What’s sometimes confusing is what it actually means to exercise. What types of activities should you do? How do you set up an exercise program that fits your life, goals, schedule, and fitness level?

Below you’ll find a complete breakdown of exercise and all the components you need to set up a workout program that meets all your needs.

The Benefits of Exercise

It’s always a good idea to remind yourself about all the amazing things exercise can do for you, both physically and mentally.

Not only is it motivating to remember why it’s so important, it helps shore up the commitment you need to get up every day and move your body.

The wonderful thing about exercise is that you don’t need much to get the benefits. Even just a few minutes a day can improve your health and well-being. Here are just some things exercise can help you do:

• lose weight
• reduce stress
• relieve symptoms of depression and anxiety
• reduce your risk of heart disease and certain types of cancer
• boost your mood
• give you more energy
• help you sleep better
• increase bone density
• strengthen the heart and lungs
• improve your quality of life
• improve your confidence

Just think about it. Exercise is the one thing you can do every day that you’ll always feel good about. Even if it’s just a five-minute walk, you’ll improve your health and do something good for your body.

There are some basic principles that govern the world of exercise, and knowing them can help you set up and manipulate different components of your workout.

FITT is an easy way to remember the exercise variables you can manipulate to avoid plateaus and to keep your body challenged:

• Frequency – how often you exercise
• Intensity – how hard you exercise
• Time – how long you exercise
• Type – the type of exercise you’re doing (e.g., running, walking, etc.)

When you work out at a sufficient intensity, time, and frequency, your body will improve (also called the Training Effect) and you’ll start to see changes in your weight, body fat percentage, cardio endurance, and strength. When your body adjusts to your current FITT levels, it’s time to manipulate one of more of them.

For example, if you’ve been walking three times a week for 20 minutes and you’ve stopped seeing improvement, you could change your program in one or more of the following ways:

Frequency – Add one more day of walking.