Planning a fitness program

To achieve and maintain fitness, individuals must exercise on a regular basis. When physical educators prescribe an exercise program for an individual, they must specify the intensity, duration, and frequency of exercise, as well as the mode of exercise; these are the four prescriptive components of exercise. Individuals designing a personal exercise program must take these components of exercise into account.

Intensity is the degree of effort or exertion put forth by the individual during exercise. For example, the degree of effort put forth by a runner can be described as 80% of his or her maximum effort, and the amount of effort put forth during strength training can be described as the amount of weight lifted, for example, 80 pounds. Intensity is often viewed as the most important of the prescriptive components.

Duration is the length of the activity. Duration is typically expressed as time, such as 40 minutes of exercise.

Frequency refers to the number of exercise sessions per week, for example, three to five times per week. Achieving and maintaining health fitness requires that the individual exercise on a regular basis.

Mode is the type of exercise that is performed. Activities such as jogging, rowing, bicycling, stretching, and weight training are types of exercise that can be used to realize specific fitness gains. The selection of the type of exercise should be guided by the fitness goal to be achieved.

Key words and phrases: intensity, duration, frequency, mode, prescriptive, to take into account, effort or exertion, put forth