This section demonstrates how to design your own twelve week FSR exercise program. You’ll be taken step by step through the program starting first with establishing SMART goals based on personal fitness aspirations. Second, you’ll learn how to record your progress on the two fitness logs (FSR Weight Training/Flexibility Log and FSR Cardiovascular Weekly Log) and third, you’ll learn how to submit these logs during the twelve week physical activity portion of the course.
This whole course is designed to help you improve both your physical fitness knowledge and to help you apply that knowledge to design and implement your own exercise program based on your own personal goals. These goals are important because they are the motivating force in keeping the exercise program progressing and these goals help establish the FITT Guidelines that are used in the course. The SMART goal method (American Council on Exercise, 1996) involves setting goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timebound.
The first step in beginning this program is to determine what physical activity group correlates with your specific SMART goals.
The first step in beginning this program is to determine what physical activity group correlates with your specific SMART goals. Now, look over Table 5-4. Find the group that describes you and your goals and abilities. Think things over and decide what you would like to do as part of your cardio exercise portion of your FSR exercise program. Look over the SMART goal examples outlined below.
| Group | Frequency (how often) | Intensity (how hard) | Time (how long) | Type (exercise choices) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning exercisers | 3 to 5 workouts per week | low to medium (60 to 70% HRmax) | about 20 minutes per workout | -see table 2-5 -cardio routines1 |
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| Intermediate exercisers / non-endurance athletes2 | 3 to 5 workouts per week | medium to high (70 to 90% HRmax) | 20 to 60 minutes per workout | -see table 2-5 -cardio routines3 |
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| Advanced exercisers / endurance athletes4 | 5 to 6 workouts per week | medium to high (70 to 90% HRmax) | 20 to 60+ minutes per workout | -see table 2-5 -cardio routines5 |
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| Exercisers interested in weight loss | 6 to 7 workouts per week | low to medium (60 to 70% HRmax) | 20 to 60+ minutes per workout | -see table 2-5 -cardio routines6 |
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1 Cardio routines: Continuous training (intermediate slow training or long-slow distance training); interval training (cardio or anaerobic interval training); cardio cross training; cardio circuit training; review 4.3. |
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2 Non-endurance athletes: football players, golfers, volleyball players, baseball players, cheerleaders, rock climbers, hikers, and so on. |
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3 Cardio routines: Continuous training (intermediate slow training or long-slow distance training); interval training (cardio or anaerobic interval training); cardio cross training; cardio circuit training; review 4.3. |
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4 Endurance athletes: marathon runners, endurance cyclists, triathletes, endurance swimmers, basketball players, soccer players, and so on. |
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5 Cardio routines: Continuous training (intermediate slow training or long-slow distance training); interval training (cardio or anaerobic interval training); cardio cross training; cardio circuit training; review 4.3. |
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6 Cardio routines: Continuous training (intermediate slow training or long-slow distance training); interval training (cardio or anaerobic interval training); cardio cross training; cardio circuit training; review 4.3. |
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Here are some SMART goals for different groups of people. Use these as an example to help you write your own SMART goals.
Now, that you’ve chosen your physical activity group based on your goals and abilities, this will designate what you should be accomplishing in your FSR exercise program. Example, if you chose to be an advanced exerciser then 5 to 6 workouts per week are required to reach your SMART goal. Next, you will choose your physical activity group for the weight – training portion of the FSR exercise program. The following table will be help you set your SMART goal for muscular strength/endurance.
Look over Table 5-5. Find the group that describes you and your goals and abilities. Take the time to decide what you would like to do as part of your weight training portion of your FSR exercise program. Look over the SMART goal examples outlined below. After doing this, write down several SMART goals based on your current goals and abilities.
