Staying mission ready requires being physically fit enough to perform your job duties. Dedication to your physical fitness not only improves your overall health and work performance, but also demonstrates discipline, self-care and drive. To maintain it, you need a workout plan that will help you achieve your desired results. Creating one can often feel overwhelming since there are so many elements to consider. Luckily, building an effective workout plan doesn’t have to be hard! Simply use the FITT principle to create your foundation and then make adjustments as you figure out what works best for you.

The FITT Principle

Frequency – How often?

The first step is determining how many workouts you want to include in your plan. Start by considering how many days each week you want to be active. Then, set a realistic target that matches your availability. Be mindful of personal obligations, duty requirements and other life factors that may interfere with exercise.

Typically, 2 to 4 days per week is recommended if you’re just starting out. Make sure to schedule your workouts with time for recovery between training sessions. Try to avoid assigning consecutive days as your planned workout time. Instead, aim to space them out evenly throughout the week.

Intensity – How hard?

Now that you’ve established how often you want to exercise, you’ll need to decide how hard you want to push yourself during each workout. Intensity levels range from light to vigorous and are determined by your heart rate during aerobic activity. While strength training, intensity is based on the amount of weight you’re lifting compared to your one repetition maximum (1RM).

Your target intensity will vary depending on your fitness goals and current activity level. If you’re new to exercise, it’s recommended to start at a light or moderate intensity to help prevent injury. Remember to consider the different types of exercise in your plan when choosing an intensity level. For example, you may want to strength train at a high intensity and perform aerobic activities at a lower intensity.

Time – How long?

You’ll also need to consider how long you want each workout session to last. Take a moment to look at your schedule and determine where in the day you could make room for movement. Make sure to recognize when other obligations may discourage or interfere with your workout plans (e.g., scheduling a workout before a nice dinner without enough time to shower). Having an honest understanding of your availability can help you identify a workout length that aligns with your life and goals.

Between 30 to 60 minutes is usually recommended for an effective workout session. If your schedule can’t accommodate a 30-minute time slot, try splitting your workouts into multiple shorter sessions (e.g., 3 x 10 minutes). Use the other FITT principles along with your fitness goals to help you establish a target workout length.

Type – What activities?

Lastly, you get to choose the type of activities you want to include in your plan. This is when you get to decide what you will be doing during each workout. Most workout plans contain aerobic exercise, strength training or a combination of both. These training types can then be broken down into more specific activities (e.g., running versus swimming and free weights versus resistance bands).

Your fitness goals and exercise preferences can help guide your activity selection. Seek to include activities you feel comfortable performing, as well as those you’re interested in trying. To reduce injury, choose a variety of activities that match your current fitness level.

Putting It All Together

With the individual elements combined, the FITT principle can serve as an outline for your workout program. Start by writing down your targets for each component of FITT, then align them with your schedule. Ensure each week has your predetermined number of workouts, and the details for every workout are clear (i.e., how long it will be, which activity will be performed, what intensity level). As you finalize your plan, remember to start out slowly. Set realistic goals that you can build upon as your body adjusts to exercise. This will help protect against injury and prevent burnout.

To remain effective, your workout plan will need to progress over time. This means adjusting one or more of the FITT principles to gradually increase the overall difficulty. Progression is based on the volume of your workout, which is the amount of exercise per session. For strength training, it’s the total load lifted (e.g., reps x sets), while aerobic activity uses total distance. Tracking your volume can be a helpful tool towards understanding when and how to progress your workout program.

Building a workout plan that aligns with your fitness goals, personal interests and lifestyle can make a difference in your performance as a Warfighter. Use the FITT framework as a tool to help improve your physical fitness and operational readiness, but don’t be afraid to make changes as you go. The goal is to make your workout plan sustainable, not perfect.

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