PERSONAL FITNESS

Chapter 14: Designing Your Own Program

OBJECTIVES:

What are the physical fitness components you should address when designing your personal fitness program?

What should you consider before beginning a program?

What are the steps in designing a program?

Which motivational strategies may help you keep your program going?

*Your personal program should be one that results in you looking good and feeling good.

*Consider 4 specific areas in designing your total personal fitness program:

1- health related activities

2- sports skills

3- stress diversion activities

4- good nutrition

GUIDELINES:

When beginning a program you should follow these guidelines:

  • Determine the need for a medical exam
  • Conduct a physical fitness evaluation
  • Set realistic goals
  • Select activities that help you reach those goals

DESIGNING YOUR OWN PROGRAM:

There are 5 steps to follow when designing your own program:

1-Evaluation: evaluate your current level of fitness (fitness testing)

2-Goal Setting: establish both short-term and long-term goals for each health-related component of fitness—be sure goals are realistic and are obtainable

3-Selection of Activities: the activities you choose will vary, depending upon your goals—for example, if you want to improve your level of cardiovascular fitness, you would want to choose more aerobic activities like biking, swimming, running, walking, rope jumping…etc

4-Application of Training Principles in Designing A Program: be sure to apply the principles of overload, progression, and specificity to your personal program (see Ch. 5 notes)

  • keep in mind the FIT principles of overload (frequency, intensity, time)

frequency--- how OFTEN you exercise

intensity--- how HARD you exercise (recall target HR)

time--- how LONG you exercise (remember, you must keep

your heart rate in your target HR zone for at least

20 minutes in order to reap the CV benefits)

5-Periodic Assessment: be sure to periodically assess your progress

toward your long term goals--- short term goals can be your targets

to help you assess your goals

e.g. Long term goals—“To improve my mile run time from 14:00

minutes to 10 minutes 30 seconds over the course of 6 months”

e.g. Short term goals— “By mid-semester, improve my mile run from 14:00 minutes to 12 minutes and 30 seconds over the course of 3 months”

*you could assess your progress by determining whether or not you have achieved (or are close to achieving) your short term goals