Exercise Programming and Optimization for Untrained Individual using Mixed Integer Linear Programming

Maintaining physical fitness through sports or exercise plays a role in our overall health and well-being, from recovering from cardiovascular diseases to avoiding serious injury. Although sports and exercise are as much as social or recreational activities, not all activities would be equivalent in terms of required physical exertion to maintain cardiovascular health and muscle hypertrophy. Broad guidelines guide medical and sports training professionals to prescribe the correct amount of physical activity for a training session. However, prescribing based on real-life exertion and fitness goals is left entirely to the trainer's discretion. Furthermore, given that the restrictions of one's schedule may discourage some people from getting any physical activity whatsoever, finding an exercise program that satisfies minimum fitness requirements in the least amount of time may encourage more to be more active. This study presents an optimization of a high-intensity interval training program using mixed integer linear programming (MILP), which seeks to select workouts that provide efficient aerobic and muscular gains while minimizing the time needed to perform the program. The program was constrained to suit a high-intensity aerobic program while engaging five muscle groups proportionately. An eight-exercise program was created using MILP, performed at a high intensity while ordering muscle groups' utilization sizes in descending order.