Custom Fitness Plans

The Need for a Custom Fitness Plan

Making a Commitment

You have taken the important first step on the path to physical fitness by seeking information. The next step is to decide that you are going to be physically fit. This information is designed to help you reach that decision and your goal.

The decision to carry out a physical fitness program cannot be taken lightly. It requires a commitment of time and effort. Exercise must become one of those things that you do without question, like bathing and brushing your teeth. Unless you are convinced of the benefits of fitness and the risks of unfitness, you will not succeed.

Patience is essential. Don't try to do too much too soon and don't quit before you have a chance to experience the rewards of improved fitness. You can't regain in a few days or weeks what you have lost in years of sedentary living, but you can get it back if you persevere. And the prize is worth the price.

Here I am giving you basic information you need to begin and maintain a personal physical fitness program. These guidelines are intended for the average healthy adult. It tells you what your goals should be and how often, how long and how hard you must exercise to achieve them. It also includes information that will make your workouts easier, safer and more satisfying. The rest is up to you.

Defining Fitness

Physical fitness is to the human body what fine tuning is to an engine. It enables us to perform up to our potential. Fitness can be described as a condition that helps us look, feel and do our best. More specifically, it is: The ability to perform daily tasks vigorously and alertly, with energy left over for enjoying leisure- time activities and meeting emergency demands. It is the ability to endure, to bear up, to withstand stress, to carry on in circumstances where an unfit person could not continue, and is a major basis for good health and well-being.

The performance of the heart, lungs, and muscles of the body. And since what we do with our bodies also affects what we can do with our minds, fitness influences to some degree qualities such as mental alertness and emotional stability.

As you undertake your fitness program, it's important to remember fitness is an individual quality that varies from person to person. It is influenced by age, sex, heredity, personal habits, exercise, and eating practices. You can't do anything about the first three factors. However, it is within your power to change and improve the others where needed.

Knowing the Basics
Physical fitness is most easily understood by examining its components, or "parts."

There is widespread agreement that these are the basic compoments of physical fitness:

1. Cardiorespiratory Endurance This is the ability to deliver oxygen and nutrients to tissues, and to remove wastes, over sustained periods of time. Long runs and swims are among the methods employed in measuring this component.

2. Muscular Strength The ability of a muscle to exert force for a brief period of time. Upper-body strength, for example, can be measured by various weight-lifting exercises.

3. Muscular Endurance The ability of a muscle, or a group of muscles, to sustain repeated contractions or to continue applying force against a fixed object. Pushups are often used to test endurance of arm and shoulder muscles. 4. Flexibility The ability to move joints and use muscles through their full range of motion. The sit-and- reach test is a good measure of flexibility of the lower back and backs of the upper legs.

Additionally, Body Composition is often considered a component of fitness. It refers to the makeup of the body in terms of lean mass (muscle, bone, vital tissue and organs) and fat mass. An optimal ratio of fat to lean mass is an indication of fitness, and the right types of exercises will help you decrease body fat and increase or maintain muscle mass.

A Workout Schedule

How often, how long and how hard you exercise, and what kinds of exercises you do should be determined by what you are trying to accomplish. Your goals, your present fitness level, age, health, skills, interest, and convenience are among the factors I consider when putting together a custom fitness plan for you. With my extensive training and experience, I understand what component parts will be best for your unique situation.

The custom plan I create for you will include something from each of the four basic fitness components described previously, and will be based on your current fitness level. Each workout will begin with a warm-up and end with a cool-down. As a general rule, your training will be spaced throughout the week and consecutive days of hard exercise will be avoided.

Here’s what you can generally expect from a custom fitness plan I've made up for you, tailored to your current fitness level:

WARM-UP:
5-10 minutes of exercise such as walking, slow jogging, knee lifts, arm circles or trunk rotations. These will be low intensity movements that simulate movements to be used in the other workout activities.

STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE:
Activities that work all the major muscle groups. Lifting weights is the most effective way to increase strength.

CARDIORESPIRATORY ENDURANCE:
Sessions of continuous aerobic (activity requiring oxygen), and rhythmic exercise. This might include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling, rope-jumping, rowing, or the use of specialized machinery.

FLEXIBILITY:
Stretching exercises performed slowly, without a bouncing motion. This can be included in the warm-up, the cool-down, or both.

COOL-DOWN: A minimum of 5-10 minutes of slow walking and low-level exercise combined with stretching.