2567: What Is The FITT Principle And How Can It Improve Your Fitness? by Marc Bilodeau of Fit Trend

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily, episode 2567.

[00:01:03] What is the fit principle?

[00:01:05] And how can it improve your fitness?

[00:01:07] By Mark Bilodeau of fittrend.com.

[00:01:10] And I'm your host, Dr. Neil Malek.

[00:01:13] Hey there, happy Sunday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily,

[00:01:16] where I simply read to you from the best health and fitness blogs for free.

[00:01:20] This is kind of like an audiobook but with articles instead.

[00:01:24] And articles from a bunch of different authors.

[00:01:26] And of course, with permission from those sites.

[00:01:29] Now on Fridays, I answer your questions.

[00:01:32] Remember, you can send me a question by going to oldpodcast.com slash ask

[00:01:39] or email your question directly to health at oldpodcast.com.

[00:01:45] Alright and with that, let's hear today's article

[00:01:47] and continue optimizing your life.

[00:01:54] What is the fit principle?

[00:01:55] And how can it improve your fitness?

[00:01:57] By Mark Bilodeau of fittrend.com.

[00:02:02] There is no shortage of advice regarding your fitness and health.

[00:02:05] Different diets, workout programs, and training plans exist to achieve specific goals.

[00:02:10] However, you may want to structure your workouts,

[00:02:13] track your progress, and go at your own pace.

[00:02:16] If this sounds like you, you may want to consider using the fit principle.

[00:02:22] What is the fit principle?

[00:02:24] The fit principle is an easy-to-follow, straightforward guideline

[00:02:28] for revising and improving your workouts.

[00:02:30] It consists of four elements that help you tweak your routine

[00:02:34] to keep you moving toward your fitness goals.

[00:02:36] Fit or F-I-T-T is an acronym that helps you easily remember the levers you can adjust

[00:02:43] to avoid plateauing and continuously challenge yourself.

[00:02:47] Let's look at the four elements of fit.

[00:02:50] 1. Frequency

[00:02:53] Frequency represents how often you exercise.

[00:02:56] It can depend on several factors such as your goals,

[00:02:59] fitness level, and the types of workouts you do.

[00:03:02] While consistency is critical to establishing an exercise habit,

[00:03:06] it's vital to have a regular schedule that allows for recovery time between workouts.

[00:03:12] 2. Intensity

[00:03:14] Intensity measures how hard your body is working while exercising.

[00:03:18] There are many ways to measure intensity.

[00:03:20] If you have a fitness tracker, you can monitor your heart rate.

[00:03:24] Otherwise, you can use the rate of perceived exertion scale

[00:03:27] to track how hard you're exercising.

[00:03:30] 3. Time

[00:03:32] Time measures how long your exercise sessions are.

[00:03:35] This can vary widely depending on your activities and fitness level.

[00:03:39] However, the time you spend exercising should align with your fitness goals.

[00:03:44] For example, building endurance, increasing your strength,

[00:03:48] or simply improving your overall health

[00:03:50] requires different activities and time commitments.

[00:03:53] And 4. Type

[00:03:56] Type refers to the kinds of training in your routine such as cardio, strength, and flexibility.

[00:04:02] Regardless of what you do, it's vital to experiment and find exercises you enjoy.

[00:04:07] Otherwise, you'll try to push through and rely on motivation and willpower

[00:04:11] to achieve your goals such as increasing muscle mass or losing weight.

[00:04:15] Unfortunately, willpower and motivation are finite and you'll eventually stop exercising.

[00:04:21] When you enjoy what you're doing,

[00:04:23] you will increase your chances of sticking with your workout routine.

[00:04:27] How to use Fit

[00:04:29] You can probably see how fit can help you continuously improve,

[00:04:33] whether you're new to exercise or starting over.

[00:04:36] No matter your fitness level, you are starting somewhere.

[00:04:40] Getting into a repetitive routine may lead to burnout,

[00:04:43] an overuse injury, or plateauing in progress.

[00:04:46] Let's say you've been walking 3 times a week for 20 minutes,

[00:04:50] slightly faster than your walking pace.

[00:04:52] However, your body will adapt to this routine after a few weeks.

[00:04:57] As a result, the workouts will feel easier,

[00:04:59] so you burn fewer calories and you feel like you're not improving.

[00:05:03] This is where fit can help you by making a change to your routine,

[00:05:07] like change frequency by adding another day of walking,

[00:05:11] change intensity by walking faster, start running,

[00:05:15] walking on an inclined treadmill or a hilly route,

[00:05:20] change the time by walking longer every time you go for a walk,

[00:05:23] or change the type of exercise you're doing

[00:05:26] by swapping one or more walks with another activity such as hiking, cycling, or running.

[00:05:32] Adjusting one of these fit elements can dramatically change your workout

[00:05:36] and how your body responds.

