of exercises that you are performing in your training program.  However, you must understand that the human body is a highly adaptable machine that can readily adjusts to the imposed demands of training.  Therefore, exercise selection should be functional and specific to the individual’s intended goal.  Make sure to implement variations to each exercise but keep the movements functional, move in all planes of motion, and stay away from isolated movements like bicep curls.

Time:  is the time frame of a workout or the length of time (number of weeks) spent with a certain program.  A general workout including warm-up and cool-down should take 60-90 minutes.  A professor once told me, “If you’re in the gym for more than one hour…you are making more friends than muscles.”  Furthermore, Workouts that exceed 90 minutes will lead to rapid declines in energy levels which can lead to discrepancies in hormonal and immune responses that can later have negative effects on your training program.

It takes the body approximately 3 weeks to adapt to a fitness program.  However, if you apply the FITT principle to your program, you will be able to break through plateaus and reach your goals quicker.  Good luck!

Follow these eight steps in order to achieve total workout that involves injury prevention, core, strength, power, speed, agility, and flexibility.

1.  General Warm Up:  This consist of any low impact/low intensity cardiovascular work to increase heart rate, body temperture, and increase blood flow of the body.  Exercises consist of jogging, rowing, versa-climber, jump rope, jumping jacks, bike, etc.  A general warm-up take about 3-5 minutes.

2.  Dynamic Warm Up/Movement Prep:  Multiple joint movements of your own body weight to increase body temperture, stretch muscles, and prepare the body for the movements you will do in your workout or on the field.  Exercises include push ups, squats, multiplanar lunges, single leg squat react, etc…This should take 8-10 minutes.  For more information about dynamic warm up.  (refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009)

3.  Prehab:  The focus to stregthen the most vulnerable areas on your body that get stressed in everyday movement (Verstegen 2004).  These exercises will strengthen your shoulders, hips, and core muscles to allow you to correct any muscle imbalances while also preventing injury. 5-8 minutes

4.  Core:  This puts a little more emphasis on your core muscles.  I believe that you should perform exercise that focus on the transverse abdominis, internal/external obliques, and back extensors.  8-10 min 

5.  Skills and Drills:  Even if you are not an athlete, you should still incorporate plyometrics, speed, and agility training into your workouts.    10-15 min

7.  Energy System Development (ESD/”cardio”):  Run, swim, bike, jump rope, row, and even elliptical your way to achieve optimal cardiovascular shape.  However, in ESD training you must keep your heart rate up through a series of sprint intervals… intensity is the key!  When is the last time you have seen a fat sprinter? (Verstegen, 2004)
15-30 minutes

8.  Regeneration:  Foam roll and stretch to correct any muscle imbalances and help speed up recovery.  Takes about 10-15 minutes.  (Refer to blog “Time to Stretch” June 16, 2009) 

This is just the very basic layout of a typical workout routine that covers all forms of physical fitness.  In addition, there is so much more detail that goes into every step of this eight step process.  If you have question, please feel free to leave a comment or e-mail me at anytime.   

1. Eat five to six small meals a day.

2. Stay away from high sugar foods like candy, sodas, or ice cream

3. Eat more fruits, vegetables, and nuts throughout the day

4. Stay away from fast food

5. Eat lean proteins throughout the day

6. If you really want to cut weight, only eat starch-containing foods (bread, rice, cereal, etc) in the morning for breakfast or immediately after your workout.

7. Drink water and limit your consumption of liquid calories (soda, juice, beer, etc.).

8. Have a cheat day in which you can eat whatever you want. However, the best time to pig out is right after you workout (metabolic window)

9. Record everything you eat and the times you eat. This will allow you to keep on track with your diet and stick with it.

10. If you eat out, eat half of what you ordered and take the other half home and consume it at another time.