Hi guys, Kris from Custom Fitness here, your Amarillo personal trainer. Today we’re going to be talking about how to F.I.T.T. exercise into your day. If you have any questions about today’s blog, then please give us a call at (806)-322-3188
It is time to F.I.T.T exercise into your day. I know you must be wondering why there is two “T”s in there. That is because we are talking about the F.I.T.T. principles today.
So, did you know that over 40% of Americans now are considered clinically obese? And that is coming from the latest data over the last five years. So that means four out of every ten people that you see walking down the street are considered obese.
Now, what is obesity? Nobody ever wants to hear or think about that word, but no one really understands what it really means either. When we say or hear the word “obese”, there is this picture in our mind that comes that usually is from some reality show or shocking news segment. However, when we boil it down to its most simplistic form, obesity is where your body has more fat than what you would like, and not enough muscle as you would like.
We’ve gone so far in our obesity rates that now we actually have to give them grade one to grade three levels of obesity. And that is just telling us what type of disease risk they are incurring from being at the level they are at.
So, it doesn’t always have to be with weight, I know a lot of people that look skinny as a rail, but are clinically obese due to the amount of fat that they have to lack of muscle. That is what we really have to keep in mind – we can’t put this stigma on people based on these ideas of what we think obesity is supposed to look like. People that are unhealthy or unfit can also be obese without being larger in size.
We want to be sure that we aren’t, first off, judging a book by it’s cover, and that we keep in mind that it can be other things and other factors.
Now, what does obesity do? Well, whenever we are above 30% for women and for men 25% body fat percentage, are at risk. They are at increased risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. And it is on my heart to help people with this risk to decrease that and help them to improve their overall quality of life.
Now that we have debunked the myth that obesity is a cookie cutter image, what is the first step to fixing this crisis that we are in? Well, we start with that F.I.T.T. principle. F.I.T.T. stands for Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type. This is all incorporated into your fitness regimen. So, yes, nutrition is a huge part of the puzzle, but we’re not bringing into the discussion for today. Today we are just going to be talking about exercise. If we look at the F.I.T.T. principle, really there is one thing that stands out. So frequency would be how often you exercise, intensity would be how hard you are exercising, time would be the length of time that you are performing that exercise, and type would be the type of exercise that you are doing. Now, out of all of those (not that they aren’t all important), the one that sticks out the most and makes the best first step is frequency. Who cares about how intense you can workout or how for how long or what type if you’re only doing it once a month? So frequency is our most important variable when we are first getting started. You have to set up a consistent frequency over time or nothing is going to get done.
So, what does that mean? Well, if we are looking for weight loss or fat loss (both can stay in the same category), you are looking at a frequency of four to five days of the week of focused, true exercise each week. Maybe it’s going out for a focused walk. Maybe it’s doing a cardio workout. Whatever it may be, you are focused during that exercise. It’s not just thinking that you are active enough during the day, but being intentional and focused on the activity that you are doing. Extra activity and staying active during the day is great, but you want to be active and intentional during the off times as well.
So for weight loss we are looking for four to five actual focused workouts during the week. Health-wise, if you are just trying to maintain health and improve health, then daily light activity is great. Having two to three workout during a weekend that are really focused are great. However if you are looking to get started and are feeling overwhelmed, keep it light and easy and pair that with the focus on frequency. Making that plan ahead of time to stay consistent is key. And be sure to actually schedule it into your calendar ahead of time so that you keep it like an appointment and don’t double book yourself. Put that time in to focus on you so that you can start to work away from that statistic of those 40% of Americans. Become healthier for not only yourself but for the people around you and that love you.
So, if you are wanting the accountability and help with creating an action plan to see results, or are wanting to someone to help create a workout plan to push you to your greatest potential, then that’s what we’re here for. We work with our clients not just on fitness, but also nutrition. We will ensure that you are supported throughout every aspect of your health and wellness journey, and that includes making those eating changes. We have an entire team of dedicated professionals to help you with your health and fitness goals. To get your consultation set up, give us a call at 806-322-3188 or email us at info@customfitness.biz At Custom Fitness, we are YOUR personal trainers in Amarillo, Texas. Have a great day.