MODULE 3 LESSON 1 - F.I.T.

T PRINCIPLE  For Cardiovascular Exercise: The

general rule is to work in your
target heart rate zone (60-85% or
A well-designed personal physical activity plan
120-180) and focus on a variety of
will outline how often (frequency), how long
intensities to stimulate different
(time), and how hard (intensity) a person
energy systems.
exercises, and what kinds of exercise (type) are
 For Strength Training: The
selected. The exercise frequency, intensity,
exercises you do (at least 8-10
time, and type (FITT principle) are key
exercises), the amount of weight
components of any fitness plan or routine. An
you lift and your reps and sets
individual's goals, present fitness level, age,
determine the intensity of your
health, skills, interest, and availability of time
strength workouts. In general, you
are among the factors to consider in developing
want to lift enough weight that you
a personal physical activity plan. Every plan can only complete the desired
should have a schedule that progresses over number of reps (around 1-3 sets of
time. Progression can take the form of changes 8-16 reps of each exercise).
in any of the FITT components, but not all at
once.

Time: It is how long you

Frequency: It is how often you exercise.
exercise.

 For Cardiovascular
 For Cardiovascular Exercise: The
Exercise: Exercise Guidelines
exercise guidelines suggest 30-60
suggest moderate exercise five days a
minutes of cardio (or working your way
week or intense cardio three days a
up to that). How long you exercise will
week to improve your health. For
not just be dependent on your fitness
weight loss, you may need to do up to
level, but also your intensity. The
six or more days a week.
harder you work, the shorter your
 For Strength Training: The workouts will be.
recommended frequency here is 2-3  For Strength Training: How long you lift
non-consecutive days a week (at least weights depends on the type of
1-2 days between sessions. workout you're doing and your
schedule. For example, a total body
workout could take up to an hour,
whereas a split routine could take less
 Intensity: It is how hard you
time.
work during exercise.
 plan to introduce more as time progresses and
new behaviors become habits.
Type: It is the type of activity you are
doing. Warm-up: Warm-up activities are crucial parts
of any exercise routine or sports training to
 For Cardiovascular Exercise: Any activity prepare the body and mind for movement. A
that gets your heart rate up counts as warm-up should consist of light physical activity
cardio - Running, walking, cycling, for 5 to 10 minutes of exercise, such as walking,
dancing, swimming, sport-related slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles, or trunk
activities, etc. rotations. Low-intensity movements that
 For Strength Training: This pretty much simulate movements to be used in the activity
includes any exercise where you're can also be included in the warm-up.
using some type of resistance (bands,
dumbbells, machines, etc.) to work your Cardiorespiratory endurance (CRE): At least
muscles. Bodyweight exercises can also three 20- to 30-minute bouts of aerobic (activity
be considered a form of strength requiring oxygen) exercise each week is
training, although building strength will recommended. Popular aerobic conditioning
likely require more resistance. activities include brisk walking, jogging,
swimming, cycling, rope jumping, rowing, cross-
APPLYING THE FITT PRINCIPLE country skiing, and some continuous action
games such as basketball and soccer.
According to the FITT principle, an
Resistance training: Resistance training is used
exercise routine should include exercises
and activities that will improve the health- primarily to develop muscular strength and
related fitness components: muscular endurance but can develop
cardiorespiratory endurance if it is incorporated
CARDIOVASCULAR ENDURANCE within a circuit-type workout.
FLEXIBILITY
Muscular strength: Two or three 20-minute
MUSCULAR STRENGTH
sessions each week that include exercises for all
MUSCULAR ENDURANCE
the major muscle groups are required. Lifting
Each workout or exercise session should begin weights is one of the most effective ways to
with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. increase strength. For sedentary people, as little
Generally, rest and recovery are as important to as two workouts per week can be beneficial.
plan as the physical activity and exercise, and it
Muscular endurance: Two to three 30-minute
should be equally spaced between workouts.
sessions each week that include exercises such
The more intense the exercise is, the longer the
as calisthenics, push-ups, curl-ups, pull-ups, and
time required to recover. Likewise, the more
lightweight training for all the major muscle
novel the exercise is, the longer the time
groups is required.
required for recovery. Trying to adopt all
aspects of health-related fitness at once may
not be realistic. Begin with small realistic goals
in one or two areas of health-related fitness and
Additional guidelines for resistance training include
the following:

Repetitions: refer to the number of times an

exercise is being performed during each set.

