Unit 4, Activity 4

The Joy of Fitness
Meeting My Fitness Goals
Activity 4

Step 1: Re-evaluating Short-Term Goals
Reasons I was unable to meet my specified short-term goals was because of my intensity level not being high enough. I should have increased my intensity level from the beginning when I knew doing middle intensity level was not tiring for me. If I had then my mid-fitness test would have improved since the first fitness test.

The challenges I've encountered was I suppose a lack of motivation. I should have started training in the high intensity zone when I knew my body could handle it instead of sticking to the safe zone.

Week 9 (Fitness 1: April 28 - May 4, 2008)

ELI-PED 116 (E92N)
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of April 28 - May 4
High Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 148.8-180bpm

Week 9 (Wellness 2 April 28 - May 4, 2008)

ELI-PED 116(E92N)
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: April 28 - May 4, 2008

Week 9 (Wellness 1: April 28 - May 4, 2008)

This week has been pretty consistant with last week. Nothing hectic going on, everything is going smoothly. I have remembered to do my stress techniques whenever I feel like a situation is getting the best of me. I have had fewer breakouts and the acne scars are fading away. But that could be my new cleanser working, but I'd like to think it is because of me handing things differently and not breaking out whenever I have an eassy due at the last minute.

Wellness Reaction 4

The wellness management program has been going smoothly since the beginning. There has been no problems I've noticed so far. I have been improving since the start of this program and I feel as though the stressful things in my life has gone down. I think I might feel this way because the way I deal with things that used to stress me out before the program was different. The way I handle things now have changed and because of that little stressors that used to affect me don't as much anymore.

Fitness Reaction 4

My fitness program has been going steady and smoothly since the beginning. The problem I have noticed was that there was not much improvement from my pre-fitness test to my post-fitness test. I have decided to change a couple of things in my fitness program to reach my maximum potential. First instead of staying in the middle intensity level for another week, I have decided to start training in the high intensity level from now on. Since the start of this program it has been easy for me to stay in the middle intensity level and I should have been training in the high intensity level knowing that I was capable of doing so. Also, I have decided to spend some more extra time outside or just dong some more aerobic activity at home. This way my body is always moving and will slowly get used to being a little more active. Plus I think it will be a fun way to be active besides getting on the treadmill.

Week 8 (Wellness 2: April 21-27, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: April 21-27, 2008

Week 8 (Fitness 1: April 21-27, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of: April 21-27, 2008
High Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 148.8-180bpm

I decided to change my fitness program up a bit by going from a middle intensity level to a high intensity level. Also, I will try to be more active outside of just running on the treadmill.

Week 8 (Wellness 1: April 21-27, 2008)

This week has been easier to stay in the program than last. It was not at all hectic and was easy to stay in my stress management program without forcing myself to remember not to get angry at every little situation. Its summer and the weather is getting warmer by the day and so are some peoples temper if they're not careful in keeping collected. One thing I've noticed is that if my environment is nice and clean, I'm a more pleasant person. If my environment is chaotic and unorganized, I feel that I somehow become that way too. Its all about your mentality but having a clean environment helps keep ones mind less hectic and hopefully that reflects on your lifestyle.

Week 7 (Fitness 1: April 14-20, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of: April 14-20, 2008
Middle Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 136-148.8bpm


**edit: The dates in the chart above were mixed up, but is fixed now.

Week 7 (Wellness 2: April 14-20, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: April 14-20, 2008


**edit: The dates were mixed up in the chart above, but is fixed now.

Week 7 (Wellness 1: April 14-20, 2008)

This week has been very hectic because of signing up for classes and making sure all my credits transfer correctly. My parents has been nagging me also, it was a very difficult week to stick with my wellness management program. I think I handled the situation well and utilized my organizational and time management concepts well.

Wellness Reaction 3

The wellness program has also been going smoothly. There has been an improvement in remembering to use my stress management techniques whenever I get a stressor. It was hard to focus on my stress techniques in the beginning but I've gotten a lot better at remembering. It's more of a habit now, I just know how to handle situations differently. But thats not saying I don't lose my temper at times with my brother, but I do manage the way I react very differently.

Fitness Reaction 3

The fitness program has been going well, there are still sometimes a struggle to get on the treadmill but its gotten a lot better since the start of this program. I'm much more motivated and seeing results like dropping pounds encourages this motivation. I have noticed a difficulty in keeping my fitness schedule, sometimes its really hard to force myself into working out on mondays. I always do stretching, some yoga and pilates poses but getting the motivation to workout on mondays are a drag. Some days I feel really motivated and other days (like mondays) I just feel too lazy to run.

