How to Create a Personal Fitness Plan

Physical Fitness 

Adequate consensus has proved that frequent physical activity can improve physical fitness and health; hence, assist in the prevention of diseases. Studies have proved that many physically active adults are healthier and have higher physical fitness than those who are not involved in physical activity(Schmidt et al., 23). Therefore, physical activity positively influences physical fitness and health style. Di Vincenzo et al., (3) defines physical fitness as set of activities or attributes that people set to achieve relating to the ability to perform physical activities. Physical fitness are components of nutritional status closely related to each other. In scientific evidences, a close correlation between changes in body fluids distribution and changes in muscle strength and, therefore, performance is increased in a particular field.

It can be concluded that physical fitness is a state of health and well-being specifically increased ability to perform daily aspects such as occupations, sports. It can be achieved through proper nutrition, sufficient rest and proper physical activities. Increased physical fitness can significantly lower health risks such as early deaths while lack of physical fitness can increase the risks.

Five Health-Related areas of fitness 

In the course of implementing a physical fitness program/exercise there is need to consider five key fitness and nutrition information concerned with physical health. They include; muscular strength, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular endurance and body composition (fats, water, carbohydrates, sodium, and healthy eating). The physical fitness exercise will focus on the stated fitness components.

Cardiovascular Endurance: This is the ability to subject the entire body in continuous exercise for long period. For this to be achieved one must have healthy lungs, clear blood vessels and strong heart. For example, the following activities will be performed to improve body fitness in this area; aerobic dance, swimming and running. This will be done for at least 20 minutes within the heart rate target. Fitness in this area will be measured in Mile and will be performed thrice in every week.

Muscular Strength: This refers to the maximum possible force that can be applied with your muscles. It is often determined by the amount of weight one can lift. Having increased strength is good in avoiding backaches and enables one to carry on with their daily activities more smoothly. Examples of fitness in this area include lifting relatively heavy loads, push-ups, and pull-ups. Push-ups is used to measure muscular strength.

Muscular Endurance: This is the ability of one to use muscles attached to the bones for long time without getting tired. Good muscular endurance is appropriate in improving posture, reducing backpains, fatigue. Muscular endurance can be achieved by lifting weights and sit-ups repeatedly. The number of correctly done sit-ups will be used to measure muscular endurance.

Flexibility: Ability of one to fully utilize his/her joints. Flexibility is achieved if the muscles are long enough and joints are free enough to allow movements in many directions. Flexibility reduces the risks of muscle injury and sores. Stretching can be done after every activity to improve flexibility. The two tests for this fitness are the trunk lift and sit-and-reach tests.

Body Composition: This is the ratio of body fat compared to other body tissues, bones and muscles. Increased body weight is associated with increased ill-health and mortality. Moderate exercise and eating foods with low fat contents can be used to control fat content in the body. Instruments such calipers and weight scale will be used measure height and weight respectively to calculate the body mass index (BMI).

Self-Evaluation 

Although I demonstrated outstanding progress in attempts to improve my physical fitness over the past one month, I realized a number of opportunities which I could utilize to improve my performance-goals. Despite my consistency in reducing my body fat content, I only managed to successfully reduce by 6%. This was less than my target which was to reduce body wight by 12%.

For the past one month I have been able to perform averagely 62 push ups per day in order to improve my muscular strength. Though this is more than my 60 push-ups/day target, I need to improve on consistency and do it everyday without skipping. Similarly, I have been able to get involved jogging once a day, swimming once every weekend to improve my cardiovascular endurance. I aim to improve on this and at least get involved in aerobically challenging activities thrice a week.

For the flexibility fitness, I have been able to perform daily stretch associated with body movements. However, the duration of holding stretch has been quite short, averagely 7seconds for every stretch, less than the 10secnd target. And finally, my muscular endurance fitness tests have been quite improved for the past one month, I need to increase amount of test weight load.

Goals for improving Fitness 

Starting a physical fitness journey isn’t easy but making simple changes in daily habits can help achieve a lot. The following are goals for achieving improved physical fitness;

To decrease the chances of quitting fitness exercise.

