Fitness for Life

FITT Factors: Time

TIME

Like intensity, the time spent exercising depends on the type of exercise being done. At least 20 to 30 continuous minutes of intense exercise must be used in order to improve cardiorespiratory endurance.

For muscular endurance and strength, exercise time equates to the number of repetitions done. For the average person, 8 to 12 repetitions with enough resistance to cause muscle failure improves both muscular endurance and strength. As people progress, they will make better strength gains by doing two or three sets of each resistance exercise.

Flexibility exercises or stretches should be held for varying times depending on the objective of the session. For warming-up, such as before a run, each stretch should be held for 10 to 15 seconds. To improve flexibility, it is best to do stretching during the cooldown, with each stretch held for 30 to 60 seconds. If flexibility improvement is a major goal, at least one session per week should be devoted to developing it.

Goal Time

• Cardiorespiratory Endurance 20 minutes or more
• Muscular Strength Time required to do 3-7 Repetition Maximum (RM)
• Muscular Endurance Time required to do 12 + Repetition Maximum (RM)
• Muscular Strength and Endurance Time required to do 8-12 Repetition Maximum (RM)
• Flexibility Warm-up and Cooldown: 10-15 second stretches; Developmental: 30-60 second stretches