Holy Name University-Department of Medical Technology

FIT ME
L3: Elements and Principles of an exercise program
Elements of Exercise Program By Elizabeth Quinn | Reviewed by Richard N. Fogoros, MD
In the study of exercise science, there are several universally accepted scientific
- How frequent should the individual exercise be? ( Frequency ) 3 – 5 days per exercise training principles that must be followed in order to get the most from
week exercise programs and improve both physical fitness and sports performance.
- How intense or vigorous should the exercise session be?
( Intensity ) Moderate to Vigorous These rules apply to all athletes from beginners to elite competitors. Of course, you
don't need to follow every one of them all the time, but if you want to get in better
- How long should an exercise session be? shape, improve your sports performance, get better at a particular fitness discipline,
( Duration ) 20 – 60 minutes or avoid stalling and back-slides, these fundamental rules are the hidden force
behind your ability to change your fitness level.  
- What type of exercise should be included?
( Type of Exercise ) specific including aerobics To design an optimal exercise program, workout or training schedule, a coach or
athlete should adhere to the following six fundamental principles of exercise science.
Three Types of Exercises
Rule 1 - The Principle of Individual Differences
1. Isotonic Exercise – where the muscles are made to do some contraction and
relaxation to gain tones. These movements are common to many physical The principle of individual differences simple means that, because we all are unique
education activities. individuals, we will all have a slightly different response to an exercise program. This
2. Isometric Exercise – where the muscles are made to undergo tension and is another way of saying that "one size does not fit all" when it comes to exercise.
hold a certain position for sometime in order to develop muscle strength. Well-designed exercise programs should be based on our individual differences and
3. Aerobic Exercise – which entails vigorous movements such as brisk walking, responses to exercise.
jogging, running and dancing. The body experiences fast breathing so that Some of these differences have to do with body size and shape, genetics, past
the muscles of the heart and the lungs are exercised. experience, chronic conditions, injuries, and even gender. For example, women
generally need more recovery time than men, and older athletes generally need
The Facts to Consider during Daily Physical Activity more recovery time than younger athletes.

1. There are three key components of the daily activity program: the warm up Rule 2 - The Principle of Overload
exercise, workout, and cool-down exercises. The exercise science principle of overload states that a greater than normal stress or
2. The cardio-vascular warm up prior to the workout is recommended to prepare load on the body is required for training adaptation to take place. What this means is
the muscles and heart for the workout. that in order to improve our fitness, strength or endurance, we need to increase the
3. Stretching portion of the warm up should be done after the cardio-vascular workload accordingly.
portion. In order for a muscle (including the heart) to increase strength, it must be gradually
4. A cool-down after the workout is important to promote an effective recovery stressed by working against a load greater than it is accustomed to. To increase
from physical activity. endurance, muscles must work for a longer period of time than they are accustomed
to or at a higher intensity level. This could mean lifting more weight or doing high
6 Scientific Rules That Lead to Fitness intensity interval training workouts.

Niquetta Louise C. Weatherley BSMT 1-A FIT ME

Holy Name University-Department of Medical Technology
FIT ME
L3: Elements and Principles of an exercise program
Rule 3 - The Principle of Progression implies that, to become better at a particular exercise or skill, you must perform that
The principle of progression implies that there is an optimal level of overload that exercise or skill. A runner should train by running, a swimmer by swimming and a
should be achieved, and an optimal time frame for this overload to occur. A gradual cyclist by cycling. While it's helpful to have a good base of fitness and to do general
and systematic increase of the workload over a period of time will result in conditioning routines, if you want to be better at your sport, you need to train
improvements in fitness without risk of injury. If overload occurs too slowly, specifically for that sport.
improvement is unlikely, but overload that is increased too rapidly may result in injury Source: Wilmore, J.H. and Costill, D.L. Physiology of Sport and Exercise: 3rd
or muscle damage. For example, the weekend athlete who exercises vigorously only Edition. 2005. Human Kinetics Publishing
on weekends violates the principle of progression and most likely will not see
obvious fitness gains. Component of a Fitness Program
The Principle of Progression also stresses the need for proper rest and recovery.
Continual stress on the body and constant overload will result in exhaustion and 1. Warm up – it prepares the body for physical activity. There are two good
injury. You should not train hard all the time, as you'll risk overtraining and a reasons for warming up prior to activity. The first is to prepare the heart
decrease in fitness. muscle and circulatory system. A proper warm up decreases the risk of
irregular heart beats associated with poor coronary circulation. The second
Rule 4 - The Principle of Adaptation reason for a warm up is to stretch the skeletal muscle. By gradually warming
Adaptation refers to the body's ability to adjust to increased or decreased physical up the body, the muscles become more elastic and extensible. The skeletal
demands. It is also one way we learn to coordinate muscle movement and develop muscle warm-up should static stretching of the major muscle groups involved
sports-specific skills, such as batting, swimming freestyle, or shooting free throws. in the exercise.
Repeatedly practicing a skill or activity makes it second-nature and easier to perform.
Adaptation explains why beginning exercisers are often sore after starting a new 2. The Work-out – elevates the heart and achieves aerobic fitness. Activities
routine, but after doing the same exercise for weeks and months they have little, if which may be included in this phase, are walking, jogging, running, swimming
any, muscle soreness. skipping and aerobic dancing. This phase should follow the principles of
Additionally, it makes an athlete very efficient and allows him to expend less energy training with regard to frequency, intensity, and time.
doing the same movements. This reinforces the need to vary a workout routine if you
want to see continued improvement. 3. The cool-down – is done immediately done after the work-out. This part helps
in returning the blood to the heart for re-oxygenation, thus preventing a pool
Rule 5 - The Principle of Use/Disuse of blood in the muscles of the arms and legs. After a vigorous activity, enough
The Principle of Use/Disuse implies that when it comes to fitness, you do actually blood may not circulated back to the brain, heart and symptoms such as
"use it or lose it."  This simply means that your muscles hypertrophy with use dizziness and faintness may occur without cool-down. Two principal
and atrophy with disuse. This also explains why we decondition, or lose fitness, components of a cool-down: static muscle stretching and activity for
when we stop exercise. cardiovascular system.

Rule 6 -The Principle of Specificity GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING

We've all heard the phrase, "practice makes perfect." Well, this is the principle of
specificity in action. This principle simply states that exercising a certain body part or 1. Train the way you want your body to change.
component of the body primarily develops that part. The principle of specificity 2. Train regularly.

Niquetta Louise C. Weatherley BSMT 1-A FIT ME

Holy Name University-Department of Medical Technology
FIT ME
L3: Elements and Principles of an exercise program
3. Get in shape gradually.
4. Warm-up before exercising, and cool-down afterward.
5. Listen to your body.
6. Try training with a partner.
Train your mind.

Niquetta Louise C. Weatherley BSMT 1-A FIT ME