An individual fitness plan is by its nature designed to be the best plan for an individual person. Choosing the best individual fitness plan therefore often means choosing the plan that will achieve your personal goals. Identifying these goals, assessing what it will take to achieve these goals, and studying the various schools of thought on fitness can help you choose a plan. For people who do not feel comfortable designing a custom plan independently, consultations with a personal trainer and possibly a nutrition specialist can be a good way to select the best path to fitness.
The first thing you need to consider when choosing an individual fitness plan is what it means for you to be fit. For some people, increased strength is the ultimate goal in fitness, but for others, flexibility or weight loss might be more important. Each of these states can be emphasized in a healthy body, and it is even possible to combine these strategies. Writing down a detailed and reasonable fitness goal will help you to design a plan, whether you are working independently or with a professional.
Next, you need to assess your current fitness. Information about weight, pulse, and ability to accomplish athletic tasks should be recorded. There are many different variables you can record, and it is usually most valuable to take measurements relating directly to the goals you have identified. Recording this information is a very important step, even if doing so is uncomfortable, because this is the best way for you to verify that an individual fitness plan is working.
With a beginning and end point in place, all that is left to do when designing an individual fitness plan is to determine how to get from your current state to your ideal end state. Researching different exercise programs, classes, and nutrition plans can be helpful when determining how to accomplish your goals. Making a calendar with concrete and regular goals can also be helpful. Ideally, your individual fitness plan should include multiple types of physical activities and increased attention to nutrition. Whether aiming for increased strength or reduced weight, any change in exercise requires a change in nutritional intake.
Choosing the best individual fitness plan is a matter of tailoring established guidelines about fitness to a personal situation. Even so, a fitness plan cannot be successful if you do not stick to the rules you have established. As such, it is important to consider whether the plan you have designed is actually feasible. One way to ensure that you will stick with your plan is to make it enjoyable and include fun exercise activities. Another way is to consistently record health information so that you can see empirically that the plan is working.