Wellness Project: Exercise and Fitness - Essay Example

HEA 285 Wellness Project: Exercise and Fitness Due Dimensions of Health According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is not merely about “the absence of diseases or infirmity but also a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being”. In other words, to attain overall healthiness, one must look into the six dimensions of health – namely the physical, social, emotional, environmental, spiritual, and mental dimension – which constitute and determine a person’s overall wellness. Since these health dimensions are interdependent, they relate to one another and contribute to a person’s quality of life and his impact to the society. First, the physical dimension refers to the physiological state of the body system, ensuring that a person is free from illnesses and maintains physical activity through exercise and healthy diet. If a person is physically healthy, he can function well in the society and make significant contribution to the community. As such, being involved in one’s community also entails responsibility with the surrounding environment. Environmental dimension of health means that a person is able to take responsibility over his environment through protection and conservation of nature. Doing one’s part for environmental conservation also means involving one’s self in the community. As such, a person who builds good relationship with the people in the community shows a healthy social dimension (Corbin et. al., 2008). In a way, building relationships in one’s community is related to emotional dimension because person is capable of recognizing his and other people’s personal feelings. Aside from this, emotional dimension includes the ability handle stress and copes with life’s challenges. While emotional dimension deals with feeling, mental dimension of health deals with cognition or thought. A person is in good mental health if he does not suffer from anxiety and depression. Lastly, if one able to establish inner peace and find deeper purpose in life, it means that the individual is in good spiritual health. Spiritual dimension refers to one’s inner values and realization that we exist for a reason and that each of us has a higher purpose in life. It is only when an individual is able to develop his spiritual dimension, along with other five health dimensions, that we can say one is truly healthy, in every sense of the word. Why Physical Fitness It is a known fact that we all need exercise to live longer. Yet despite this, lack of exercise remains responsible to 300,000 deaths in the US every year (CNN Health, 2002). This is mainly because physical inactivity makes people acquire deadly sickness such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and obesity. As for myself, I do not suffer from excess body weight. In fact, I am a very thin person and I attributed it to the fact that I lack exercise and physical fitness activities. The reason why I wanted to focus on physical health is because it affects all other health dimensions in a positive way. Emotionally, a physically fit person feels better about one’s self. As a result, he is able to build confidence in what he does and eventually take part in social activities. Because of these social interactions, he becomes aware of his environment and takes care of it. As an active person, he is free from stress and exhibits positive mental health. Also, with good inner and outer disposition, a physically fit person is able to appreciate life more and explore his spiritual side. Considering the multidimensional benefits of being physically fit to my overall health, it is only important that I focus on fitness and exercise to live life more meaningfully. By meaningful it means that I still aim to live longer and gain confidence in myself. Warning Signs The decision to focus on physical fitness and exercise is attributed to the feeling of fatigue that I experience every day. It seems that I am becoming less energetic to perform daily activities at school and home. I have also observed that even though I eat more foods daily, I still do not gain weight because I have faster metabolism. Because of these factors, I have turned to physical fitness in enabling myself to perform daily activities with more vigor and strength. If I continue this inactivity, I am surely exposing myself to the greater risk of acquiring heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, or high blood pressure (BBC, 2012). In other words, it is not an assurance that being thin means being healthy. Goal Statement My personal goal is to create an exercise plan that will enable me to gain weight and build strength. I plan to accomplish the goal to be physically fit for 6 weeks. The short-term goal is to religiously follow the exercise routine, diet plan, and physical fitness activities. The long-term goal is to incorporate these routines in my day to day activity. Plan of Action My first move to achieve my goal is to visit EKU gym and set a schedule for a 30 minute exercise, three times a week, during Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. During the days without