Physical Activity, Fitness and Active Living Physical 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 inactive Two-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 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 (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 often Harder Longer 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: 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 intensity Medium Intensity Vigorous Intensity METs*<33-6>6 % of max HR <64%65-74%>75% Examples strolling, 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 – minutes Vigorous – 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 tests Can 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 RatingDescription 0Nothing 1Very light 2Light (weak) 3Moderate 4Somewhat hard 5Heavy (strong) 6 7Very heavy 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

July 2005 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 Centre Louise Daw Provincial Consultant