MODULE: 5 - PLANNING & SCHEDULING

Professional Diploma in Fitness Training

Prepared By: Sreerag Sathyan

Objectives of Planning & Scheduling

Planning Definition

Planning definition can be stated as the process of putting thoughts together and
organising activities required to achieve the desired goal is known as Planning. In a
clear-cut manner, planning is defined as developing a strategy to achieve desired
objectives, solve problems, and facilitate action. Or, to put it another way, planning is
a trap set to capture the future. Each activity that should be performed in a tournament
comes under planning and need to be planned thoroughly.

Meaning of Planning

The process of planning includes anything that entails setting goals, developing
strategies, and outlining tasks and schedules to achieve the goals. In simpler terms,
the meaning of Planning is to decide ahead of time what will be done and when, where,
how, by whom it will do it. With proper planning, it is possible to achieve one’s goal
smoothly and efficiently without putting too much pressure on oneself.

Planning is also important in the field of physical education. For example, you can
organise a variety of sports tournaments such as elimination tournaments or a round-
robin tournament and short-term and long-term training. Planning is required to make
the best use of what is available to achieve short or long term goals.

Objectives of Planning

Planning has several objectives, especially in sports, and some of the objectives of
Planning are discussed below.

1. Maintain Good Control over all the Activities

Control and Planning go hand in hand. Planning aids in the execution of a well-
organised tournament. For example, you are organising a tournament, and if
everything goes according to plan, you automatically gain control.

2. To Increase Efficiency

One of the primary objectives of Planning is to improve the efficiency of sports officials
in conducting sporting events/competitions. Sports officials become more efficient and
perform their duties more effectively and efficiently with the help of proper planning.

3. To Reduce Unnecessary Pressure of Immediacy

When a tournament is organised without proper planning, it creates enormous

pressure to produce the best results possible. The job cannot be completed efficiently
and smoothly in a hurry or immediacy. As a result, reducing the unnecessary pressure
of immediacy is an important goal of planning.

4. To Reduce the Chances of Mistakes

A significant goal of planning is to reduce the likelihood of errors. A well-thought-out

plan reduces the likelihood of errors and oversights. Although mistakes and oversights
cannot be completely avoided in any field, we can reduce them to some extent through
proper planning.

5. To Enhance Sports Performance

One of the most important goals of planning is to improve athletes’ or players’

performance in sports. It is impossible to improve athletes’ performance without proper
planning.

6. To Improve Creativity

Another important goal of planning is to improve creativity. Proper planning

encourages officials, coaches, and physical education teachers to be creative. Sports
officials gain new and innovative ideas for organising sports while planning a
tournament, which improves creativity.
Other planning objectives include providing new facilities to meet demand, to decrease
undue pressure, promote innovative ideas, increase the number of programs
conducted in a place, etc.

Types of Planning

1. Long-Term Planning (Strategic Planning)

 Focuses on overall goals and objectives over several years.

 Involves talent development, infrastructure, and resource allocation.
 Example: A country’s plan to develop athletes for the Olympics over a 4-8 year
period.

2. Medium-Term Planning (Tactical Planning)

 Covers a season or competition cycle (6 months to 2 years).

 Includes training schedules, competition strategies, and recovery programs.
 Example: A football club’s season-long strategy, including player rotations and
fitness plans.

3. Short-Term Planning (Operational Planning)

 Weekly or daily plans focused on immediate performance goals.

 Includes training sessions, match-day strategies, and nutrition plans.
 Example: A coach planning daily drills for players in preparation for an
upcoming match.

4. Training Planning

 A detailed roadmap for an athlete’s physical, technical, tactical, and

psychological preparation.
 Includes periodization, where training is divided into phases (macrocycle,
mesocycle, and microcycle).
 Example: A weightlifter's training plan with strength, endurance, and recovery
phases.
5. Event Planning

 Organizing competitions, tournaments, and sports events.

 Includes venue booking, logistics, marketing, and security.
 Example: Planning for a marathon, including routes, hydration stations, and
crowd control.

6. Financial Planning

 Budgeting and financial management for teams, events, or athletes.

 Includes sponsorships, funding, and expense management.
 Example: A sports club setting a budget for player salaries, travel, and training
facilities.

Types of Training Plan

FITT principle application

The FITT principle is a tried-and-true method of putting together an efficient workout

plan. The FITT principle is an acronym that represents, Frequency, Intensity,
Time, and Type. It can be prescribed to people to improve health, similar to
pharmacologic intervention. You can easily remember the basic principles of
exercise using the so-called FITT factors.

It can be used by anyone, beginner or experienced, for any type of activity. It can
also be used by therapists, in the patient population, for individuals recovering
from a condition. The principle of FITT training can be viewed as a framework for
training recipes.

FITT

Frequency (how often): Exercise should be carried out 3-5 days a week.

Training three times a week produces significant training effects; however, training
5 days a week at a lower-intensity exercise may be more manageable for some
people. Little additional benefit is seen with more than five training sessions a
week, and the risk of injury is increased. Training twice a week does not produce
increases in VO2max; however, it may produce some functional changes and it is
probably better than no exercise at all. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise done
at least 5 d ∙ wk or vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise done at least 3 d ∙ wk or a
weekly combination of 3–5 d ∙ wk of moderate and vigorous-intensity exercise is
recommended for most adults to achieve and maintain health/fitness benefits.

