Endurance Test
A Fitness Evaluation
Wellness Worksheet 45 / Evaluating Your Fitness Level
Cardio-respiratory Endurance: 1.5-mile Run-walk Test
Before the test I was pretty confident that I would complete the run without too much trouble. Finishing 1.5-miles was nothing compared to what I ran in high school. I was even looking forward to seeing how well I would do. The first lap went really well, but everything went downhill from there. It wasn't due to the speed at which I was going because I was pacing myself. I think it was because my lungs have contracted over the years due to not running. The flow and transfer of oxygen wasn't sufficient enough. I was disappointed at the score of 16 minutes 20 seconds. My CRE Rating was off the scale in the negative direction. It was beyond poor. Nevertheless, I was really surprised at the other runners who looked healthy, but ended up behind everyone else. It really put things into perspective in how wellness is more than just physical appearance.
Muscular Endurance: Sit-ups and Push-ups
I scored very poorly on sit-ups, which surprised me because I remember as far back as elementary school doing sit-ups with my big brother all the way up until high school. With a disappointing score of 25, I really felt that I could have done better. I would have been content with a moderate rating. The positive side to all of this is now I know what I have to work on and set goals for (doing 35 set-ups in 60 seconds). As for push-ups, I did fairly well, getting a rating of moderate. Still, I thought I could have done better. What I should have done before doing any of the activities is stretch out for at least 10 minutes. I'm certain that I could have gotten a rating of high if I took my mind off the pain and focused on the high rating. Although I was happy with getting a moderate rating, I would still like to work toward improving my performance. I will set my goal of getting 35 push-ups for a high rating by gradually increasing the number of sets I do a week over a period of six weeks.
LAB 4-1 Assessing You Current Level of Muscular Strength
The Maximum Bench Press Test / The Maximum Leg Press Test
In high school I weighted only 140 and was able to bench 175 pounds. Now, for this test I got 165 pounds, 10 pounds less than what I was able to do 5 years ago, what's worse is I gained 10 pounds! The leg press test was a bit of a surprise because as I did the test, I paid no attention to the actual weight I was pushing. I just did it until the resistance was at its highest, and the looked at the amount of weight. As it turns out, I was pushing 315 pounds in the end, getting a rating of good (the only positive rating in the series of tests). The sum of all these tests, especially the bench press test, really made me think about my current condition and all the bad habits that I've adopted over the years. This was very depressing to think about, but I know that I have the choice of changing my daily routine and take steps in improving my physical health, which I am doing by putting it down on paper and using the handout exercises as a form of direction.
Wellness Worksheet I Evaluating Your Lifestyle
Tobacco Use
I recall in high school that all my friends smoked. One time I asked one of them why they smoked and he couldn't give me a complete answer. I have never put a cigarette in my mouth and don't think I ever will. I've been offered to smoke several times, but always refused. Just being around people who smoke makes my cloths smell, so I use that as an incentive not to smoke.
Alcohol and Other Drugs
I've been drinking since the seventh grade. I don't consider myself an alcoholic. The only time I drink is when it's there. I've never been behind the wheel after drinking or anywhere near a motor vehicle for that matter. I don't recall ever being excessively drunk or doing anything that I later regretted doing. As for drugs, I've been offered them in my youth, but like cigarettes refused to take the offer. So alcohol is the only form of "abuse" I induce on myself, but do so responsibly if that's possible.
Nutrition
Lately I've noticed my health not being as good as I would like it to be. The reason why is my schedule this quarter. I'm taking 20 units for the first time (I usually only take 16 units per quarter) and the scheduling of classes are really messed up. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I get to school at 6:40 in the morning and stay until 10:00 at night. So all I eat are powerbars, cookies, and drink about 70 oz. of bottled water. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I'm here from 6:40 in the morning until 4 in the evening. Plus I don't get home until 5, which leaves me little time for anything. Before when I was in high school I was really active and could run a mile without breaking a sweat, but ever since I got into college, I've notice a drastic negative change in my habits and my overall wellness as defined in class. I really look forward to the next five weeks in this class because I aim to becoming the active person I once was.
