The Final Blog

Exercise science is a class that I have enjoyed, and would recommend to anyone. As an athlete always striving to do my best and reach the next level, I found each unit in this class had a positive impact, on me, as an athlete.

Anatomy and physiology plays a huge role in the life of an athlete. I found it interesting in this unit to learn about the different fragments of the body. I believe that learning all the major, bones, muscles, planes, and axis has had a positive impact on me. By learning these different things I am more aware as an athlete. By being more aware, I better know my body and how it moves. By having this understanding I have the potential to be a more successful athlete.  This has caused me to have a new perspective on myself and my performance potential. This has the capacity to really improve my performance. Through hands-on assignment, such as building a functioning elbow joint, this concept of the body and how it moves really came to life and made sense to me. Through the anatomy and physiology unit, I have gained perspective and the ability to improve my performance.

Human performance is what I do as athlete. My performance is always in the forefront of my mind. I found the diverse subject matter within this unit to be very interesting and useful. I particularly found the section on performance enhancing drugs to be of interest. This past summer I went to track and field nationals. At this event they stressed to us the negative capacity of performance enhancing drugs. They told us that we could be tested for them at any time and disqualified if they were found in our system. At the time I found it hysterical that they were first of all telling us this (Doesn’t everyone know that?) and that they were presenting it to us, at such a young amateur age in our sports career. Through this unit I guess I have gained perspective, which, as a result, has then deepened my understanding of sport. I realized that no, everyone doesn’t realize that performance enhancing drugs are to be avoided and yes, they are very real at my age. This perspective made me rethink what athletics are about and why people do them. Through experiences in this class these ideas were just solidified in my mind. Human performance made me contemplate life as an athlete and the motive behind it.

In addition to being an athlete, I am a youth track and field coach. Our study of motor learning has enhanced my coaching skill I believe. It was interesting to learn about the developmental rate of youth and how it really differs child to child. By learning this concept and having some hands-on time with youth, I was able to learn this concept so I could then apply it to the children I coach. Through this experience and the teachings in this unit I believe my coaching skills have improved. By learning that children have different rates of development and ways to tailor physical activity to them I am a better this improved coach.

In the unit of evolution of physical activity and sport I found it most interesting to see the history of my particular discipline, track and field. The project we completed where we researched the technological advancement within our specific field was awesome. I found that learning about the advancements and history of my sport has really inspired a new sense of respect for my sport into me. Through the history of track and field I have found a deeper understanding and value within it. Seeing how far the sport has come, has inspired me to work harder and take it that much farther. Learning the history and the evolution of my discipline has been enjoyable and greatly beneficially, motivating me to work that much harder and take it that much farther.

Every day we see the relationship between our society and sport. Sport has become a huge factor of our society. Athletes and athletics are seen as important and desirable. In this unit we evaluated this relationship. I found the relationship to be really interesting. What was particularly interesting was evaluating my sport of track and field in the media. Track and field is not the most popular sport out there. I think most people would be pretty hard pressed to name one athletics athlete who isn’t Usain Bolt. Looking at this relationship has really made me ponder why this is and what place track and field has in society. It makes me wonder why track and field, a sport that has been around forever, isn’t seen in the media and on television more. Through my digital storytelling project my wonder grew even deeper after witnessing how people care about track and field when it’s in the Olympics and how it can actually bring a nation together. Why do people care during the Olympics but no other time? I honestly still don’t have an answer to these questions. This unit on sports and culture has really made me consider athletics in society and media. It has given me a broader perspective.

Exercise Science has been a class that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I have gained potential, experience, and perspective through it. It is a class I would highly recommend to any athlete.

Journal #11

This past week our exercise science class took a trip to Jack Mackenzie elementary school to observe and interact with a class of grade threes. The purpose of the trip was to see the biomechanics of young people and note the different developmental levels of children at this age.
It was very interesting to see the wide range of abilities in children this age. There were literally children who could not perform the task at each station (each station corresponded with one of ten basic movement patterns) and children who looked like they could do it in their sleep.

One station that, in particular, stood out to me, was the one where we were testing the kids balance. The group of kids I was working with had two girls and two boys. The girls excelled at balancing on an upside down Bosu Ball while the boys had obvious issues. When talking with the kids I found the one girl that outshone the others markedly, is a dancer. Her exceptional balance makes sense, because balance and control are two basic body movements that dance hones. The other female in our group participates in a variety of physical activities such as basketball and soccer. In contrast the two boys in our group don’t do much for physical activity. I believe this shows that being active as a young person helps advance motor control.
I believe this diversity in ability stems from two things. First of all, the size of the child. People grow at different rates, we can’t help that, I do believe it can play a fundamental role in a youths motor skill development. Second, the amount of physical activity the child does. A kid who sits on the couch every day is not going to be on the same level as a child who plays sports every night of the week.

  by  lecates 

So the question is, what as a society can we do for the children who aren’t advancing at a normal speed for basic developmental skills? Our schools help children who aren’t advancing in math why shouldn’t we do this for physical activity? I believe that schools should have a bigger role in this development. Get physical education specialists in every school, still make phys ed fun, but not just dodgeball every day. I also believe that children should be active outside of school. I know for some this is not possible or they are not motivated to, but I truly believe that it would help.