Week 6 (Fitness 1: April 07-13, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of: April 07-13, 2008
Middle Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 136-148.8bpm


**edit: The dates were mixed up in the charts above, but is fixed now.

Week 6 (Wellness 2: April 07-13, 2008)

Week 6 has been pretty mellow for me because there was no struggle in keeping up with either of my wellness or fitness program. I kept with my fitness program and managed the wellness program with ease as well.

Week 6 (Wellness 1: April 07-13, 2008)

ELI-PED (E92N)
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: April 07-13, 2008


**edit: The date was mixed up in the chart above but is fixed now.

Week 5 (Wellness 2: March 31-April 06, 2008)

ELI PED 116(E92N)
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: March 31-April 06, 2008

This week has been hectic but I've been good at keeping myself not get too overwhelmed by these stressors. I have a couple of exams to take and prepare for next week and I'm going to take the experience from this week and use it for next.

Week 5 (Fitness 1: March 31-April 06, 2008)

ELI PED 116(E92N)
Fitness Journal
Cardiovascular Endurance
Week of March 31-April 06, 2008
Middle Intensity: Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 136-148 bpm

I was really motivated to workout this week and did a fantastic job at keeping up with my workouts. I really want to try and workout at least 4 days a week so that I can begin to see more results faster. I've lost 3 pounds but I don't think I'm pushing myself to the limit, I know I can do more.

Week 5 (Wellness 1: March 31- April 06, 2008)

The joy of fitness
Meeting my fitness goal
Activity 4

I have met all of my mini-goals.
Challenges and obstacles that I encountered were at first being motivated to continue with my exercise plan and forgetting to implement my wellness techniques to everyday life.

Long term goal 1: keep exercising at least 3 times a week for 30 days even after this course is over.
Long term goal 2: loose 10 pounds by june 2008.
Long term goal 3: make fitness/wellness a part of my life by continuing with these programs.

Wellness/Fitness has been going extremely well this week, I just have so much motivation to complete my fitness program this week. Part of it is because I've found new videos on youtube that actually work and it doesn't take a long time to do these specific workouts! I'll post the links to those videos this Sunday along with my fitness chart.

Fitness Reaction 2

My fitness program has been going well so far. I have no problems to report, in fact I've made exercising a part of my routine. I am surprised by this because it was hard to stay on track during the first couple of weeks, but I guess because of having done this repeatedly I got used to my schedule. During Week 4, I was not able to do my Monday workout, so I fixed this problem by making it up during the other days of the week.

Wellness Reaction 2

I have been completing all my mini-goals without problem. April 1st is the day where I notice a difference in completing all my course deadlines without procrastination. I have to be honest and say that I am not fully up to this level yet but I have completed everything on time and without much stress. Although I did procrastinate a lot on my NAS 162 coursework, I have also completed the assignments required and wrote down what I need to complete when for the future

Week 4 (Fitness 1: March 24-30, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of: March 24-30, 2008
Middle Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 136-148.8bpm

I did not get a chance to do my workout for Monday so I covered Monday's workout by doing it on Saturday.

Week 4 (Wellness 2: March 24-30)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: March 24-30, 2008


**edit: I accidently mess up on the date in the chart, but its fixed now.

Week 4 (Wellness 1: March 24-30)

Week 4 has started off with a bumpy start due to me having to take 2 exams before Wednesday. But I organized well and completed them without stressing out about it more than is necessary. The rest of this week has been smooth but I'm assuming Sunday is going to be tough because I have a 6 chapters worth of reading that I'm not looking forward to.

Week 3 (Wellness 2: March 17-23, 2008)

ELI-PED 116(E92N)
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: March 17-23, 2008

Week 3 (Fitness 1: March 17-23, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log
Week of: March 17-23, 2008
Middle Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 136-148.8bpm

Week 3 (Wellness 1: March 17-23)

There hasn't been a lot of stressors for me this week but I know all that will change starting from next week because I have about 3 exams that I need to finish taking. I carried over the concepts that I learned last week and incorporated them into this week, such as laughing yoga and regular yoga.

Wellness Reaction Blog 1

My SMART outline has been very helpful in getting the wellness results that I wanted. My wellness log has also been very specific in helping me understand how I have been improving from week to week. I have met my first mini goal on 3/10/08 when I saw improvements in the way I handled tough situations. Yesterday 3/17/08 I also met my second mini goal because I have already followed through with 3 different stress techniques. I'm very happy to complete both fitness and wellness plans smoothly.