Exercise / Fitness
I used to be really active in high school. I remember going to the high school stadium at 5 in the evening when everyone went home and climbing the belchers, jog the track, and various other exercises. Now I'm lucky to even do sit-ups twice a week in my room. Everything has changed since I got into college. Not only am I not eating right, especially this quarter, but not exercising the way I should either. However, I can say that I am the most physically fit in my household.
Emotional Health
My emotional health has taken a huge negative step back compared to when I was in the 7th grade. I find it very difficult to express my emotions verbally and because of this, I'm not all that great at making friends. In contrast to how thing are now, when I was in the 7th and 8th grade, I hung out with the most popular group at school and could shut up even if I tried. As for stress, I think I handle it extremely well. I even have a mantra or phrase that I repeat in my head if things get out of control. As far as participating in any group activities or being in any groups in general makes me extremely nervous. I feel like hiding in a cave when I'm around people. That's why I spend most of my time in the library in an isolated area, usually reading about business or computer related topics. I know exactly why I behave like this too. It's because I don't want to get too close to anyone that will turn around and betray me. So basically it's an issue of trust. I don't trust anyone (for obvious reasons linked to the past). I should look past it and move on, but I feel more secure being alone.
Safety / Disease Prevention
When it comes to safety, I take every precaution necessary to ensure everything is perfect. I put on my seat belt even before turning on the car. On occasion I must admit I make mistakes, and am entitled to some because everyone is human, but I also learn from the as well. As for disease prevention, on of the questions really surprised me. I was unaware of having to do monthly testicle self-exams. I'm interested in learning more about this simply because I don't know how to do the test. I don't know the signs of cancer, diabetes, heart attack, or stroke, but I am fairly confident that I will by the end of the quarter.
Lab A1-2 Creating a Family Health Tree
What I learned about my family tree was really shocking. I never knew that my grandmother (mother's side) had 14 children, 3 of which were miscarriages. Another surprising fact I found out was my father's brother was an alcoholic, which really made me think about my drinking habits. In addition, it appears my mother's family has a history of high blood pressure, but what's interesting is it's only present in the females. This is invaluable information because I have a baby sister and she may be at high risk of having it too. Now I will be able to help m sister take preventative steps in reducing the chances of getting it. However, because it may be genetic, it may be difficult.
Reasons for Exercising / Not Exercising
The reasons why I exercise, or at least try to, are mainly centered toward stress relief. Taking an hour or so out of the day (usually in the evening) to just workout is gratifying and the reward is that I feel better about myself afterwards. The stress relief comes into play when I exercise by focusing in on just the things I want to and channeling my energy towards one specific exercise without having to be concerned with meeting anyone's expectations except my own. It's a time for me to be alone and not have to worry about unfolding tomorrow's events. Listening to music while I exercise really help as well because it keeps me moving.
Benefits of Exercising
The added benefits and reasons as to why I exercise mainly entail physical appearance. I am able to fit into clothing relatively well. On the same token, finding clothing isn't a problem either. In fact, all the clothing designed these days, unfortunately, are centered on a stereotypical model with only negligible variations. So this fact alone is an additional incentive to exercise. There are also a variety of reasons as to why I exercise. One of the main reasons is I am able to get through the day without feeling exhausted when I get home. The primary reason, however, why I exercise (which was also mentioned in class by the car analogy) is because I found out at an early age that I only get to have one body and depending how I treat it will determine what I get out of it. So I decided long ago to take care of myself.