Journal #10

Fitness can be measured by the volume of oxygen you can take in while exercising at your maximum capacity. VO2max is the maximum amount of oxygen in millilitres, someone can use in one minute per kilogram of body weight. VO2Max testing is used to assess overall fitness, particularly cardiovascular fitness. In the test a subject is put on a treadmill and runs at a constant speed. At timed intervals the elevation of the treadmill is raised. The individual’s effective use of oxygen is measured by a breathing mask they wear throughout the test.

  by  Jeff_Werner 

Watching this evaluation being performed was quite interesting. I watched on, as at each interval the elevation of the treadmill was raised, and thought to myself, that I could never do that. It seems to be a test way more workable for an athlete whose sport is more cardio based. As a track and field thrower I watched on and cringed.
Coming into the session I had honesty never heard of it before! I found the idea of a test able to assess the endurance of a person really impressive. I can see how having the test spit out a number to you could be beneficial for training purposes. By being tested regularly and having a number to work with, it can be easier to see if your fitness is improving and if you’re current training method is effective. Personally, as an athlete, I find it super productive (and almost necessary) to have a personal goal in mind. With a personal goal I find it easier to push myself harder and improve. There’s something to be said for competing against yourself. I feel like for athletes in a cardio based sport VO2 testing could be an awesome way to work in this principle. Having a goal VO2 number so you have something positive to work towards is a prime example.

  by  tombothetominator 

Despite this, I honestly believe that this test is not an absolute indicator of your athletic ability. Just because you may have the highest VO2Max in your sport, doesn’t make you the best in your sport. This is so because VO2Max is a test of cardiovascular endurance and fitness, not overall fitness. A direct example that comes to mind, are people such as shot putters. Shot put is a sport based on speed and strength, not cardiovascular endurance. Therefore having a high VO2Max number could be beneficial, but not indicative of the athlete’s ability in shot put, since the VO2Max test does not test speed and strength, but endurance.

Journal #9

Dylan Armstrong

Today, I am going to talk about a subject related to nutrition, which we have been studying in class.Track and field throwers are generally not a small group of people. Dylan Armstrong, a representative of Canada in the 2012 Olympics, is a 6 foot 4 inch 345 pound shot putter. Not what I would consider petit. Having some heft to you is necessary in throws such as shot put though. If Dylan Armstrong was, let’s say 150 pounds lighter, do you think he would be able to chuck the 16 pound shot put as far as he does? I don’t.

Society has created a stereotype about throwers, such as Dylan Armstrong though. There is a belief that, since throwers need some bulk to them, they can eat whatever they want. McDonald’s 24/7. This is completely false. Throwers need to find a balance between size and speed so they are able to support their implement while generating enough speed in their throw to toss it a sizable distance. By only eating fast food and high calorie foods, this speed would not be able to be maintained. Armstrong is quoted as saying, “When you’re training hard, you’re always hungry. Your body wants energy, wants food. I’ll eat, but you can’t eat too, too much. Speed does matter and I have to be light on my feet. I could put on tonnes of muscle mass and get really, really big, but that’s not good for what I’m doing. I still need to be dynamic and be able to move across the ring.”

Dylan Armstrong eats between a whopping 6,500 and 9,000 calories a day. This is necessary for all the weight lifting and other training he does. The thing about all these calories though, is that they are not gained through junk. Armstrong has a high-protein, low-card diet. He loads up on things like eggs, beef, chicken, and vegetables like beets, while avoiding foods like sugary cereals.

  by  FotoDawg 

It is true that throwers eat a lot, what isn’t true is that throwers can eat whatever they want without consequence. Nutrition and diet is important to them, as it is any athlete.

Check out this article about Armstrong’s diet!

http://sports.nationalpost.com/2012/06/01/here-is-what-olympic-shot-putter-dylan-armstrongs-diet-looks-like/

Journal #8

When someone thinks of a physical therapist its often associated with injury or disease. You only visit a physio after you’ve been in a car accident, are injured while playing sports, or have a chronic disease. The truth is that you don’t need to be in any of these situations to visit a physical therapist. A physio is a primary health care provider. This means, if you wanted  you could visit your physical therapist (PT)  before your family doctor.

  by  Ruth Flickr 

New studies are showing that actually visiting a PT on a regular basis, in addition to regular exercise, could be very beneficial for one’s health. PT’s are trained to maximize the range of movement in a person. By going to see a PT regularly you can keep your body in the best shape possible, maximizing your flexibility and range of movement, which would then positively directly benefit your physical activity.

