Frequency & Intensity: How Often and How Hard?

When we talk about getting fit, two of the most important words are Frequency and Intensity. They are the 'F' and 'I' in the FITT principle!Frequency is simple: It's how often you do an activity. Is it three times a week? Five times? Every day? The right frequency helps your body adapt and get stronger without overdoing it.Intensity is how hard you work during the activity. Are you walking, jogging, or sprinting? Are you lifting a light weight or a heavy one? The right intensity challenges your body to improve.Getting the balance right between Frequency and Intensity is the secret to making progress, having more energy, and reaching your fitness goals!

Let's say you want to improve your running for the school soccer team.Frequency: You already have practice twice a week. Running every single day might lead to burnout or injury. A good starting point is to add 2 more running days on your own. That makes a total frequency of 4 times per week, which gives your body time to recover.Intensity: How hard should you run on those extra days? Use the 'Talk Test' to find a moderate intensity.If you can easily sing a song, your intensity is too low. Pick up the pace!If you can't speak more than a word or two, your intensity is too high. Slow down a bit.If you can comfortably hold a conversation, you're at a moderate intensity. Perfect!Aim for this 'just right' zone for about 20-30 minutes.

Imagine your goal is to be able to do 10 push-ups in a row.Frequency: Your muscles need time to repair and grow stronger after you work them. Doing push-ups every day isn't the best way. A good frequency is 2 to 3 times per week, with at least one rest day in between (e.g., Monday, Wednesday, Friday).Intensity: Intensity here is about how challenging the exercise is. Let's say you can currently do 3 push-ups before you have to stop. That's your starting point!Your goal could be to do 3 sets of 3 push-ups.The intensity is right if the last push-up in each set feels difficult, but you can still do it with good form.If it feels easy, you can increase the intensity by trying to do 4 push-ups per set next time.