FITT Principal
What does the letter F stand for in the FITT Principle?
Answer: Frequency
What is one common barrier that prevents people from participating in physical activity?
Answer: Lack of time, motivation, money or access to facilities.
According to the NPAGs, how many minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity should children and young people aged 5–17 aim for each day?
Answer: At least 60 minutes per day.
What is the main difference between moderate and vigorous physical activity?
Answer: Moderate activity makes you breathe faster and raises your heart rate, while vigorous activity makes you breathe much harder and raises your heart rate significantly.
What does the letter I stand for in the FITT Principle, and what does it measure?
Answer: Intensity — how hard your body is working during exercise.
A student wants to join a gym but cannot afford the membership fees. What type of barrier are they experiencing?
Answer: A financial or economic barrier.
Name two activities that can help children and young people meet the daily physical activity recommendations.
Answer: Any two suitable activities, such as swimming, cycling, basketball, dancing, running or netball.
Is brisk walking generally considered moderate or vigorous physical activity?
Answer: Moderate physical activity.
A student cycles for 30 minutes instead of 15 minutes. Which part of the FITT Principle have they changed?
Answer: Time — the duration of the exercise session.
A teenager avoids playing sport because they are worried that others will laugh at their ability. Identify the barrier and explain how it affects their participation.
Answer: A psychological or emotional barrier, such as fear of judgement or low self-confidence. It may cause the teenager to avoid sport and miss opportunities to be active.
How many days per week should children and young people include vigorous physical activity and muscle- and bone-strengthening activities?
Answer: At least 3 days per week.
During which intensity of exercise would you generally be able to talk but not sing comfortably?
Answer: Moderate-intensity physical activity. During vigorous activity, you would usually only be able to say a few words without pausing for breath.
A student wants to improve cardiovascular fitness. They currently jog twice a week for 20 minutes at a moderate pace. Identify two FITT variables they could adjust to gradually increase the challenge of their training.
Answer: Any two of Frequency, Intensity or Time — for example, jogging three times a week and gradually increasing each session to 25 minutes.
A student has a busy schedule, lives far from sporting facilities and has no transport to get there. Identify two different barriers and suggest one practical strategy to overcome each.
Answer: Time barrier — schedule short activity sessions into the week. Access or transport barrier — walk, cycle where safe, use public transport or find activities closer to home.
The guidelines recommend limiting recreational screen time to no more than how many hours per day? Does this limit include screen time required for schoolwork?
Answer: No more than 2 hours per day, and no, screen time required for schoolwork is excluded.
Classify each activity as generally moderate or vigorous: leisurely cycling on flat ground, running, and walking briskly uphill.
Answer: Leisurely cycling on flat ground — generally moderate; running — generally vigorous; brisk uphill walking — can be vigorous, depending on the steepness and effort.
A student wants to improve muscular strength. They currently perform two resistance-training sessions per week, completing two sets of 12 repetitions with a light weight. Explain how they could apply all four components of the FITT Principle to improve their strength safely over time.
Answer: Frequency — gradually increase training sessions if recovery allows; Intensity — progressively increase the resistance; Time — adjust session duration or rest periods appropriately; Type — choose resistance exercises targeting the relevant muscle groups. Changes should be gradual and technique should remain correct.
A teenager has limited free time due to family responsibilities, feels embarrassed exercising in public and cannot afford organised sport. Analyse how these three barriers may interact to reduce their physical activity, and propose two realistic strategies to help them become more active.
Answer: Time pressures reduce opportunities to exercise, low confidence discourages participation, and financial limitations restrict access to organised sport. Strategies could include free home workouts, walking with family, short activity sessions, or free school and community programs.
A 15-year-old spends 60 minutes playing netball, 3 hours sitting gaming for fun, and sleeps for 7 hours each night. Identify three ways their daily routine does not meet the Australian 24-hour movement guidelines.
Answer: They meet the minimum daily physical activity recommendation if the netball is moderate to vigorous; however, they exceed the 2-hour recreational screen-time limit and get less than the recommended 8–10 hours of sleep for 14–17-year-olds. They should also break up long periods of sitting.
A student completes 30 minutes of moderate-intensity cycling and 15 minutes of vigorous-intensity running. Using the guideline that 1 minute of vigorous activity is roughly equivalent to 2 minutes of moderate activity, how many moderate-equivalent minutes have they completed?
Answer: 60 moderate-equivalent minutes. The cycling contributes 30 minutes, and the 15 minutes of vigorous running contributes 30 moderate-equivalent minutes (15 × 2). Total = 60 minutes.