According to APTA President Paul Rockar Jr., PT, DPT, MS. “Physical therapists are experts in restoring and improving motion in people’s lives. We understand how to help prevent injury from occurring as well as changes in the body that happen with normal aging. With the help of a physical therapist, you can turn midlife into the fittest time of your life.” He suggests that especially our aging population should be visiting physio’s on a regular basis. By doing this, they can boost their patient’s mobility and motion and can help reduce pain associated with age-related conditions such as frozen shoulder, osteoarthritis and chronic low back pain.

  by  woodleywonderworks 

Physiotherapists have the ability to improve physical performance and to make life and physical activity more comfortable. If physio’s are primary care providers, and are able to help us in these ways, why wouldn’t we utilize their skills?

Journal #7

This past week’s class discussions have gotten me thinking. We live in a country where 23% of our 18 and older population are obese and 36% more are overweight. On top of that, 8% of children and adolescents are obese and 18% overweight. That is over 50% of our adult population that are heavier than is healthy for them. This behaviour has started to reflect on the younger generation. Our society is getting heavier and heavier.

  by  mrd00dman 

This problem has only been growing with time. This chart shows over weight and obesity rates in Canadian adults from the years 2000-2004. The percentages keep growing higher with every year.

Table 2: Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Canadian Adults   (%)
	Overweight, Including Obese			Obese
	2000-2001	2003	2004	2000-2001	2003	2004
Total	47.4	48.5	58.8	14.9	15.4	23.4
Men	55.6	58.1	65.2	16.0	16.6	23.7
Women	39.0	38.6	52.4	13.8	14.1	23.2

Being an overweight population has had a hugely negative effect on people’s lives. The health effects of overweight and obesity are numerous, and range from increased chance of heart disease, type II diabetes, stroke, and high blood pressure, to certain types of cancer.

I believe that we are not doing enough as a nation to combat these growing rates. I honestly think that the only way we are going to have an impact these growing numbers is by reaching out to our younger generation.

We need to implement teachings about healthy lifestyle into youth. What’s one way to do that that would be truly effect? Making physical education and health class mandatory for all students’, grades kindergarten to 12.

If we made these classes compulsory I believe our generation would have the foundation to live a healthier life.  It may be slow going, but by having daily physical education and teaching on making healthy life choices I believe we could help reverse this exponential growth our overweight and obesity rates are on.

We need to inform people that making healthy choices and exercise can be fun and have great effects on their personal health.

References:

http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/prb0511-e.html

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html

Journal #6

Track and field is a sport that is very near and dear to my heart, I, being a track and field athlete in the throwing events. Beyond just having a love of the sport, there are a few specific things that I appreciate about it, the first being that you can participate in track your whole life. There are masters programs in place that allow people to participate in all aspects of track as long as they are bodily able. The second thing I love about track is how it prepares you for many different sports you may participate in, in your life.
This is where the main subject of this blog post comes in. Athletics Canada has instituted a national youth track and field program called ‘Run, Jump, and Throw’. RJT is a program for children ages 7-12 and is described as a ‘grassroots program’. This essentially means that it is a program that teaches the essentials later needed for the sport. Fun and activity based learning is the main priority of this platform.
This program though, is one that is not only beneficial to track kids. It teaches the absolute fundamentals of running, jumping, and throwing. It has shown to be valuable in a variety of disciplines, from hockey to soccer to even tennis and more. This is because it breaks down these three fundamental skills to their bare bones and then teaches kids, in a fun way, how to perform them to their maximum efficiency. One of the most common teams that will send their kids to RJT training is hockey teams. Hockey teams will focus on getting their players “retaught” how to run the correct way, so they then skate more efficiently, since the actions are so similar.

Check out this video to see RJT training and its benefits!
I am a certified Run, Jump, Throw coach and train children through Regina’s track team, Excel Athletika. I first hand see on a regular basis how this program instils the participants with basic athletic skills that then benefit them in a variety of facets of their life. I honestly believe that every sport should have a program very similar to that of RJT’s so that all people are introduced to these teachings. I think it would make a huge difference in every athlete’s life to have been taught these basic abilities.
http://www.athletics.ca/page.asp?id=64
Check out Athletic Canada’s website, detailing what Run, Jump, Throw is all about!

Journal #5

http://www.thedailyaztec.com/2012/10/erotic-uniforms-objectify-women-athletes/

“True Fantasy Football”, that is what people are dubbing the Lingerie Football League. Women dress up in skimpy underwear, and then, play football. This idea is now making its move to basketball. The Bikini Basketball League is the new big thing.

  by  John Pozadzides 

What does this say about our society? That for women’s sports to be of any consequence they need to be in skimpy clothes? The Women’s National Basketball League is looked down upon while the Bikini Basketball League is seen as worth watching. The message our society is sending is that for women’s sports to be worth anything, it needs to be highly sexualized.