This refers to how often you exercise. The point is to meet your goals without
overtraining the body.

 When it comes to cardio: As a general rule of thumb, aim for a

minimum of three cardio sessions per week. If you’re looking to lose
weight, you might increase this number to five to six sessions.
 When it comes to strength training: It’s recommended to do some
sort of strength training three to four times per week. Strength training
can involve the use of weights (even bodyweight
workouts), resistance, barbells, or machines.
 Also includes rest days: Also account for rest days when putting
together your plan. It’s important to give your muscles a chance to
recover.

Intensity (how hard)

Intensity can vary between light, moderate and vigorous intensity activities. For
example, walking slowly is a low intensity activity, walking briskly or shooting
around a basketball is a moderate intensity activity and running (>5mph) is a
vigorous intensity activity. A good rule of thumb is that a person doing moderate-
intensity aerobic activity can talk, but not sing. A person doing vigorous-intensity
activity cannot say more than a few words without pausing for a breath.
Intensity can be monitored by heart rate in most patients, although some patients
may have pathology or be on drug treatment that affects their HR response to
exercise (in which case HR cannot be used to monitor exercise intensity).

Measures of perceived effort and affective valence ([Link] pleasantness of

exercise) can be used to modulate or refine the prescribed exercise intensity.
eg Borg Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) Scales, Talk Test.

This refers to how difficult an exercise is.

When it comes to strength training

If you’re new to an exercise program, you don’t want to make the plan too
challenging. This could lead to injury or burnout.

Start at a level that feels comfortable, and then gradually increase the difficulty as
your strength and endurance builds.

With strength training, there are three primary methods you can use to measure
intensity:

1. amount of weight lifted

2. number of repetitions completed

3. number of sets

When it comes to cardio

To measure how hard you’re working during a cardiovascular exercise, you can look
to your heart rate, which is measured by beats per minute (bpm).

This starts with determining your target heart rate zone for your fitness level and age.
The heart rate zone you’re meant to target is based on a percentage of your
maximum heart rate (MHR).
1. Find your max heart rate (MHR)

To find your MHR, use this calculation: 220 minus your age = MHR.

For example, if you’re 25 years old, your MHR is 195 (220 – 25 = 195 MHR).

2. Find your target heart rate zone

According to Harvard Health, aerobic exercise is when your heart rate reaches
between 70 and 85 percent of your MHR. You’re also getting a workout when your
heart rate reaches 50 to 70 percent of your MHR.

To find your target heart rate zone, use this calculation: MHR multiplied by
percentage rate in decimals.

So, this looks like: 195 x 0.50 = ~97 and 195 x 0.85 = ~165

According to the American Heart AssociationTrusted Source, the target heart rate
zone for a 25-year-old is approximately 95 to 162 beats per minute.

Time (duration or how long)

A total of 20-60 minutes of continuous or intermittent aerobic activity a day should

be performed. The activity can be divided into a minimum of lO-minute bouts
throughout the day. The duration of training is dependent on intensity. Individuals
starting at the lower end of the training band need to sustain exercise longer (30-
60 minutes) to achieve training effects.

This refers to the duration of each exercise.

Experts recommendTrusted Source at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity

exercise or at least 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise a week.
This can look like 30 minutes of moderate exercise or 15 minutes of intense exercise
a day.

Of course, you can increase or decrease this duration based on several factors,
including current fitness level, age, weight, health, and others.

A cardio workout is recommended to last a minimum of 30 minutes. This can be

longer, depending on the exercise. A long bike ride, for example, could take up to 2
hours.

Resistance workouts usually last between 45 and 60 minutes.

Don’t add time to your workouts until you’re ready to do so. Once your endurance
builds, you can gradually increase the time spent exercising.

Type

Refers to the sort of activity to complete eg Aerobic activities like walking, jogging,
biking, swimming or dancing or strengthening activities such as exercises using
exercise bands, weight machines or hand-held weights.

This refers to what kind of exercise you’ll be doing under the umbrella of
cardio or strength training.

Cardio is any type of exercise that improves your cardiovascular system.

This includes:

 running
 swimming
 walking
 dancing
 aerobics routines
  cycling

Strength training is any type of exercise that tones and strengthens the
muscles. It usually results in muscular hypertrophy.

This includes:

 the use of weights, like bicep curls and bench presses

 bodyweight exercises, such as:
o squats
o pushups
o pullups
o situps

FITT example for weight loss

If your goal is to lose weight, your fit plan might look like this:

 Frequency: Get your heart rate up during 3 to 6 days of the week.

 Intensity: This will depend on your current fitness level. For a high-intensity
workout, aim to reach 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate.

 Time: Aim for around 20 to 30 minutes per workout. You can increase the
workout length as your endurance builds.

 Type: Any type of cardiovascular training, such as dancing, walking, running,

rowing, jogging, hiking, cycling, swimming, etc.

FITT example for cardiovascular exercise

 Frequency: 4 days a week

 Intensity: moderate, 60 to 70 percent heart rate

  Time: 30 minutes

 Type: jog

FITT example to increase strength

 Frequency: 4 days a week

 Intensity: intermediate, 3 sets of 10 to 12 reps

 Type: could be various leg exercises, such as deadlifts, hamstring

curls, squats, standing calf raises, leg extensions, and leg press or alternatives

 Time: 45 to 60 minutes