Sets: refers to the group repetition

Flexibility: At the end of every workout, perform 5

to 10 minutes of static stretching exercises. If a
workout session includes a CRE session and a
resistance training session, flexibility is best left to
the end of the entire exercise routine.

MODULE 4 LESSON 1: Types of Fitness Exercise Example:

Weightlifting

Aerobic Exercises

 Aerobic exercise is also known

as Cardiovascular aerobic exercise an
exercise that requires the use of oxygen to Flexibility Exercises
fuel the body for exercise demands. This
form of exercise is traditionally thought of  Flexibility training is also known
as cardiovascular exercises, such as running as Stretching is a form of training designed
on a treadmill or cycling. to increase the range of motion of joints
and lengthen muscles. Lengthening your
Example: Zumba muscles helps you become more limber,
which makes certain activities of daily living
easier. Plus,

 the improved flexibility gained from

stretching regularly helps you prevent
injuries when you are g everyday body
movements and especially during
exercise. Stretching also reduces muscle
Anaerobic Exercises
tension, increases circulation, and
 Anaerobic exercise also known as Strength improves posture.
(or resistance) training is a form of exercise
that requires glucose Example: Stretching

 for short intense workloads. The process of

building and maintaining muscles in the
body by using progressively heavier weights
(or resistance). It is also called resistance
training, weight lifting,
toning, and bodybuilding.
LESSON 2: Fitness and Diet planning These goals will shape HOW you build your
workout.
Workout Plan
QUESTION 2: How much time can you devote
Step #1: Determine your “Get in Shape”
to exercise?
situation!
If you can do an hour a day, that’s fantastic.
Step #2: “What exercises should I do to lose
weight (or build muscle)?” If you have a wife or husband, three kids, a dog,
two jobs, and no robot butler, then maybe you
Step #3: “How many sets and reps should I do
only have thirty minutes, twice a week.
per exercise?”
As we cover “how fast can I get the body I
Step #4: “How long should I wait between want,” make sure you are thinking about your
sets?” journey with a realistic timeline:
Step #5: “How much weight should I lift?” QUESTION 3: WHERE do you want to work
Step #6: “How long should I exercise for?“ out?

Step #7: How to create supersets and circuit  At a gym? Here’s a Beginner’s Gym
training workouts. Guide with 6 levels of workouts.

Step #8: “How many days per week should I  At home? Have you tried our beginner
train?” bodyweight workout?

Step #9: How to record your workouts and  In a park? Try our park workout.
progress. Step #2: What Exercises Should I do to lose
Step #1: Determine Your “Get in Shape” weight (or build muscle?
Situation You want a workout routine that has at least
As we lay out in our “How to get in Shape” one exercise for you:
guide, we need to answer a few key questions:  Quads (front of your legs).
QUESTION 1: What are your goals?  Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).
 Are you trying to lose weight?  Chest, shoulders, and triceps: (“push”
 Are you trying to bulk up or build muscles).
muscle? Great.  Back, biceps, and grip ( “pull” muscles).
 Are you preparing for your first 5k?
 Core (abdominals and lower back).
Swell.
By targeting compound movements that recruit
Whatever your goals are, it’s good to write multiple muscles at the same time, you can
them down and be aware of what you’re trying
to accomplish.
build a full-body routine that uses only four or 1. If you’re looking to burn fat while building
five exercises. muscle, keep your number of repetitions per set
in the 8-15 range per set.
Here is a quick breakdown on which exercises
will work for each of those movements: 2. If you can do more than 15 reps without
much of a challenge, consider increasing the
 Quads – squats, lunges, one legged weight or the difficulty of the movement. This is
squats, box jumps. true for things like lunges, bodyweight squats,
 Butt and Hamstrings – deadlifts, hip push-ups, pull-ups, etc.
raises, straight leg deadlifts, good There are some other generally accepted
mornings, step ups. ‘rules’ – as pointed out in Starting Strength –
 Push (chest, shoulders, and triceps) – about how to determine how many reps you
overhead press, bench press, incline should target per set, based on your goals:
dumbbell press, push ups, dips.  Reps in the 1-5 range build super dense
 Pull (back, biceps, and forearms) – chin muscle and strength
ups, pull ups, bodyweight rows, bent-  Reps in the 6-12 range build a
over rows. somewhat equal amount of muscular
 Core (abs and lower back) – planks, strength and muscular size
side planks, exercise ball crunches,  Reps in the 12+ range build muscular
mountain climbers, jumping knee tucks,
endurance.
hanging leg raises.
Step #4: How Long Should I Wait Between
Step #3: How Many Sets And Reps Should I Do? Sets?
SIMPLE ANSWER: Not including a warm-up set
Here are some guidelines for how long to rest
or two, I recommend: based on how heavy you’re lifting (not rules
 3 to 5 sets per exercise. set in stone!):