workout, I plan to jog around the campus early in the morning. To motivate me further, I plan to find a workout partner who also shares my goal of becoming physically fit. We would monitor each other’s exercise progress day by day through weight measurement. Aside from the exercise plan, I also need to keep track of my diet and make sure that I eat the right amount of protein to build muscles and right amount of carbohydrates for energy. On the first two weeks, I expect to still adjust on my exercise routine. From third to fifth week, I expect to increase my jogging time at the campus and exercise routine at the gym. On the sixth and final week, I expect that I will get used to the fitness activity and incorporate it in my daily lifestyle. Also, I should be able to get good results from the training such as increase in weight, leaner muscles, and stronger built. As the sixth week, I should be able to continue with my exercise routine and maintain physical fitness. Expected Challenges Time can be a major barrier for daily exercise routine. I expect that some days I will be busy with school works and family appointments. To overcome this, I will make sure to consider exercise as my top priority every day. For gym activities, I plan to do lunchtime workouts to be sure that I have time to exercise. For morning walks, I plan to sleep early so I can wake up early morning and walk around the campus. If family activities are scheduled, I plan to incorporate walking or playing sports together to still be physically active. Another challenge during the exercise plan is tiredness. There are days which I will be bombarded with work and this might make me not perform exercise routines. During these times, I plan to seek help with my training partner for motivation. It is given that we would support each other every time we feel tired of exercising or become bored with the routine. Lastly, I expect to hurt myself while exercising during the first few weeks of the exercise plan. This is because I lack physical exercise for most of my life. To resolve this challenge, I plan to do the exercise routine slowly. On the first few weeks, I will start to do physical activities from slow to moderate intensity. Then, once I will be comfortable with the exercise, I plan to increase my workout time as time progresses. In this way, I will be able to achieve good results because I allow my body to adjust and adapt well to physical activities. Background Research The benefits of exercise and physical fitness have long been known to contribute to longer and healthier life. According to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (2012), maintaining physical fitness through exercise is “one of the best things you can do for your health” because it serves as a protection against heart diseases, diabetes, arthritis, and chronic depression. Regardless of one’s size and age, regular exercises make an individual active and improve physical condition. Also, extensive studies by Madaan, & Petty (2006) and Deslandes et al (2009) reveal the link between exercise and improved mental health. This affirms the idea that physical activities help an individual to combat stress and remain emotionally stable. Aside from this, newer researches reveal that exercise can also enhances brain function as well as heal cognitive impairments (Voss et al, 2012; Blanchette et al, 2005; and Kramer, Erickson, & Colcombe, 2006). When it comes to gaining weight through physical activity, Viswanathan (2005) suggests that the combination of exercise and right diet are needed to start gaining weight. While doing weight exercises is helpful to build leaner muscles, it is also advisable to eat foods that are rich in protein such as eggs, meat, and peas and foods that are rich in carbohydrates such as rice, potatoes, and tapioca. WEEK DAY WEIGHT EXERCISE TIME COMPLETED COMMENTS 1 MON 69  JOG 20  Yes I jogged slowly with my partner. It was rewarding. TUE  69 GYM 30  Yes I did the cycling at the gym. It was hard. WED  69.5 JOG 20  Yes My muscles begin to strain a little bit.  THU  69 GYM 30  Yes I walked slowly at the treadmill.  FRI  69 JOG 20  Yes My legs are still slightly hurt but I completed jogging.  SAT   69.8 GYM 30  Yes I did sit-ups and dumbbells to relax my legs.   SUN 69  - - - Finally relaxed my muscles but also walked a bit.  2 MON 69 JOG 20  No I woke up late because I had studied. TUE  69.8 GYM 30  Yes I did the cycling at the gym for 20 minutes. WED  70 JOG 20  Yes     My legs are doing better. I still jogged slowly.  THU  70 GYM 30  Yes I did 20 minutes cycling and dumbbells.  FRI 70  JOG 20  Yes I jogged faster than last week.  SAT  70.2 GYM 30  Yes  I tried the gym exercise for arm muscles. SUN   - - - It was a very rewarding week for exercise.  3 MON 70.3  JOG 30  Yes  My training partner woke me up to jog. TUE 70.5  GYM 40  Yes  I still trained with my jogging partner. WED  70.5  JOG 30  No I failed to wake up again.  THU  70.5  GYM 40  Yes  I tried the gym equipment for arm muscles. FRI  70.6  JOG 30  Yes  I jogged much faster than usual. SAT  70.3  GYM 40  No I had to study for an exam.  SUN  70.1 - - -  I promised not to miss a day of exercise. 