  To increase heart rate and giving lungs workouts .

Exercise activities that will help reaching my goals

Activities such as walking, jogging, swimming, aerobics, jump roping and in-line skating all raise heart rate. 

Mixing cardiovascular sessions with different activities can help to avoid boredom while carrying out cardiovascular endurance fitness activities. Such of the activities include; cycling, running kickboxing, rowing and paddle boarding. Different activities that use different activities will be chosen to help prevent chronic muscles and joint stress. 

Warm-up and cool-down 

Prior to fitness activity it is important to warm-up the muscles. The warm-up process is important as it helps to increase the body temperature and increases muscles’ flexibility making them to be more effective during exercise. Also, warm-up causes gradual increase in the heart rate and breathing prior to exercise. The type of warm-up will depend on the intensity of activities planned to take up. Engaging in a light jog mixed with some slipping and sliding movements, while swinging the arms in an exaggerated way would be considered a good warm-up, as would jogging in place, followed by light calisthenics such as jumping jacks and dynamic stretching. Every warm-up will depend on the specific activities in which a person is engaging.

Similarly, it is important to cool down for a bout five minutes after the exercise to help avoid the risks of possible injuries. The cooling down strategies should target activities that gradually lower the heart rate, reducing the body temperature and slowly cools down the muscles. The cool down-activities will also consider the type of exercise, intensity and the duration the exercise has taken. Good cool-downs will involve jogging with some dynamic stretches and static stretches as well.

Personal Fitness Calendar 

week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	30 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	30 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	30 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	30 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	30 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	50 push-ups 20 boat crunches 40sec plank	Rest
2	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	30 push-ups 25 boat crunches 1 min plank 25 bicycles	Rest
3	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	35 push-ups 30 boat crunches 1 min plunk 25 bicycles	Rest
4	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	50 push-ups 40 boat crunches 2min plank 45 bicycles	Rest
5	8min cardio WO Sexy tonal WO Still arm workout	Fat burn cardio 30sec quick cardio warm up Stretching for leg flexibility	Fat burn cardio 30sec quick cardio warm up Stretching for leg flexibility	8min cardio WO Sexy toned WO Still arm workout	Fat burn cardio 30sec quick cardio warm up Stretching for leg flexibility	Fat burn cardio 30sec quick cardio warm up Stretching for leg flexibility	Rest
6	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Fat burn exercise, Slim and sculpt Heartbeat heaven 20 bicycles	Rest
7	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Whole body workout Spring leaning slimdown Silent death cardio Insane butt blaster	Rest
8	10 stretches to move butt Butt workout Fat burn Fun Indoor cardio workout	10 stretches to move butt Butt workout Fat burn Fun Indoor cardio workout	10 stretches to move butt Butt workout Fat burn Fun Indoor cardio workout	10 stretches to move butt Butt workout Fat burn Fun Indoor cardio workout	10 stretches to move butt Butt workout Fat burn Fun Indoor cardio workout	Wole body workout Fat burning cardio Core crusher Arms down the Aisle 50 bicycles	Rest

Conclusion 

Effective body fitness exercise plan should be based on the need to be physically active throughout ones’ life. In order to develop a proper and effective fitness plan, prior personal assessment is necessary. In this personal fitness plan, I dedicate to improve my body fitness by ensuring that I consistently take part in the physical activity without quitting to improve my heart rate and having vigorous lung workouts. After completing the two-months activities plan, fitness progress tracking will be done so as to re-asses achieving my fitness goals, develop new goals, and possibly have a new calendar for follow-ups. This will be done every two months to continue improving and maintaining my fitness.

References 

Di Vincenzo, Olivia, et al. “Body Composition and Physical Fitness in Elite Water Polo Athletes.” IcSPORTS 2019 - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Sport Sciences Research and Technology Support , no. January, 2019, pp. 157–60, doi:10.5220/0008161401570160.

Schmidt, Steffen C. E., et al. “Different Types of Physical Activity and Fitness and Health in Adults: An 18-Year Longitudinal Study.” BioMed Research International , vol. 2017, 2017, pp. 1–10, doi:10.1155/2017/1785217.