PFT Certification Course, Los Angeles, California, December, 2015
The F.I.T.T. principle is used to make exercise-specific recommendations. While there are no explicit rules that must be followed to achieve a particular goal, the F.I.T.T. principle does offers general guidelines that can help to inform the decisions of any exercise professional. This module discusses the interaction between each F.I.T.T. variable and considerations that should be made when designing exercise sessions for any client.
The F.I.T.T. Principle
- FREQUENCY: How often is the exercise exposure? Periodic stress or repeated exposures are needed to elicit physiological adaptations and ingrain new movement/fitness behaviors. Frequency is commonly described by repetitions and sets, or exposures per week.
- INTENSITY: How challenging is the exercise exposure? The body must be sufficiently stressed or overloaded to adapt. Must find a balance between too little and too much for training objective. Intensity is commonly described by load, tempo (speed), heart rate, and rate of perceived exertion (RPE).
- TIME: How long is the exercise exposure? Certain physiological adaptations require the body to be stressed for specific durations or periods of rest and recovery. Must find a balance between too little and too much for training objective. Time is commonly described by duration and rest.
- TYPE: What type of exercise exposure? While there are many forms of exercise and physical activity, the body will adapt to the type of stress imposed. The type of exercise(s) should be considered when outlining a training objective. Type is commonly described the modality, contraction type or movement pattern.