 8 to 10 reps per set when starting out.  1-3 Reps (lifting heavy for
strength/power): Rest for 3 to 5
LONGER ANSWER: As we cover in our “How minutes between sets.
many sets and reps?” guide, a “set” is a series of
repetitions that you complete without stopping.  4-7 Reps (lifting for strength): Rest for
2 to 3 minutes between sets.
For example, if you drop down and do 10 push-
ups right now, you just did 1 SET of 10.  8-12 Reps (lifting for
size/strength): Rest for 1 to 2
Some general rule on repetitions you can minutes between sets.
follow as you’re starting to build your workout
plan:
  13 Reps+ (lifting for endurance): Rest Do a set of squats, wait one minute, then do a
long enough to recover to allow you to set of dumbbell presses, wait one minute, then
do the next long-ass set! do your next set of squats, and so on.

Step #5: How Much Weight Should I Lift? Because you’re exercising two completely
different muscle groups, you can exercise one
How do you determine how much that is? while the other is “resting.”
Trial and error.  Let’s see how this would play out in a
ALWAYS err on the side of “too light” versus sample workout:
“too heavy” when starting out.  Lunges alternating with incline
It’s better to say “I bet I could have done dumbbell presses, four sets each, one
more!” instead of “that was too much, and now minute between sets.
I need to go to the hospital!”  Wait for a few minutes to catch your
Step #6: How Long Should I Exercise For? How breath and get set for your next two
Long Should My Workout Be? exercises.

Easy answer: 45 minutes to an hour.  Straight leg deadlifts alternating

with wide-grip pull-ups, four sets each,
Longer answer: If you’re doing 15-25 sets of one minute between sets.
total exercise (3-5 sets for your 5 exercises), you
should be able to get everything done within  3 Sets of planks, stretch, and get the
that 45-minute block. hell out of there!

Now, factor in a five or ten-minute warm-up, CIRCUIT TRAINING:

and then stretching afterwards, and the A circuit requires you to do one set for EVERY
workout can go a little bit longer. exercise, one after the other, without stopping.
If you can go for over an hour and you’re not After you’ve done one set of each exercise in
completely worn out, try increasing the succession, you then repeat the process two, or
intensity. three, or four more times.
Step #7: How to Create Supersets and Circuit Step #8: How Many Days per Week Should I
Training Workouts Train?
We’re going to cover TWO things here: We don’t want you burning out quickly and
 Super sets (or alternating sets). falling back to square one, a concern we
mention in our guide “How Often Should I Work
 Workout circuits. Out?“

SUPERSETS: Instead, focus on building proper habits and set

a goal of 2-3 full body workouts per week.
For starters, your muscles don’t get built in the 2. Compare yourself to your previous workout
gym. with those exercises.

By giving your muscles 48 hours to recover 3. Focus on getting stronger (more reps,
between workouts, especially when training heavier weight, an additional set, etc.)
heavy, you’ll stay injury-free and get stronger.
4. Repeat.
A Monday-Wednesday-Friday workout routine
works well to ensure enough time to recover, Do this with a workout, you’ve built, and you
especially when you are just getting started. will get results. I promise.

If you want to do Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday,

or Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday, great.

Lifehack: Program your workouts INTO your

Google calendar (or Outlook).

You’re much more likely to do a workout that

has been planned for in your work-week!

Step #9: Keep Track Of Everything!

Last but not least, keep a workout journal!

As they say, that which gets measured gets

improved.

You should be getting stronger, faster, or more

fit with each day of exercise.

Around these parts, we say “Level up your life,

every single day.”

Maybe you can lift more weight, lift the same

amount of weight more times than before, or
you can finish the same routine faster than
before.

You can use an actual notebook, a bullet

journal, an excel spreadsheet, a workout app, or
a word document.

Don’t overcomplicate it:

1. Write down the date and your sets, reps,

and weight for each exercise.