How to Include Exercise Into Daily Life
Since most of my time is spent on campus, I usually take the longest route in getting to class and set aside about 15 minutes to get there. If my class is located on an upper level, I take to stairs and an added benefit to this is it's not as crowded. As a matter of fact, there is no one at all come to think of it. At home, my mom and sister-in-law usually ask me to pick some things up at the supermarket. (Mostly my sister-in-law often asks me. What amazes me is that I have four other brothers and a sister that she can ask, but every time I get asked. Maybe she knows I'll do it without asking questions or say no. I don't mind though because I like doing things for her.) Instead of taking the car, I walk. Usually it takes me 15-20 minutes to get there and I get to have a little time to myself because nobody else in the family is willing to walk that far with me.
Wellness Worksheet 4 - Breaking Behavior Chains
By actually writing each step down, it really put into perspective of how awful this behavior is. I've tried to stick to the strategies for breaking the chain of events, but found it was not as effective. However, I have established a way to combat this problem and turning on the radio. The radio helps by acting as a timer because songs would play for 20-25 minutes before they cut to commercials. So I use this time to get up and move around, pour myself a glass of water, and keep track of time. The only plan that stayed was the essence of the goals. However, I've followed the strategic plan of going for walks. Taking walks, have been really great because I come back refreshed and ready to get back to work again. Even though my previous plan failed, it really helped me find an alternative that I can integrate into how I typically work and without making drastic changes that I wouldn't be able to follow after a few weeks. Overall, I found this exercise to be very helpful because now I've broken the chain to a bad habit.
Lab A2-2 Examine Your Exercise History and Attitudes
What I have noticed throughout these exercises, particularly this one, is that as I've gotten older, the less active I've become, which is kind of strange because as a child I always thought I would be more active for the sole reason of having the freedom of being able to do whatever I wanted without getting into trouble by my mom. The exercise asked the question regarding recreational activities that I have been involved in within the last five years. I put down mountain biking, but haven't been on a trail for about three years because my bike was stolen. These bikes aren't cheap costing almost a thousand dollars for a decent one, but I really want to get back on and ride so I've decided to save up and get back the road over the summer. Getting back on will greatly improve the pathetic scores I received on the exercise. For reference, I plan on retaking these questions at the end of the summer to see if there is any change.
Lab A2-3 What's Your Excuse for Not Exercising?
I scored a zero for every question, which means I have no excuse not to exercise. I honestly believe this because regardless of how busy I am, I can always find ways of integrating exercise into my daily life. I learned quickly through taking this class that using school an excuse is unacceptable because I can take a variety of classes that more than qualify as exercise. However, I've been comparing school and actual work and think that working would actually allow more time for exercise because unlike school, you don't take work home with you. School is very demanding and I don't think teachers realize that students are also taking several other classes in addition to theirs. And depending on how terrible the teachers are, gives the student less of an opportunity to really get a good workout weekly without all the baggage of having to worry about passing the classes.
Lab A2-4 Overcoming Barriers to Being Active
I got mixed results for this exercise, but not to the extent of becoming an important barrier to overcome. However, I did score a 4 on "Lack of Time", which was only 1 point away from becoming an important barrier to overcome. This didn't surprise me at all because time is something everybody wishes they had more of. What did surprise me was scoring a 4 on "Lack of Energy" and "Lack of Willpower." I've always considered myself in having more than enough energy and willpower. This really made me reevaluate my current lifestyle and at point I got off track. Backtracking, I have traced it back to transferring from Cal State Fullerton to Cal Poly two years ago. This has been very helpful because now that I have identified the problem, I can work toward finding a solution in balancing it.
Wellness Worksheet 39 - Addictive Behaviors
The addictive behavior that I selected was drinking. The survey raised some very interesting questions that really made me think about why I drink. One that stuck in my head was the question that asked if I drink "...as a reward for all other accomplishments" and the answer was yes. I was taken back by this because I never really thought about it or even considered it as a reward. Another question that helped me answer why I drink was if I drank when I was "...worried, frustrated, or stressed or when I have other painful feelings." My answer to this question was a reassuring yes. I drink for all these reasons and this have made me become aware of my behaviors. I could be something else with my money, which is something I don't have a lot of in the first place, and spend it on something else more productive. Even worse, my mom and sister-in-law have spoken about my drinking (question # 10). It didn't bother me before, but the exercise made me see it from another perspective. I have set a limit on my drinking to 1-2 drinks a day, as suggested in class as being reasonable.
