Kinesiology And Exercise Analysis

Some of my favorite classes I have completed at Jefferson College of Health Sciences have been Kinesiology and Exercise Physiology. Reading chapter two of our text interested me the most because it covers the basics of kinesiology and goes into techniques we learned in exercise physiology, such as how to find maximal heart rate reserve. In my reflection paper I will discuss three main topics that spiked my interest the most, they are the FITT principle, how compliance and adherence affect peoples ability to continue in an exercise prescription, and the health benefits that are gained from regular physical activity. The FITT principle is a guideline on how we can prescribe exercise prescriptions to make sure each aspect is covered appropriately.
Frequency, intensity, time, and type are all important factors to include in an exercise prescription. I believe that if all these concepts are covered in the process of writing an exercise prescription, if followed, there will be success for the client. I think that we have all the tools in writing exercise prescriptions that will work for whatever the client wants to obtain. The issue lies with compliance and adherence. I personally have gone through a weight loss journey and lost one hundred and ten pounds in a year time.
At the time I was in nursing school and had a million things going on, the last thing on my mind was my health. I decided in August that I would take a semester off from school and get healthy. While choosing to obtain a healthy and active lifestyle it lead me to change my major to Health and Exercise Science. In the text it discusses barriers that can negatively affect compliance, and from being in the same situation I can agree that those barriers are real. I would complain in nursing school the reason I would not go to the gym would be lack of time, lack of knowledge on what machines and equipment to use, and being ashamed to enter a gym afraid of being stared at. We as exercise professionals need to find a way to express to our clients the importance of continuing in an exercise regimen. One main reason to continue an exercise regimen leads me to my next topic health benefits from regular physical activity. The end of chapter two discusses briefly the health and fitness benefits of regular physical activity. It’s a short part of the chapter that I think needs to be addressed in more detail. The question that comes to my mind is, “If we have all these health benefits of regular physical activity, why is it so difficult to have people participate in the recommended physical activity guidelines?” I recently spoke with my father who is over weight and he has expressed on many occasions to me that he wishes to lose some pounds. I go through the whole spill of how nutrition and physical activity is the key to weight loss and a healthy happy lifestyle. He will follow my advice and eat healthy, until he slips one time and goes back to fast food and Pepsi. I tell him the possible chronic diseases he can face and his response is, “I’m going to die from something anyways.” My goal is to find a way to have my dad use intrinsic motivation to want to lose weight so he
can live a longer life. In conclusion, chapters two and three were eye opening to me. Some of the content was a review from previous courses I have completed and a few topics let me dive deeper into my thinking process. This let me see how I can possibly affect the health of not only my family but also possibly the entire community.