Grade by Grade
A–B. Active Living and Movement Competence · Active Living and Movement: Move Well, Train Smart, Stay Safe

My Personal Fitness Plan: Design, Do, Revise

A2.4 A2.3 1.2 1.5About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use my assessment results and an honest look at my strengths and limitations to choose a starting point.
  • I can set SMART short-term and long-term fitness goals.
  • I can write a personal fitness plan that applies FITT and the training principles.
  • I can plan strategies for obstacles, celebrate progress, and revise my plan using evidence.

Words to know

personal fitness plan
A written plan for improving your fitness, based on your own results and goals.
SMART goal
A goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound.
short-term goal
A goal for the next few days or weeks; a step toward a bigger goal.
long-term goal
A goal for months or a whole season or year.
plateau
A period when results stop improving even though you keep training.
revise
To change a plan based on new evidence, like results, injuries or a new schedule.

Remember from Grade 8

In Grade 8 you wrote SMART goals and built a long-term fitness plan broken into short-term steps, with recovery weeks. In Grade 9 your plan must be built from your own assessment data (last lesson), use the training principles, include strategies for obstacles, and be revised based on evidence.

Hook: the plan that lasted three days

On January 1, Dev wrote: "Get super fit this year." He ran 5 km on day 1, felt awful on day 2, and quit on day 3.

Dev's plan had no starting point, no measurable goal, no progression and no plan for obstacles. Most failed plans fail for exactly these reasons. Yours won't.

The steps of a personal fitness plan

The curriculum describes these parts:

  1. Assess and reflect. Use your fitness assessment data and an honest look at your strengths and limitations to find your starting point.
  2. Set goals. Write a long-term goal (for example, for the end of the semester) and short-term goals (every 2 to 3 weeks). Make them SMART.
  3. Apply the training principles. Use FITT, progressive overload, specificity, rest and variety.
  4. Plan for obstacles. Name likely obstacles (exams, weather, a part-time job) and write a strategy for each.
  5. Do it and track it. Log every session: what you did, minutes, intensity, how you felt.
  6. Acknowledge progress and successes. Notice and celebrate effort and improvements.
  7. Evaluate and revise. Every few weeks, retest, look at the trend and adjust your goals or routine.
1. Assessbaseline results2. Set goalsSMART, short + long3. PlanFITT + principles4. Do and tracklog every session5. Reviewtrend, feelings6. Reviseadjust goals/routinePersonalfitness plan(repeat every4 to 6 weeks)
A personal fitness plan is a cycle, not a one-time list. After you review your results, you revise the plan and start again.

Writing SMART goals

  • Not SMART: "Get better at running."
  • SMART: "By December 15, I will run 1.6 km in under 10:30 (from 11:20 now), training 3 times a week."

Check each letter: Specific (1.6 km run), Measurable (10:30), Achievable (about 7% faster in 10 weeks), Relevant (it matches your goal of improving cardiorespiratory endurance), Time-bound (December 15).

A good plan balances goals across components: you might have one main goal and also keep flexibility and strength in your week.

MonRun18 minTueCore +push-upsWedYoga20 minThuRun18 minFriCore +push-upsSatSoccerwith friendsSunRestlight walkcardiorespiratorymuscular enduranceflexibilityrest / recovery
Maya's sample week. It mixes cardiorespiratory, muscular endurance and flexibility work, includes something she enjoys (soccer with friends) and a rest day.
Worked example

Let's build Maya's plan

Maya's baseline: plank 45 s, push-ups (from knees) 12, 1.6 km run 11:20, sit-and-reach 24 cm. Strength: she enjoys soccer and has good endurance in games. Limitation: her core tires quickly. Obstacle: she has a part-time job Saturday mornings. Build a 6-week plan.

  1. Starting point: her core muscular endurance is her biggest need; her cardiorespiratory fitness is fair; flexibility is fine.
  2. Long-term goal (SMART): "By the end of week 6, I will hold a plank for 60 s with good form, and run 1.6 km in under 10:50."
  3. Short-term goals: week 3: plank 52 s; run 11:05.
  4. FITT for core: F = 2 days a week (Tuesday and Friday, with days between for recovery); I = good-form holds near her maximum; T = 3 sets, starting at 25 s and adding 5 s a week; T(ype) = front plank plus side planks for variety.
  5. FITT for running: F = 2 days a week (Monday and Thursday); I = moderate zone, with 4 short faster bursts in week 3 onward; T = 18 min, adding 2 min a week, easier week 4.
  6. Obstacle strategy: job on Saturday morning → runs are on Monday and Thursday after school, and soccer with friends moves to Saturday afternoon.
  7. Celebrate: note each new personal best in her log; treat herself to a new playlist at week 3.
  8. Review: retest at week 3 and week 6, and revise.

Maya's plan uses her data, SMART long- and short-term goals, FITT and progressive overload, a strategy for her job, a way to celebrate, and planned retests.