Now, as a female athlete myself, I am all for women playing high level sports. I just do not understand why we are making such talented athletes make the choice between leagues, such as the WNBA and the BBL. Women should not have to choose to play their sport in bikinis just to get the fan base a male sport team would get. Women deserve to get the same respect as men, and I honestly do not see how they can be getting this respect while wearing a bikini.

Yet, this is the case in our society. For women’s sports to get attention and fans, the trend seems to be that the fewer clothes they have on, the more they will receive.

I am by no means saying that the women who play in these leagues are not good athletes, quite the opposite actually. What I am saying is that it is sad that these very talented athletes have had to make the choice to join a sports league where their uniform is so revealing because, if they were to choose to play in a league such as the WNBA they would not receive the same fan base and support.

  by  Keith Allison 

Journal #4

Traditionally, fitness testing has either brought a sense of dread or happiness with it. For those who were conventionally good athletes, with skill in endurance, strength, and flexibility, fitness testing was no big deal, just another day in Phys. Ed class. But, for those who maybe don’t have these skills, or maybe just excel in one or two of these areas, fitness testing could be torture.

Teachers are starting to realize that this standardized fitness testing may not be the best way to do things, and that there may be a better way to test any student’s fitness level, in a test that doesn’t just accommodate those students who possessed skill in endurance, strength, and flexibility.

  by  Cubmundo 

That’s where heart rate monitors come in. Instead of evaluating someone based on their raw athletic ability, i.e. how many laps they can run in 12 minutes, heart rate monitors would give the ability to see if a person is working in their “target zone”, a target heart rate zone is calculated and so, different for everyone. This target heart rate is converted into a percent which basically just then represents the intensity at which you are working.

http://exercise.about.com/od/cardioworkouts/g/targetheartratezones.htm (Check this link out! What different target heart rate zones mean!)

The use of heart rate monitors would allow us to evaluate someone not on their athletic ability, but on their fitness level.

  by  GrejGuide.dk 

Imagine if, as a school, we were given a set of heart rate monitors and were admitted to use them every day. If students were able to calculate their target heart zones, and measure where they were at everyday visualize how much an individual’s fitness level could improve! By having a goal in place for where a person should be performing every day, it better allows an individual to push themselves to achieve the best they can do. Over a period of time I can see this exponentially improving ones fitness level.

http://running.about.com/od/howtorun/ht/Calculate-Your-Target-Heart-Rate-Zone.htm (Check it out! How to calculate your target heart rate zone!)

Overall, heart rate monitors would drastically improve Phys. Ed class and students fitness levels. Instead of assessing students on their athletic aptitude, which is not always a good indicator of overall fitness, we would be evaluating them directly on their overall fitness.

http://www.edutopia.org/new-pe-curriculum (Check out this story and see how heart rate monitors and other technologies have positively influenced this Phys. Ed class!)

Journal #3

Bryan Clay. 2008 Gold medalist in the decathlon in the Beijing Olympics. Ten events spread over two days, the 100 meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meter run, 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1500 meter run. Every aspect of athletic ability is tested in these 10 events. Strength, speed, stamina.

In the decathlon, every aspect of athletic ability is tested. Unlike many other sports where you can just rely on one facet of athletic aptitude, like your speed or vertical, in the decathlon you have to be amazing at everything.

This video shows the science behind Bryan Clay and his success in the decathlon. I found this video to be pretty amazing actually! The fact that Bryan Clay could still beat NFL player Darren Sproles in a race while going over hurdles is mind boggling to me!

In my previous blog I contemplated the question of, what is an athlete. In my opinion an athlete is a person who mixes aptitude with passion. But, if we were to look purely at the aptitude portion of an athlete, what would make the ideal athlete? A football player, a gymnast, a cricket player? I can say after watching this video that I believe the ultimate athlete is a decathlete. This is because they have to be good at everything!! Throwing, running, jumping, stamina. To succeed in their event they can have no “bad event”, they truly have to be amazing at all aspects of athletic endeavor. This is unlike many sports where an athlete can have strong points and weak points.

  by  joncandy 

I found this video very interesting and eye-opening! It really makes you contemplate what goes into the ultimate athlete and why. It honestly makes me wonder why in media and society track and field in general, and especially the decathlon, is so over looked. When watching the Olympics this summer the star of the athletics arena was Usain Bolt and the 100 meter dash. The decathlon was completely over shadowed by this single event. Why? The 100 meter dash is only testing one portion of athletic ability. I’d like to see Usain Bolt compete against Bryan Clay in javelin or discus throw.

Society has one idealized view of what an athlete is. Why this is I don’t know, but I have come to the conclusion that I disagree with it.

  by  aktivioslo