Exercise Prescription Basics

Physical Activity
 Physical Activity: Bodily movement produced by skeletal
muscles that results in energy expenditure above resting (BMR).
Broadly encompasses exercise, sports and activities of daily living
(ADL). Includes:
– N.E.A.T.: Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis:
• Ranges from ~ 15 percent of total daily Energy Expenditure
(EE) in very sedentary individuals to >50 percent in highly
active persons . Even minor changes in physical activity
throughout the day can increase daily energy expenditure by
20 percent.

– Exercise: Physical activity that is planned, structured, and

repetitive, and that has as an objective the improvement or
maintenance of physical fitness.
Exercise
Components of Fitness
 Health-Related Physical Fitness: Ability to perform
daily activities with vigor, and prevent hypokinetic
diseases.
 Health-Related Components of Fitness:
– Cardiovascular endurance
– Muscular strength and endurance
– Flexibility
– Body Composition
Neuromotor or Functional Fitness

 ACSM recently (2011) added Functional Fitness to

their health related components of fitness.
 Primal Movement Patterns
» Bend
» Twist
» Gait
» Squat
» Lunge
» Push
» Pull
 Skill-Related Fitness
 Agility: ability to rapidly change the position of
the entire body in space with speed/accuracy.
 Balance: ability to maintain the center of
gravity of a body within the base of support with
minimal postural sway
 Coordination: The harmonious functioning of
muscles in the body to perform complex
movements
 Speed: ability to perform a movement within a
short period of time.
 Power: the rate at which one performs work.
 Reaction time: time elapsed between
stimulation and the beginning of the reaction to it
.
Benefits of Regular Physical Activity

 At your table, come up with a list of at least 5 benefits of

Physical Activity you know of or have experienced
yourself.
 Discuss how you would rank these benefits in your
group, or does everyone have their own priorities?
Benefits of Regular Physical Activity
 Some benefits of regular exercise include:
– Improved cognition
– Improved sleep
– Decreased anxiety and depression
– Increase in lean body mass & decreased body weight and fat
– Decreased risk of diseases/conditions, including CHD, Diabetes,
some cancers, osteoporosis
– Improved cardiovascular function, including lowered systolic and
diastolic blood pressure, improved lipid profile
– Prevention of falls
Acute Variables to Consider
 When developing a Fitness Plan or Group Exercise
Routine, the following variables must all be considered:

 FITT-VP
– Frequency
– Intensity
– Time/Duration
– Type
– Volume
– Progression
Group Activity
 Identify how you would identify FITT-VP for the
following activities:
– Cardiovascular Activity (Tables 1 & 2)
– Muscular Strength/Endurance Activity (Tables 3 & 4)
– Flexibility Activity (Tables 5 & 6)
Chronic Training Adaptations to Exercise
 SAID principle (specific adaptation to imposed demands)
 Examples include:
– Improved cardiac output efficiency (increased SV and lower HR)
(aerobic training)
– Increase in respiratory capacity (aerobic training)
– Increase in maximal oxygen consumption (aerobic training)
– Increase in bone density (weightbearing exercise)
– Improved control of blood glucose and lipids (physical activity)
– Maintained or improved lean body mass (weightbearing activity)
– Decreased depression and anxiety (physical activity)
– Higher quality of life (physical activity)
Warm-up

 Warm-up-Importance:
– Increases heart/respiratory rate and tissue temperature.
– Increases psychological preparation for bouts of exercise.

 Warm-up-Suggested activities:
– Self-Myofascial Release (SMR)
– Stabilization Level: Static Stretching to address any imbalances
only; Strength Level: Active Isolated Stretching (AIS); Power
Level: Dynamic Stretching.
– Gradually increasing intensities of cardiorespiratory exercise for
5-10 minutes.
Cool-Down
 Cool-down: Importance:
– Reduces heart rate/respiratory rates and gradually cools body
temperature
– Returns muscles to their optimal length-tension relationships
– Prevents venous pooling of blood in the lower extremities
– Restores physiological systems close to baseline.

