With a new year full steam ahead, resolutions can often become the center of our attention. Like every year, we often rely on January being a new, fresh, and exciting start to improving our lives, a benchmark for our BEST year yet. By the time January’s “honeymoon” phase begins to fade, so many of our resolutions, especially health-related, tend to also lose their luster.

While this could be for a variety of reasons, one such reason is the inability to appropriately design a fitness program that is effective, and perhaps most importantly, realistic. This is where understanding the ideas of the F.I.T.T. principle can play a major role. F.I.T.T. is short for frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise. Together, these four elements can act as our own personal lighthouse; a guide to ensuring we are able stay on track with our goals.

Everyone’s F.I.T.T. can look a little different, however, here is a great baseline for someone who is looking to structure their routine.

Frequency: How often you exercise or intend to exercise. What realistically fits in with your lifestyle.

• Cardio: 2-5 days per week, at varying intensities (low, moderate, and high)
• Strength training: 2-3 non-consecutive days, focusing on major muscle groups.

Intensity: How hard you work during exercise. Intensity is always relative to the individual.

• Cardio: Work at 65-85% of your Max Heart Rate (Max Heart Rate = 220-age)
• Strength training: Perform 2-5 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise, resting :30-1:00 between

Time: How long you plan to exercise during each session.

• Cardio: Start with 15-20 minutes, gradually building to 30-60 minutes
• Strength training: For a full body workout, expect 30-60 minutes

Type: What type of exercise do you plan to use; cardio, resistance training, etc.

• Cardio: Running, walking, biking, swimming, anything that gets your heart rate elevated!
• Strength training: Utilize machines, free weights, bands, body weight, or a combination of all

As your body begins to adapt to your new program, always revisit the F.I.T.T. principle and make changes to the frequency, intensity, time, or type of exercise you are doing to stay engaged, prevent plateau, and ultimately, keep your body healthy!

Additionally, better understanding what a resolution is and how we can effectively design a plan around them can also help us stay on track, especially when times get tough. Having an intentional strategy in place to keep us focused and committed to our goals can be incredibly powerful. Our chance of success in anything increases when we write our objective(s) down – what gets tracked gets improved. Let’s build out our resolution together:

What is a RESOLUTION?

The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.

A resolving to do something.

A course of action determined or decided on.

Wish – Outcome – Obstacle – Plan

Wish – New Year’s Resolution

Outcome – The best outcome you can imagine for your resolution

Obstacle – What barriers might get in your way?

Plan – Make a plan to make it happen

My New Year’s Resolution is (Be specific!)….

What will happen if I succeed in my NYR?

What are barriers are you likely to face?

On average, it takes 66 days to form a new habit!

• It is important to exercise and be healthier
• The challenge is making the time to do it and stick to it
• Benefit of exercise as a priority far outweighs the drawbacks
• Consistency is KEY

List the benefits of being healthy that are important to you.

List activities that you enjoy or that you would like to try.

My physical activity roadblocks are…

Strategies I will use to overcome these roadblocks…

5 Keys to Success:

1. Feel that it is important
2. Make yourself and your health a priority
3. Know what to do
4. Practice new habits
5. Have strategies to overcome barriers AND setbacks

One step I will take this week toward being healthier is…

Dillon Painter, MS – Fitness Supervisor
Hancock Wellness Center – New Palestine
dpainter@hancockregional.org