Physical Activity, Fitness and Active LivingPhysical Activity Resource Centre

Funded by the Government of Ontario

July 2005

Agenda

Background

Key terms and definitions

Components of fitness

Benefits of physical activity

Principles of conditioning

Monitoring Intensity

Motivation

July 2005

Physical Activity in Canada

The majority (56%) of Canadians are inactiveTwo-thirds of Canadians strongly agree that a healthy lifestyle contributes to long-term health benefits The majority of Canadians fully intend to be active in the next six months Lack of time, energy and motivation are most frequently rated as important barriers to being active

July 2005

Physical activity

Bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results in an energy expenditure and is positively correlated with physical fitness

July 2005

Exercise

A sub-set of physical activity that is planned, structured and provides for repetitive bodily movement

July 2005

Fitness

A set of attributes that people have or achieve relating to their ability to perform physical activity

July 2005

Active Living

A way of life in which physical activity is valued and integrated into daily life

July 2005

Canada’s Guide to Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

• Recommends 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily

• Suggests adding up activities in periods of 10 minutes

• Gives great tips on getting started and how to make active living a part of your daily life

July 2005

Physical Fitness – 4 components

Endurance

Flexibility

Strength

Balance

July 2005

Endurance

Endurance (2 types)

Cardiovascular:The ability to continue strenuous tasks that stress the circulatory

and respiratory systems for long periods of time

Muscular: The continuation or

maintenance of muscular contraction

until fatigue sets in

July 2005

Flexibility

The range of motion available at a joint

July 2005

Muscular Strength

The force that a muscle can exert in a single contraction

July 2005

Balance: The maintenance of equilibrium either with movement (dynamic) or no movement (static)

Coordination: The ability to integrate movements involving different muscle groups into a single pattern

Balance and Coordination

July 2005

Regular Physical Activity

• helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints and makes people with chronic, disabling conditions improve their stamina

• promotes psychological well-being,

reduces stress, anxiety and feelings of depression and loneliness

• helps control weight and lower the risk of becoming obese by 50% compared to people with sedentary lifestyles

• reduces the risk of dying prematurely

July 2005

Physical activity & health

• reduces the risk of developing heart disease or colon cancer by up to 50%

• reduces the risk of developing type II diabetes 50%

• helps to prevent / reduce hypertension

• helps to prevent / reduce osteoporosis

• reduces the risk of developing lower back pain

• can help in the management of painful conditions, like back pain or knee pain

July 2005

Principles of Conditioning

To improve your physical fitness, you should do a little more, a little:

More oftenHarderLonger

More safely

This can be referred to as the FITT principle

July 2005

FITT Principle

F – Frequency (how often)

I – Intensity (how hard)

T – Type (what kind of activity)

T - Time (how long)

July 2005

Frequency

Canada’s Guide to Physical activity recommends the following:

• 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily

• Endurance – 4 to 7 days a week• Flexibility – 4 to 7 days a week• Strength – 2 to 4 days a week

July 2005

Intensity

Light intensityMedium Intensity

Vigorous Intensity

METs* <3 3-6 >6

% of max HR<64% 65-74% >75%

Examplesstrolling,

stretching, gardening

swimming, dancing,

raking leaves

jogging, basketball,

hockey

*1 MET = energy expended at rest

July 2005

Type

• Anything goes! Find a variety activities that you enjoy and stick to them

• Remember to choose activities that will improve the four components of fitness: endurance, flexibility, strength and balance

July 2005

Time

The length of time will depend on the amount of effort

Light – 60 minutes

Moderate – 30-60 minutes

Vigorous – 20-30 minutes

July 2005

Overload Principle

• As your fitness improves, the components of FITT will become easier for your body and you will want to make your workouts more challenging

• Overload should be added progressively in short, gradual increments to allow the body to recover between training sessions

July 2005

Specificity of Training

• Training effects occur only in the muscle groups and systems involved in that particular type of training

• For example, resistance training for your biceps does not improve the strength in your legs

• Some activities – such as walking – can promote multiple systems (endurance and strength)

July 2005

Monitoring Intensity

Am I going fast enough?

• Talk Test

• Perceived Exertion

• Target Heart Rate

July 2005

Talk test

Simplest of all the testsCan I…• Sing? (light intensity)• Talk? (moderate intensity)• Neither? (vigorous

intensity)

July 2005

Perceived Exertion

• Based on “listening to your body”

• How hard is the activity for you?

• Light intensity: 1-2• Moderate intensity: 3-4• Vigorous intensity: 5-6

Rating Description

0 Nothing

1 Very light

2 Light (weak)

3 Moderate

4 Somewhat hard

5 Heavy (strong)

6

7 Very heavy

8

9

10 Very, very heavy (near maximum)

July 2005

Target Heart Rate

•Measures intensity, but can be inconvenient

•Maximum Heart Rate: (220 – age) x % (desired intensity)

e.g. for a 30 year old, who wants to work out at a vigorous intensity (80%)Max HR = (220-30) * .80

= 152

July 2005

Target Heart Rate

To assess your heart rate:1. Stop and find your pulse (use the

carotid artery or the wrist)2. Count the number of times your

heart beats in 10 seconds 3. Multiply this by 6 to get your heart

rate

Compare your heart rate to your max heart rate – are you working hard enough? Too hard?

July 2005

Target heart rate

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Common barriers to physical activity (individual)

• Lack of time

• Lack of energy

• Lack of motivation

• Cost

July 2005

Common barriers to physical activity (environmental)

• Lack of facilities nearby

• Lack of safe places

• Insufficient programs

• Lack of a partner/support

• Lack of transportation

July 2005

Overcoming barriers (individual)

• Add physical activity to your daily routine. For example, walk or ride your bike to work or shopping, organize school activities around physical activity, walk the dog, exercise while you watch TV, park farther away from your destination, etc.

• Make time for physical activity. For example, walk, jog, or swim during your lunch hour, or take fitness breaks instead of coffee breaks.

• Convince yourself that if you give it a chance, physical activity will increase your energy level; then, try it.

• Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your daily or weekly schedule and write it on your calendar.

• Invite a friend to exercise with you on a regular basis and write it on both your calendars.

• Join an exercise group or class.

July 2005

Overcoming barriers (environmental)

• Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment, such as walking, jogging, jumping rope, or calisthenics.

• Identify inexpensive, convenient resources available in your community (community education programs, park and recreation programs, worksite programs, etc.).

• Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and family. Ask them to support your efforts.

• Develop new friendships with physically active people. Join a group, such as the YMCA or a hiking club

• Visit the local shopping mall and walk for half an hour or more.

• Encourage exercise facilities to provide child care services

July 2005

Staying Motivated

• Keep a diary. Note down how far you ran or the match score, your pulse, how you felt etc. That way you can look back and see how you have improved over time.

• Collect inspiration. Inspirational stories from people who have achieved against the odds may help - if they can do it, so can you.

• Remind yourself of the reasons that motivated you to start exercising in the first place.

• Visualisation. Picture yourself achieving your goal, and imagine what it will feel like. These images and feelings will help to motivate you to achieving them for real.

• Enjoy it! Exercising releases chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin, that have a strong affect on your mood, helping reduce anxiety, stress and depression. So whenever you don’t feel like exercising, try to remind yourself how good you’ll feel afterwards

July 2005

Contact information

Physical Activity Resource Centrewww.ophea.net/parc

1-888-446-7432

Louise DawProvincial ConsultantLouise@ophea.org

519.646.2121