Worked example

Let's revise a plan using evidence

At week 3, Maya's plank is 55 s (goal 52, ahead of plan), but her run is still 11:18 (goal 11:05, almost no change). She also says her shins hurt after runs on the road. What should she change?

  1. Celebrate the core result: she's ahead of plan, so she can raise her week 6 plank goal to 65 s.
  2. Look at the run: almost no change. Possible reasons: intensity too low, only 2 runs a week, or shin pain making her slow down.
  3. Deal with the pain first: shin pain can be an overuse warning. She switches one road run to a softer surface (park trail or grass) and checks that her shoes are in good condition. If pain continues, she tells a parent and gets it checked.
  4. Adjust FITT: keep 2 runs, but make one of them intervals (1 minute faster, 1 minute easy, × 6) to raise intensity, and add a bike ride on Sunday for extra cardiorespiratory work with less impact.
  5. Update goals: keep the 10:50 run goal but check again at week 6.

Maya raises her plank goal, changes surface and intensity for running, adds a low-impact activity, and keeps tracking. Revising based on evidence is a key part of A2.4.

Hands-on activity

Write and start your 4-week plan

You need: your baseline results from the last lesson, a notebook or a document, a calendar, and running shoes.

  1. Reflect (5 min): list two strengths and two limitations based on your data and your own experience.
  2. Goals (10 min): write one long-term SMART goal for 4 weeks, and one short-term goal for week 2.
  3. Weekly plan (15 min): draw a week like Maya's. Include at least 3 days of cardiorespiratory activity, 2 days of muscular strength or endurance, flexibility work, something you enjoy, and a rest or light day. Write FITT for each type.
  4. Progression: write how you'll overload each week (for example, +2 minutes or +5 seconds), with an easier week if you plan more than 4 weeks.
  5. Obstacles: list two likely obstacles and a strategy for each.
  6. Celebrate: decide how you will acknowledge progress (log personal bests, share with a support person).
  7. Start: do day 1 today, with a warm-up and cool-down, and log it.

Safety: Start below your maximum. Build rest into the week. If you have a medical condition, check the plan with a parent or health-care provider.

Just for fun

My fitness plan said "Run 5 km." My legs read it and said, "That's clearly a typo. You meant 0.5." That's why we start where the data says we are.

Your turn

1

List the seven parts of a personal fitness plan from this lesson.

2

What does SMART stand for?

3

Rewrite "Get stronger" as a SMART goal.

4

Why should a plan start from your assessment data?

5

Give an obstacle and a matching strategy.

6

When should you revise your plan?

More practice: warm-up

1

What is a plateau?

2

Is "Run 1.6 km in under 10:30 by December 15" time-bound?

3

Name one way to acknowledge progress.

4

What is a short-term goal?

5

Should every day in a plan be a hard day?

More practice: on your own

1

Leo's goal is "Run 1.6 km in 7:00 by next week" (his current time is 11:00). Is it SMART? Explain and fix it.

2

Maya's plank goal was 52 s at week 3 and she reached 55 s. What should she do with her long-term goal?

3

Explain how specificity applies when choosing activities for a plan whose main goal is flexibility.

4

After 4 weeks, a student's push-ups haven't improved. Give three possible reasons and one change for each.

5

Why does a plan include something you enjoy, like soccer with friends?

Challenge

1

Write a complete 2-week plan for a student whose baseline shows good flexibility, fair cardiorespiratory endurance and low upper-body muscular endurance, who has hockey practice Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

2

Explain why revising a plan is a sign of a good planner, not a failure.

3

A plan's run times over 6 weeks (minutes:seconds): 11:20, 11:12, 11:15, 11:02, 10:55, 10:48. Calculate the total change and percent change, and decide if the long-term goal of under 10:50 was met.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

What should be the starting point of a personal fitness plan?

2.

Which goal is SMART?

3.

Your results stop improving for 3 weeks. This is called a:

4.

Which is a strategy for an obstacle?

5.

Why include rest days in a plan?

6.

After retesting, you've beaten your goal early. You should:

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A2.4 asks students to develop, implement and revise a personal fitness plan: using assessment data and self-reflection to set a starting point and goals, applying training principles, planning for obstacles, acknowledging progress, and revising. Living skills 1.2 (managing challenges) and 1.5 (planning, goal setting, problem solving) are central.

How to help at home:

  • Look at the weekly plan together and fit it around family schedules.
  • Help your teen notice and celebrate progress.
  • Ask, "What does the evidence say?" when they want to change the plan.

Common difficulties:

  • Goals that are too big or vague. Check each SMART letter.
  • No rest days. Remind them recovery is part of training.
  • Giving up after a setback. Revising is normal.

Safety: Persistent pain (for example, shin pain that lasts) should be checked by a health-care provider. Teens with medical conditions should check plans with their provider.