FITT Principle

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Introduction

Using the FITT Principle is a great way to organize and outline the fitness activity that you want to plan or complete. It is a great way to plan your fitness goals, and ensure that you plan within your limits, not making yourself too tired, or not working hard enough. The FITT principle is an acronym that represents, Frequency, Intensity, Type, and Time. It can be used by anyone, beginner or experienced, for any type of activity. It can also be used by therapists, in the patient population, for individuals recovering from a condition.

F

F refers to the Frequency that someone is exercising, planned out per week.

Consider the type of exercise you want to do, whether it is cardio, resistance training, or a different activity, including rest days, and check the requirements/recommendations in your Country's Physical Activity Guidelines, when setting your plan.

I

I refers to Intensity, which would refer to the difficulty of the exercise.

For strength training exercises, this can include the weight you are using, whether its in pounds (lb), kilograms (kg), or your bodyweight.

This would also include the reps and sets you would like to complete.

For cardio exercises, you could monitor parameters such as heart rate (to ensure its in your training zone), speed (of running, walking, cycling), or even calories burned.

T

The first T refers to Type - the type of exercise you want to complete.

This can include cardio, resistance training, stretching, or any other type of activity like yoga. The specific activity should be outlined for each goal/plan.

T

The second T refers to Time - the duration you intend to have for your workout session .

The time requirements/recommendations should be checked in your Country's Physical Activity Guidelines for your chosen type of activity.

Benefits

There are many benefits that can be outlined for the FITT Principle.

The FITT Principle can be used by anyone of any age, and any fitness level, including those in rehab from an injury, impairment, or disorder.

Drawbacks

There are instances where the usage of the FITT Principle may not be very effective. This would be due to the lack of exercise prescription knowledge, and not properly prescribing exercise via the FITT Principle.

Implications of the FITT Principle

In a study completed on the use of the FITT Principle in the Ethiopian Healthcare setting for the prevention or diseases and improving lifestyle, it was found that:

• Men are more likely to use the FITT Principle than Women
• General physicians are more likely to use the FITT Principle for disease prevention, than nurses
• The use of the FITT principle is not used in Hospital healthcare settings for the prevention of medical diseases, due ot the lack of education within the public about the FITT principle, although other strategies are used ot promote physical activity to patients

However, it was pointed out that physical activity isn't highly regarded in Ethiopia, and thus was very difficult to integrate it into medical disease prevention programs.

Healthcare experts do have the knowledge of the FITT principle, and its use in clinical practice, but are not able to put it into use. in addition, they lack the knowledge on how to prescribe physical activity to people with medical diseases. Infact, people in this nation would prefer pharmaceutical medicines, rather than the medicine of partaking in physical activity.

Different Uses of the FITT Principle

It is recommended that an important component is missing from the FITT Principle, and that is adding an F for 'Fun'. This is seen to be crucial for exercise adherence. It was seen that the use of the FITT Principle, itself, is not very effective when it comes to exercise adherence. With this in mind, including 'social cognitive, personality, and environmental or socioeconomic factors' as determinants of physical activity' would be an important consideration.

When there was a behavior model included with the FITT Principle, adhere was more apparent. Individuals were more likely to adhere to the prescribed program when the social cognitive theory, theory of planned behavior, or an emotional response to the exercise were implemented.

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