Wellness Worksheet 42 - Is Alcohol a Problem in Your Life?
I scored an 8 for this exercise, which means I have a strong likelihood of hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption. Much like the exercise on addictive behaviors, I have changed my habits for alcohol consumption to 1-2 per day. This exercise reinforces that I may be drinking too much and should limit my consumption. Before I never really took the problem that I may have seriously because I never thought about my actions the consequences that may follow, but by taking these alcohol exercises, it has made me reflect on my current position and the steps I can take in breaking the bad habit. If for some reason I don't follow through with my intent of reducing my consumption, I will confront my sister-in-law with the problem as a backup plan in case things don't work out.
Wellness Worksheet 48 - For Nonsmokers
Now that I think about it, the elementary school drug free programs really helped me in deciding not to smoke. Although it has never occurred to me until now, the police officers that would come to our school every Wednesday to discuss the negative effects of smoking really taught me not to smoke. I hate the smoke of cigarettes and breathing the stuff gives me a headache. I've been exposed to people who were close to me since childhood and it's funny how I never got into the habit of smoking myself. My father has been smoking ever since I can remember and all of my friends in high school smoked. I've been pressured to smoke and offered a cigarette more time than I can remember, but I turned down the offer each and every time. I just felt I don't have to smoke to fit in or be "cool." I would like to also mention that my father has just recently stopped smoking. His reason for quitting is because he wants to live to see his grandchildren.
Wellness Worksheet 61 - Body Image
I'm content with how I look overall. I have no major complaints. It would be nice if I looked like Tom Cruise, but the chances of that happening are pretty slim. I was happiest with my body image in the eighth grade. Drawing the picture of my body and ideal body was quite an experience. The transition from the two was that I was a little stronger and more cut, which is something that I am currently working on achieving. The part that I found the most difficult in this exercise was listing five positive things about my body. I really struggled after about the second line. As far as where I get my idea of how an ideal body should look like, I get it where everyone else gets it, Hollywood. The media is a very powerful tool and the number of times we are exposed to it every day is overwhelming. So you can't help but conform to the image that they transmit. It's a sad but true thing unfortunately.
Wellness Worksheet 22 - Recognizing Signs of Depression
I scored a shocking 27, which puts me in the severe depression category. After reevaluating my score, I wasn't surprised at the score that I got. I think the reason why I'm depressed is I ponder over the future too much. My worst fear is failure and the thought of that happening makes me shut out the world around me and focus completely on tomorrow. I can even pinpoint when I started to act the way that I do. It all started two weeks before I entered my freshmen year in high school. I think that my desire is so strong to succeed, I isolate myself from as many people as possible to reduce the chances of something affecting the future outcome of how things will unfold. At the same time, I've hurt myself in a social and emotional sense because I don't socialize with anyone and have no one to turn to for support. Everything that I do is based on ambition and determination of reaching my goal. If I should lose my guiding light, then it would be harder for me to recover, which has happened many times before. I would also like to mention that each time that I do recover, I came back stronger than I was before with renewed vigor.
Wellness Worksheet 15 - Problem Solving
I really liked this exercise because it helped me answer a problem that I have been struggling with for quite some time. I'm trying to start a small computer business and the problem is that I can't do it alone. It is very difficult to juggle all the things that I have to do to get started. To make things worse, my current financial position isn't all that great. By completing the exercise, I have determined that getting help from my sister-in-law with all the paper work and tax filings that need to be done before the doors can be officially opened. She has agreed to help out every Friday, which is her day off from work. So far everything is going great and I'm on track for opening the business in September.