4 MON  70.5 JOG 35  Yes It was a bit rainy so my jogging time was less.  TUE  71 GYM 45  Yes I had a nice time with the gym using the cycle.  WED  71  JOG 35  Yes I jogged with my partner. We increased our speed.  THU  71.2 GYM 45  Yes I spent more and more time at the gym.  FRI  71 JOG 35  Yes I had a good time jogging.  SAT  71 GYM 45  Yes I enjoyed weight training.  SUN  71 - -   I feel that I am more energetic.  5 MON 71  JOG 40  No  I failed to jog because I woke up late. TUE  71.2 GYM 60  Yes I spent one hour at the gym. Big achievement.  WED  71 JOG 40 No    I was late for class because of last night’s activity. THU  71.4 GYM 60  Yes Again, it was great that I spent one hour exercising.  FRI   71.4 JOG 40  Yes I felt I am stronger and more active.   SAT   71.3 GYM 60  Yes I spent one hour at the gym cycling.  SUN  71.1 - - -  I walked leisurely with friends. 6 MON  71.5 JOG 40  Yes I jogged and felt my body getting stronger.  TUE  71.6 GYM 60  Yes  I did cycling, weights, and treadmill. WED   71.5 JOG 40  Yes I jogged with my partner around the campus.  THU   71.5 GYM 60  Yes I can feel my muscles getting leaner.  FRI  71.8 JOG 40  Yes I jogged around the campus in good weather.  SAT  71.8 GYM 60  Yes  I did cycling, weights, and treadmill.  SUN 72 - - - I gained three kilos from the exercise plan.  Evaluation The exercise plan proved to be tough to follow. As expected, there were days where I wasn’t able to fulfill some exercise routine because it did not fit my schedule. However, during those days, I have performed strenuous duties at school and home. The first two weeks were the toughest because I had to get used to the exercise routine. I slightly hurt my leg muscles on the third day of walking but as days progressed, I got used to my muscles tightening up. It was a smart choice to choose one of my friends as a training partner because of his insistence that we follow the exercise plan religiously. The third week was when I missed exercises most. However, on the fourth week, I was so careful not to miss a day of exercise. The fifth week was historic because I reached one hour exercise time at the gym and 40 minutes jogging. On the sixth week, I was happy with my weight improvement and muscle development. Conclusion Though difficult to follow at first, the exercise plan proved to be successful and rewarding. From this wellness project, I have learned that it needs discipline and commitment to fully achieve physical fitness. Aside from exercise, I made sure that I eat a lot of protein-rich food to attain my goal of gaining weight. Indeed, after gaining three kilos in exercise and right diet, I felt so much confidence within myself. I had more energy going out for leisurely walks with my friends. I also met joggers and gained friends at the gym because of my exercise routine. For now, this physical fitness exercise is something that I want to continue doing. Because I gained confidence with my current physique, I plan to pursue the exercise and incorporate it in my daily lifestyle. I am starting to live healthily already and I do not want all these hard work to go to waste. Works Cited World Health Organization. “What is the WHO definition of health?”. WHO Website. April 2nd 2012. Corbin, Charles B., Gregory J. Welk, William R. Corbin and Karen A. Welk. “Concepts of Fitness and Wellness: A Comprehensive Lifestyle Approach”. 7th edition 2008. Web. April 2nd 2012. Cable News Network (CNN). “Study: Most Americans dont exercise regularly”. April 7th 2002. Web. April 2nd 2012. United States Department of Health and Human Services. “PEP UP YOUR LIFE: A FITNESS BOOK FOR MID-LIFE AND OLDER PERSONS”. The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Web. April 2nd 2012. Taylor, C. B., J. F. Sallis and R. Needle. “The relation of physical activity and exercise to mental health.”. Public Health Reports Vol. 100 (2). Mar-Apr. 1985. Page 195-202. Web. April 2nd 2012 Sharma, Ashish, Vishal Madaan and Frederick D. Pett. “Exercise for Mental Health”. The Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2006 (2). Page 106. Web April 2nd 2012. Deslandes, Andréa, Helena Moraes, Camila Ferreira, Heloisa Veiga, Heitor Silveira, Raphael Mouta, Fernando A.M.S. Pompeu, Evandro Silva Freire Coutinho and Jerson Laks. “Exercise and Mental Health: Many Reasons to Move”. Neuropsychobiology 2009 vol. 59. Page 191–198. June 10th 2009. Web. April 2nd 2012 S. Fell, James. “In-Your-Face Fitness: Dumbbells can make you brainy”. Los Angeles Times. February 13th 2012. Web. April 2nd 2012. Voss, M.W., Nagamatsu, L.S., Liu-Ambrose, T. and Kramer, A.F. Exercise, Brain, and Cognition Across the Lifespan. Journal of Applied Physiology. Web. April 2nd 2012. Blanchette, David M., Ramocki, Stephen P., Odel, John N., and Casey, Michael S. “Aerobic Exercise and Creative Potential: Immediate and Residual Effects” Creativity Research Journal 2005, 17(2&3), Page 257-264. Web. April 2nd 2012. Arthur F. Kramer, Kirk I. Erickson, and Stanley J. Colcombe. “Exercise, cognition, and the aging brain”. Journal of Applied Physiology. October 2006. Vol 101. No. 4. Page 1237-1242. Web. April 2nd 2012. Read More