 Suggested cool-down activities:

– Gradually decreasing intensities of cardiorespiratory exercise for
5-10 minutes.
– Self-Myofascial Release (SMR) (30 sec each exercise)
– Static Stretching-all major muscle used (hold 20-30 sec each).
General Training Principles
 Principle of specificity
– The exercise response to any training program is specific to the
mode and intensity of training.

 Principles of overload and progression

– Overload involves increasing the load on the tissue or system
above and beyond the normal load.
– Progression is the systematic process of applying overload.
NASM-OPT Model
 Level 1: Stabilization
– Phase 1-Stabilization Endurance

 Level 2: Strength
– Phase 2—Strength-Endurance
– Phase 3-Hypertrophy
– Phase 4-Maximal Strength

 Level 3-Power
– Phase 5-Power
General Principles of Progression

 Progressive: Stable to unstableeasy to

hardsimple to complexknown to unknown.
 Systematic: StabilizationStrengthPower
 Proprioceptively Challenging:
– Lower body: 2 legs stablestaggered stable1 leg
stable2 legs unstablestaggered unstable1-leg
unstable,
– Upper body: 2-armalternating1-armupper
body rotation
Cardiovascular Training-NASM
 FITTE (NASM model for CV Fitness)
– Frequency
– Intensity (Zone 1: 65-75% Zone 2: 76-85%, Zone 3: 86-95% HRmax)
– Time
– Type
– Enjoyment

 Stage 1- Designed to improve Cardio Fitness. Goal is for

client to be able to perform 30 minutes of continuous activity
in Zone 1 before moving onto Stage 2.
 Stage 2- Goal is for client to improve work capacity (i.e.
increase VO2max). Participates in Zone 1 & 2 level activities.
 Stage 3 -Designed to further improve high intensity work
capacity. Challenges lactate threshold & further improve
General Training Principles (cont.)

 Principle of diminishing returns

– The rate of fitness improvement
diminishes over time as an
individual’s fitness approaches its
ultimate genetic potential.

 Principle of reversibility
– When training ceases, all gains will
return to pre-training levels and may
possibly decrease to the point where
they are only supporting the
demands of daily use.
Over-reaching
 Over-reaching is the concept of pushing the body to its
maximum capacity, but allowing for adequate recovery in
a cyclic manner (e.g. hard-easy-moderate-hard-easy
etc).
 Overreaching is utilized by athletes to accelerate fitness
without the undue stress associated with a simple
progression where rest is not scheduled into the mix.
Overtraining
 Overtraining often occurs during periods of intense overload in which signs
and symptoms are individualized and include a combination of both
physiological and emotional factors.
 Some signs and symptoms include:
– A decline in physical performance with continued training
– Elevated heart rate and blood lactate levels at a fixed submaximal work rate
– Weight loss
– Sleep disturbance
– Multiple colds or sore throats
– Irritability, restlessness, excitability,
and/or anxiousness
– Loss of motivation and vigor
– Lack of mental concentration and focus
– Lack of appreciation for things that are normally enjoyable

 The best way to prevent overtraining is periodization.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)
 Research suggests DOMS is caused by tissue injury from excessive
mechanical force, particularly eccentric force, exerted on muscle and
connective tissue.
 Generally appears 24–48 hours after strenuous exercise
 Is thought to result from a series of events activated by strenuous exercise:
– First, structural damage occurs as a result of strenuous eccentric muscle actions.
– As a result, calcium is leaked out of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and collects in the
mitochondria, halting ATP production.
– The build-up of calcium activates enzymes that break down proteins.
– The breakdown of proteins causes an inflammatory process.
– Lastly, the accumulation of histamines, potassium, prostaglandins, and edema
stimulates pain receptors, leading to the sensation of DOMS.

 Attempt to reduce DOMS by starting at a low intensity and progressing slowly

through the first few weeks while minimizing eccentric actions.
Summary
 Knowledge of the benefits of exercise can be helpful for
motivating clients to prioritize fitness in their lives.
 Understanding the Physical Activity Guidelines and
applying their recommendations to your fitness plans will
benefit your client’s fitness.
 Understanding the components of fitness, acute
variables and the general principles of training will help
you develop effective fitness plans.