Table 1.

The exercise prescription for Parkinson’s disease

FITT	FITT Recommendations for people with parkinson’s disease
	Aerobic	Resistance	Flexibility	Neuromotor
Frequency	3–4 days / week	2–3 days / week	2–3 days / week with daily being most effective	2–3 days / week
Intensity	High-intensity (80–85% HRmax) for mild – to – moderate PD; Moderate intensity (60–65% HRmax) for deconditioned individuals or those with more advanced PD; attempt to progress to 80%–85% HRmax	30%–60% of 1RM for beginners; 60–80% 1RM for advanced	Full extension, rotation, or stretch to the point of slight discomfort	N/A
Time	≥30 minutes accumulated high-intensity exercise (not including warm up/cool down or rest-intervals) Progress to total of 150 min/week	1–3 sets of 8–12 repetitions Progress to 2–3 hours/week	Hold static stretch for 10–30 s; 2–4 repetitions of each exercise	30–60 min
Type	Prolonged, rhythmic activities using large muscle groups (e.g., walking, running, cycling, swimming, rowing, elliptical)	Major muscle groups of upper and lower body – challenging all major muscle groups on nonconsecutive days. Avoid free weights for those in advanced disease stage, use weight machines, body weight, resistance bands instead	Slow static stretches for all major muscle groups working on increasing range of motion.	Exercises involving motor skills (e.g., balance, agility, coordination, gait, dual tasks) multidirectional step training and instability training

FITT, Fitness, Intensity, Time, Type; HRmax, maximum heart rate; PD, Parkinson’s Disease; 1RM, one repetition maximum.