Your Physical Education

To conclude this Episode series 1-6, we talk about measuring body composition. Although body composition is often the first thing people think about when they decide to exercise, it is only one of many things that can be improved by adopting a fitness lifestyle. Keeping track of all of those things is important both for improving your health and wellness, but for learning a lot about yourself along the way. Walsh et al., “The Association between Body Fat and Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Questions/Comments

Pain can cause us to be afraid to start an exercise program or stop moving altogether. However, strength training and regular physical activity can be a powerful tool for mitigating and even eliminating pain from your life. Disc degeneration and low back pain review: Rahyussalim, Zufar, and Kurniawati, “Significance of the Association between Disc Degeneration Changes on Imaging and Low Back Pain: A Review Article.” Arthritis and exercise: Goh et al., “Efficacy and Potential Determinants of Exercise Therapy in Knee and Hip Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Questions/Comments

All human activities are endurance activities. Endurance is a combination of cardiovascular fitness and strength, so how do we know if we have enough of either? Questions/Comments

Physical activity is an important concept. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week for adults of all ages. Higher levels of physical activity can provide additional benefits for both adults and children alike, but it is important to note that even small amounts of physical activity are better than none. Recent research has demonstrated that it is not just sustained physical activity that benefits our health but reducing the duration of sedentary periods throughout the day regardless of activity level. This means regularly getting up from the television or office chair, actively moving, and sitting and standing with active, engaged posture.[i] Physical activity is simply any movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in energy expenditure. Walking, cycling, playing sports, gardening, and household chores are all examples of physical activity. Exercise is planned physical activity used to develop physical fitness. Exercise differs from general physical activity in that it is planned, structured, and repetitive and has as an objective the improvement or maintenance of physical fitness.[ii] The CDC defines physical fitness as “The ability to carry out daily tasks with vigor and alertness, without undue fatigue, and with ample energy to enjoy leisure-time pursuits and respond to emergencies. Physical fitness includes a number of components consisting of cardiorespiratory endurance (aerobic power), skeletal muscle endurance, skeletal muscle strength, skeletal muscle power, flexibility, balance, speed of movement, reaction time, and body composition”. [iii] Ultimately, it is physical fitness that allows us to be more physically active throughout our day without fatigue or risk of injury. We develop physical fitness through exercise. A deconditioned or weakened person is simply not able to get up and move around as often as a more fit person. The prescription for curing these problems is regular exercise that builds strengthand aerobic fitness.[iv]Regular physical activity improves posture, movement, strength, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness and reduces risk of disease. [i] Petros MARAGKOUDAKIS, “Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour,” Text, EU Science Hub - European Commission, June 20, 2017, https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/health-knowledge-gateway/promotion-prevention/physical-activity. [ii] C J Caspersen, K E Powell, and G M Christenson, “Physical Activity, Exercise, and Physical Fitness: Definitions and Distinctions for Health-Related Research.,” Public Health Reports100, no. 2 (1985): 126–31, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1424733/. [iii] Read “Does the Built Environment Influence Physical Activity?: Examining the Evidence -- Special Report 282” at NAP.Edu, accessed April 24, 2021, https://doi.org/10.17226/11203. [iv] Louise J Geneen et al., “Physical Activity and Exercise for Chronic Pain in Adults: An Overview of Cochrane Reviews,” The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 4, no. 4 (April 24, 2017): CD011279–CD011279, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD011279.pub3. Questions/Comments

My name is Sara Fleming and I’ve been a strength coach, personal trainer, and trainer educator for over a decade. My friend Nancy Johnson Chavez, a 35 year veteran of the fitness industry, and I started this podcast to have some discussions on what fitness really is and how you can lead a fit and healthy life without killing yourself in the gym or going on a starvation diet. The truth is simply this: Physical activity is necessary for good health. A varied diet that is not excessive or overly restrictive in calories is necessary for both good health and ideal body composition. There are a million different ways to achieve these goals and none of it has to be hard unless you want it to be. We will be taking a walk through my book, Fitness without Fear, as well as addressing a number of other topics that we’ve encountered through our years of working in the fitness industry. This podcast is for anyone who wants to learn more about how the human body responds to diet and exercise and/or wants to begin or change their fitness routine. www.havefun-getstrong.com

The most important thing to know about diet is that it is extremely important to understand exactly what you are eating before you change anything. Paying attention helps us to be more careful about when and how much we eat. Oftentimes big changes are not necessary. Increasing our protein and fiber intake while decreasing our fat and processed food intake is often enough to make some positive changes. Before you commit to a big diet change, do yourself a favor and track your diet for a week. Simply by paying attention, you may already be able to figure out what you need to do in order to move in the right direction. I cover diet in my book, Fitness without Fear, in Appendix B. Questions/Comments

All human activities are endurance activities. Its what we evolved to do. And what is that exactly? Endurance can be applied to a lot of things, but the most important thing is that we be able to maintain our posture through a range of activities and intensities. When we can no longer maintain our posture, we fatigue and fatigue can cause all sorts of problems. Though endurance relies on both strength and cardiovascular conditioning, if you are having a hard time with postural or strength endurance, getting stronger will always help. Before we begin any kind of training program, we need to know where we are starting from. In this episode, we talk about both sleep and stress and how important they are not only to our health, but our performance in the gym.  12 minute back video Radiolab Sleep episode  Scientific American: Deep Sleep Gives Your Brain a Deep Clean  Questions/Comments

Cardio has gotten a bad rap as an ineffective exercise mode that can be replaced with more intense weight and circuit training. We are here to tell you why you need more cardio in your life and why it doesn't have to be something your dread. Questions/Comments

When we hear the word "strength" we may think of a person of great resiliance or character, but we often also think of physical strength and the stereotypical strongman with bulging muscles and heavy weights. Physical strength, however, is something vastly different than most of our preconceived notions and the ways that we develop strength is very different as well.  Questions/Comments

My name is Sara Fleming and I've been a strength coach, personal trainer, and trainer educator for over a decade. My friend Nancy Johnson Chavez, a 35 year veteran of the fitness industry, and I started this podcast to have some discussions on what fitness really is and how you can lead a fit and healthy life without killing yourself in the gym or going on a starvation diet. The truth is simply this: Physical activity is necessary for good health. A varied diet that is not excessive or overly restrictive in calories is necessary for both good health and ideal body composition. There are a million different ways to achieve these goals and none of it has to be hard unless you want it to be. We will be taking a walk through my book, Fitness without Fear, as well as addressing a number of other topics that we've encountered through our years of working in the fitness industry. This podcast is for anyone who wants to learn more about how the human body responds to diet and exercise and/or wants to begin or change their fitness routine. Read more: https://havefun-getstrong.com/your-physical-education-a-podcast/ Questions/Comments: https://forms.gle/m3hBGBK4tWiA3XeX6