[00:05:38] By making changes when your workouts seem easy,

[00:05:41] you can break through the plateau and continue to make progress towards your goals.

[00:05:46] Tracking Your Progress

[00:05:48] Tracking your progress can help you identify when you've stopped progressing

[00:05:52] by giving you a complete picture of your effort.

[00:05:55] Not only will you see your progress,

[00:05:57] but you may also see early indicators of trouble,

[00:06:00] which will let you apply the fit principle sooner rather than later.

[00:06:04] Tracking your progress doesn't take much effort,

[00:06:06] but recording the data is an extra step.

[00:06:09] However, you can improve your consistency by using an app,

[00:06:13] smart scale, and fitness tracker to gather the data automatically

[00:06:17] whenever you exercise or weigh yourself.

[00:06:20] How Fit Can Help Prevent Injuries

[00:06:23] It is essential to keep making changes and pushing yourself harder.

[00:06:27] However, don't change too much at once.

[00:06:30] One of the benefits of fit is that it puts you in the mindset

[00:06:34] of monitoring your frequency, intensity, time exercising, and activities.

[00:06:39] When you mindlessly exercise doing the same activity

[00:06:42] or don't get enough rest between intense workouts,

[00:06:45] you increase your risk of an injury.

[00:06:48] However, fit encourages you to add variety to your workouts,

[00:06:52] breaking up repetitive movements with different activities

[00:06:54] and building in rest days.

[00:06:57] The Takeaway

[00:06:58] Fit lets you personalize an exercise plan that aligns with your fitness goals,

[00:07:03] helps you continuously make progress, and keeps your workouts engaging.

[00:07:07] The fit principle can help you break through plateaus.

[00:07:10] Tracking your progress can help you identify when you've stopped progressing.

[00:07:14] Therefore, you can make adjustments when you're seeing signs of trouble.

[00:07:22] You just listened to the post titled

[00:07:24] What is the Fit Principle and How Can It Improve Your Fitness?

[00:07:27] by Mark Bilodeau of fittrend.com

[00:07:30] And I'll be right back with my commentary.

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[00:09:13] Dr. Neil here for my commentary.

[00:09:15] Earlier in the article when talking about intensity,

[00:09:18] today's author Mark said that we can use something called

[00:09:21] a rate of perceived exertion scale

[00:09:24] to track how hard we're exercising.

[00:09:27] This rate of perceived exertion scale

[00:09:29] is basically a numbered list from 0 to 10.

[00:09:33] Each number represents the intensity we might feel during exercise.

[00:09:37] So a 0 means we're completely at rest,

[00:09:41] we're not moving our bodies at all.

[00:09:43] A 4 or 5 means that while exercising,

[00:09:47] the intensity feels moderate or somewhat challenging.

[00:09:50] A 10 means we are working at such a high intensity

[00:09:54] that it's basically our maximum effort.

[00:09:56] Now it's called a perceived exertion scale

[00:09:59] because by using this 0 to 10 scale,

[00:10:03] we're trying to represent our perception

[00:10:06] of how intense the workout is.

[00:10:09] But if you don't remember this scale

[00:10:11] or what each range of numbers means, that's okay.

[00:10:14] There's an easy-to-remember shortcut we can use

[00:10:16] and I've mentioned it before.

[00:10:18] The talk test.

[00:10:20] So while you're exercising,

[00:10:22] imagine there's someone exercising with you.

[00:10:25] Then imagine you are going to try and have a conversation

[00:10:28] with that imaginary person while you're exercising.

[00:10:32] Would that be possible?

[00:10:34] Do you feel like you could have a conversation

[00:10:36] with that imaginary workout buddy?

[00:10:38] If so, then you're working out at a lower intensity.

[00:10:42] Now imagine you're working out on a different day

[00:10:45] but with that same imaginary friend.

[00:10:48] Now you find,

[00:10:50] you could not only talk to this imaginary friend

[00:10:52] but you could actually sing a song to them.

[00:10:55] That means you're exercising at a very low intensity.

[00:10:59] Now imagine you're exercising,

[00:11:02] couldn't imagine yourself singing

[00:11:04] and definitely can't have a conversation

[00:11:06] with that imaginary friend.

[00:11:08] Then you're working out at a high intensity.

[00:11:12] So this is a different take

[00:11:13] on a rate of perceived exertion scale.

[00:11:16] You're basically using this method

[00:11:18] to see how hard you're working

[00:11:20] and then you can adjust the intensity of your workout

[00:11:22] based on your goals

[00:11:24] and how you're feeling.

[00:11:26] All right, that'll do it for today's episode.

[00:11:28] Thank you so much for listening

[00:11:29] and being here every day,

[00:11:30] especially on the weekends.

[00:11:32] I hope you have a great rest of your Sunday

[00:11:34] and I'll be back here tomorrow

[00:11:35] where your optimal life awaits.