Wellness Worksheet 14 - Social Support
It is important to have social support and it's nice to know that I have at least one person to turn to if I ever need help, which is my sister-in-law. She has become an important part of my life and I am thankful for having her as a sister. She has helped me through a lot of issues and even given me advice on girls. A question that I thought was interesting was number 5, which asked if I needed an early morning ride to the airport, there's no one I would feel comfortable asking to take me. Just to see if my sister-in-law would actually take me, I asked her and she said she would be happy to if I ever needed a ride, even if it was that early in the morning. That's always nice to know.
Wellness Worksheet 29 - Test Your Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes
Out of all the exercises, I thought this one was the most educational. I was very surprised to find out that 6 to 8 out of every 10 American women masturbate. I would have thought this number was a lot smaller, but apparently not. I seriously doubt if any girl would admit to this though. Nevertheless, it's a nice fact to know. One fact that I had to do a personal check was about the average size of a male penis. I measured myself and I fell in between the two numbers given, so I guess it's true. I would also like to comment on question number 4. I agree that not all men like women with large breasts. I personally prefer medium size breasts. By medium I mean about the size of a large orange. I think breasts that are too large are sick. It makes the woman look,..., out of balance? I don't know, it's hard to put into words. It just don't look right or natural.
Lab A10-5 Time-Stress Questionnaire
My stress levels have definitely been at high levels this quarter since this is the first time I am taken 20 units. I've somehow managed to maintain my sanity by keeping track of tasks and finishing assignments ahead of time. I can say from experience that the major area that contributed to my high stress levels is having group projects. I hate group projects with a passion because there is always someone who never does any work. Moreover, it's very difficult to arrange a time where everyone can meet because they are either busy with something else or working. It a good thing there were no group projects for this class or else I would surely have gone overboard. This exercise showed me that one of my greatest strengths is time management. If not for this characteristic, I really think my stress levels would double.
Wellness Worksheet 84 - Your Experiences and Attitudes About Death
Death is something that nobody likes to think about. The topic of death in my family was rarely discussed other than there was such a thing as an afterlife. According to my mom, she would tell us that based on how good we were in life would determine what we would come back as. If we did good, we would be given a second chance. If we did bad, we would come back as an animal to be killed. I've never really given much thought about how I would die except that I would like to die with the least amount of pain as possible. One of the questions that were asked was what my first personal involvement with death. If I recall correctly, it was my pet gold fish. It was pretty large and I had it for about a year and a half until one day I notice that its tail started to turn red. It died about a week later. I had a little ceremony for it and buried it in my backyard.
Fitness Component / Goals / Activity Plan
The two areas that I would like to work on improving are my muscular strength and cardio-respiratory endurance. My action plan for improving muscular strength is based on the rating I received the evaluation of fitness. Since I got a "very low" in this area, I will work towards increasing this rating to a "good." I will do this by performing 5 reps of 20 sit-ups and push-ups. To reach my goal, I will be increasing the intensity by 5 every two weeks. I plan on starting on June 17th and schedule Tuesdays and Thursdays to do the workout at 6 p.m. As for cardio-respiratory endurance, the goal is similar to increasing my muscular strength in the sense that I want to increase my rating to "good." I will be jogging Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for 20 minutes and increasing the intensity by 5 minutes every week. I have determined that 3 laps around the block equals 1 mile so I will have an idea of how well I will be doing. I will be starting on June 17th at 6 p.m.
Lab 6-1 Assessing Body Composition
It was interesting to find out my body mass in kilograms, which came out to be 68.18 kg. I'm used to measuring things in pounds and feet, but this exercise helped me determine my height and weight in other measurements. What I got out of this exercise is now being able to determine kilograms, which almost all other countries use as a form of measuring weight. So this will really come in handy when I travel. Other than that, I didn't see the point in finding my body mass. What do the number mean? Is it good or bad? The exercise should have had a table included on the same page rather than telling us to refer to a table in the textbook. It was an inconvenience. Maybe future class discussions will clear things up on why finding your body mass is important.