| Group | Frequency (how often) | Intensity (how hard) | Time (how long) | Type (exercise choices) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning exercisers | 2 workouts per week | -moderate (get tired after about 12 reps) -1 set of each exercise |
about 20 minutes per workout | -dynamic lifts(move through normal range of motion) -weight training routines1 |
| Intermediate exercisers / Non-power athletes2 | 2 to 3 workouts per week | -high (get tired after about 8 to 12 reps) -2 to 3 sets of each exercise -muscles fully rested between sets |
about 20 to 60 minutes per workout | -dynamic lifts (move through normal range of motion) -weight training routines |
| Advanced exercisers / Power athletes3 | 5 to 6 workouts per week | -high (get tired after about 8 reps) -3 or more sets of each exercise -muscles fully rested between sets |
60 minutes per workout | -dynamic lifts (move through normal range of motion) -weight training routines |
| Bodybuilders | 5 to 6 workouts per week | -high (get tired after about 8 to 12 reps) -5 or more sets of each exercise -shorter rest periods between sets |
60 minutes or more per workout | -dynamic lifts (move through normal range of motion) -weight training routines |
1 Weight training routines: whole-body, split-body, single-set, multiple-set, continuous-set, slow training, pyramid training, partner-assist, and circuit training; review 4.4. |
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2 Non-power athletes: marathon runners, endurance cyclists, triathletes, endurance swimmers, cheerleaders, rock climbers, soccer players, golfers, and so on. |
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3 Power athletes: football players, volleyball players, baseball players, basketball players, and so forth. |
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Here are some SMART goals for different groups of people. Use these as an example to help you write your own SMART goals.
You’re ready to decide what physical activity group describes you based on your flexibility now. Once you’ve chosen your physical activity group, you’ll be shown how to record your workout sessions on the FSR exercise logs.
Look over Table 5-6. Find the group that describes you and your goals and abilities. Think things over and decide what you would like to do as part of your stretching portion for the FSR exercise program. Look over the SMART goal examples outlined below. After doing this, write down several SMART goals based on your current goals and abilities.
| Group | Frequency (how often) | Intensity (how hard) | Time (how long) | Type(exercise choices) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning exercisers | 5 to 7 workouts per week | 2 to 4 repetitions (15 to 30 seconds each) | about 15 minutes per workout | -slow-static (hold-type) stretching |
| Intermediate and advanced exercisers | 5 to 7 workouts per week | 2 to 4 repetitions (15 to 30 seconds each) | about 20 to 60 minutes per workout | -slow-static (hold-type) stretching -slow-dynamic stretching -contract-relax stretching |
Here are some SMART goals for different groups of people. Use these as an example to help you write your own SMART goals.
You’re now ready to begin the twelve week FSR exercise program. Step 1 – begin exercising. Maybe you like the gym, outside, or at school. Wherever you choose, make sure that it’s safe and you enjoy it. During the cardiovascular workout, you’ll be required to complete the FSR Cardiovascular Weekly Log. The log includes a section for the activity, the exercise heart rate during the workout, the length of the workout, and the goal for that day you’ve set. Remember that whatever physical activity group you’ve chosen based on your SMART goal will be how many times you’re required to workout per week of the course. You will continue to do this for four weeks. An example of how to fill out the log is found in the appendix section of the course. Try a variety of activities that will keep you motivated and excited about exercising.
Part of the FSR exercise program is developing muscular strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility. During the next four weeks, you will complete daily workouts based on your physical activity group and SMART goals. Each time you go to the gym to lift weights, you can complete the log. This log is found in the appendix section of the course. First, the log is split up into body part sections. You will choose an exercise to do for each body part on the log. You may have more than one exercise per body part based on your own SMART goals and abilities. Record on the log the exercise you did, the weight you lifted, and how many times (reps) you lifted of that weight. Record these each time you work out for the next four weeks. This will require more than one log to complete the four weeks.
Before and after each exercise session, one should stretch to improve flexibility and to avoid injuries. This helps the muscles to warm-up and cool-down as part of the FSR exercise program. At the bottom of the FSR Weight-Training/Flexibility Weekly Log is a section where you can record how long in minutes the stretching lasted and the goal time in minutes that you had set. Pictures of the weight training exercises and stretches are found in the appendix section of the course. You now have the whole picture of how to record and complete the FSR exercise program.
You will submit the following logs after unit 4 is completed electronically. Unit 4 requires four weeks to complete.
Have fun and Enjoy!!!