MAKING A PERSONAL FITNESS PLAN Note: This power point presentation was created by McGraw Glencoe Health company. It was downloaded from their free educator’s website. All notes and information are from the “Teen Health” text book series

Developing a Personal Fitness Program In this lesson, you will Learn About… The factors to consider when planning a fitness program. How to plan your workouts. How to calculate your target heart rate range. How to assess your progress in meeting your fitness goals.

Fitness and Body Composition Fitness is the ability to handle the physical work and play of everyday life without becoming tired.. Body composition is the proportions of fat, bones, muscle, and fluid that make up body weight. It is one factor that affects overall fitness.

Achieving Your Fitness Goals Before you start a fitness program, think about your goals. When you set a specific goal: You’ll be more inspired to stick with your fitness program. You’ll feel a sense of accomplishment when you reach that goal.

Working Out Safely As you plan your fitness program, it is important to think about safety and know what precautions to take.

Working Out Safely (cont’d.) To protect yourself, you should: Dress appropriately for your workout. Take the weather into account when working out. Consider the best location and equipment for your workout. Be careful when working out alone outdoors. Always wear protective gear appropriate for your activity.

Working Out Safely (cont’d.) If you get injured, treat your injury according to the R.I.C.E. formula: Rest – Stop your activity immediately and rest. Ice – Use ice to keep the swelling down and ease pain. Compression – Apply pressure on the injured area to reduce swelling, as with a wrapped bandage. Elevation – Raise the injured part to reduce swelling.

Making a Schedule A written schedule can help you stick to your fitness program. Write out a weekly plan that includes your school physical education classes and your activities. Use a chart or calendar to remind yourself of the planned activities and keep track of your workouts.

Elements of a Good Workout A person should be physically active minutes per day including the following elements: Warm-Up and Cool Down (including stretching) Aerobic activities, strength building activities or both

Warm-Up and Cool-Down Before you start your workout, you need to warm-up your muscles. Include some stretching activities after your warm-up. When you have completed your workout, it is important to allow time for a cool-down stage.

Warming Up and Cooling Down Do some light stretching after you have warmed up your muscles. It is also important to stretch after your cool-down to maintain or increase your flexibility. Stretch only to a point where you feel a gentle pull and hold the stretch for a count of 15 to 20 seconds. To prevent injury, avoid bouncing or jerking. To cool down, continue the movements of your workout at a slower pace for about five to ten minutes. Follow this with about five minutes of stretching. Remember to drink plenty of fluids after exercising. Your warm-up should take about ten minutes and consist of easy aerobic exercise.

The F.I.T. Formula Using the F.I.T. formula will help you meet your fitness goals. F.I.T. stands for: Frequency – Gradually increase your workouts and vary your routine from day to day. Frequency Intensity – Keep track of how hard you are working out. If you find that you are out of breath and can’t talk, slow down. Intensity Time – Keep track of how long each workout lasts. Begin slowly and increase gradually.

Target Heart Rate Your target heart rate is the number of heartbeats per minute that you should aim for during moderate to vigorous activity to benefit your circulatory system the most. You can monitor the intensity of your workout by taking your pulse to see if you are in your target heart rate zone.

Calculating Your Target Heart Rate Step 1 Subtract your age from 220. The resulting number is your maximum heart rate—an estimate of how fast your heart is capable of beating. Step 2 Multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.6 to find the low end of your target heart rate range. When you first begin an exercise plan, you should aim for this heart rate. Step 3 Multiply your maximum heart rate by 0.8 to find the high end of your target heart rate range. As you become more fit, you can work up to this level. Do not exceed this heart rate while exercising.

Target Heart Rate (cont’d.) To see if you are exercising within your target heart rate range during a workout: Take your pulse for six seconds. Multiply this number by ten to get your pulse rate for one minute.

Checking Your Progress Once you have established your fitness program and started to follow your weekly schedule, take some time to consider the following: What you’ve accomplished and where you are going. Is your program working for you? Do you need to make adjustments? Are you close to reaching your goals?