Training plan
A training plan sets out when you train and what you do – realistic, varied and with rest days. Three sessions a week are enough to start.
Ausführlich erklärt
A good training plan answers four questions: How often? How long? How hard? And what exactly? Sports scientists call this the FITT principle (frequency, intensity, time, type). It turns the resolution to “move more” into concrete appointments – and people are more likely to keep appointments than intentions.
For beginners, this framework has proven effective: three sessions a week, each lasting 30 to 45 minutes, two of them endurance (brisk walking, cycling, swimming) and one strength (bodyweight or resistance band). Leave at least one rest day in between. After four to six weeks, increase one variable: first frequency, then duration, and finally pace. That's how progressive overload works without overdoing it.
An example plan: Monday 30 minutes of brisk walking, Wednesday 20 minutes of strength work (squats, push-ups, band rows, plank), Friday 30 minutes of cycling or swimming, Sunday an hour-long family outing on foot. That's around two hours of moderate exercise plus strength training – together with everyday journeys like the walk to school or going shopping on foot, you'll reach the 150 minutes of the WHO recommendation.
The most important rule: the plan has to fit your life, not the other way round. Put it in your calendar like a doctor's appointment, lay out your clothes the evening before, and keep an “emergency plan” ready for stressful days (ten minutes is better than nothing). A training diary – three lines per session – shows progress while the scales are still silent.
When you're losing weight, a training plan goes with your diet like a spoon goes with soup: exercise protects muscle, improves mood and sleep and makes keeping the weight off much easier later. Children don't need a plan but opportunities: regular times for being active, a sports club that's fun, and parents who join in.