Exercise prescription programs are an aspect of your physical activity. Having a prescription or plan for your workout routine is very beneficial. It provides structure as well as a plan to stick to in order to get the most out of your workout. If you go into your workout knowing what you're doing and what you plan to accomplish, it keeps you on the right track.
Frequency
Frequency describes how often you perform your chosen exercise. It's always better to begin slowly and progress to more days per week. The type of activity also dictates how often it's performed and whether it can be performed on consecutive days, or whether a rest day is needed. Establish a frequency of how often you perform your chosen workouts and then plan when to perform them.
Intensity
Intensity refers to the level of your exercise, or how hard you work. You should notice that, with consistency of your activity, the intensity begins to feel less when performing the activity, due to adaptation. Intensity can be measured using heart rate, or a rating of perceived exertion, among other methods.
Duration
Time or duration refers to how long or how many minutes your exercise takes. With consistency, this aspect can be manipulated to foster adaptation and improvement in your program.
Mode
The most common types of activity can be categorized into areas of focus such as cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength and endurance, or flexibility. There are other types of activity as well; the type of activity you choose dictates how you put together your schedule using the above guidelines.
References
- "Fitness for Life"; Matther T. Mahar; 2008
- "ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2006
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