Fitness Reaction Blog 1

So far I have been able to keep up with my FITT program without any problems. I read some peoples workout plans that include exercising 5 to 6 days a week and that for me is too much. I'm glad I kept my FITT program realistic because now its easy for me to complete. I choose to run on the treadmill instead of running outside or doing some other form of aerobic exercise is because if I did that I'm afraid I would lose motivation to continue. Its easier for me to have the same routine so it becomes a habit easily. Some problems I experienced with running on the treadmill is that it can become boring especially during the last 10 minutes but after realizing this I quickly thought of an awesome solution. I started reading while running on the treadmill, it took a little balancing to do both at first but now I'm used to it. Completing reading assignments for other classes while running on the treadmill let me multitask and it keeps me from getting bored. When I'm reading it doesn't feel boring at all. I think this is so because when I'm just running I tend to stare at the treadmills timer and after a while it feels like its taking forever to reach my 30 minute mark. :]

Week 2 (Wellness 2: March 10-16, 2008)

Like I said in the earlier post this week, laughing is good for your overall health and it reduce your stress levels significantly. The videos in my earlier posts is what I used to reduce these destress along with yoga poses and getting plenty of sleep.

Week 2 (Fitness 1:March 10-16, 2008)

(Click on the image to enlarge!)

I’ve reached my first goal of reaching a speed of 2.0 or higher by March 12, 2008. This goal has been easy to achieve from the beginning because I have been running above the speed of 2.0 since the first week of this fitness project.

As always I have been stretching before warm-ups and after cool-downs. There are many fitness videos on Youtube which I have done along with running on the treadmill. I do these workout whenever I have time and am in the mood to do them because I want my fitness goals to be realistic.

I have also been doing yoga poses and watching fitness videos on Youtube which targets the arms, legs, abs, and buns. I love stretching and have been doing stretching exercises as well. I do these specific exercises along with my weekly treadmill runs but I will not include them in my weekly workout schedule because I do them whenever I have time or am in the mood to do them. I want this fitness project to remain realistic but when I do complete these exercises I will add them onto the weekly chart. Below are the links to these videos:

8 Minute Abs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWjTnBmCHTY&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=5

8 Minute Arms:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSby1UUhyts&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=7

8 Minute Legs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLIfN-31Bgs&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=8

8 Minute Stretch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79sXwpZUeBw&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=6

Favorite yoga pose:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsqnso1arEw&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=2

2 Minute abs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMWBLG4syRQ&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=9

Yoga chair pose:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3dFq3v58Gc&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=3

Pilates Booty Blaster:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4ulAUOSwKs&feature=PlayList&p=BBED7A9F4197F5A8&index=4

Week 2 (Wellness 1:March 10-16, 2008)

Stress Management has been going well for this this week, I've learned new technique that I used and will be using in the future. I was researching Yoga poses for the fitness project this week and came across a doctor who created laughter yoga. Dr. Madan Kataria developed the laughter club which is a yoga technique that is based on laughter. Laughing decreases stress hormones, boosts endorphins in the brain, and improves ones immune system. It doesn't matter if the laughter is self imposed or a real laughter the benefits remain the same. It is a technique used all over the world to gain overall health benefits. Give laughter a try you guys it good for you! :]

Here is a link that best describes Laughter Yoga:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahhN3Ryw4O4&feature=related

Sometimes forced laughter can take time and I find it easier to laugh at things naturally. Here is a link of a video that I find hilarious, it makes me laugh every time and maybe it'll do the same for you:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4Y4keqTV6w

Week 1 (Wellness 2: March 3-9, 2008)

ELI-PED 116 (E92N)
Wellness Journal
Stress Management
Week of: March 3-9, 2008

Sorry about the small chart but it is the only way I can post the chart and still keep it intact. If you click on the chart you can see it in its original size in a new window. Thanks.

Week 1 (Fitness 1: March 3-9, 2008)

ELI-PED 116-E92N
Fitness Journal
Cardiorespiratory Log Week of: March , 2008
Low Intensity Target Heart Beat on Treadmill = 123.2-136bpm
Before getting on the treadmill for each of the workout listed in the chart above I always stretch for 2 minutes so that I won't strain any of my muscles. After the workout I do the same stretches again for 2 minutes.
When I get on the treadmill I do a 1 minute warm-up that consists of gradually changing my speed from low to high. I do the same thing for the cool down expect I go from a higher speed to a lower one and then ultimately stopping.
My training intensity level is higher than I expected myself to reach during the first week. Staying in the low intensity level is too easy for me so I’m going to be consistent with next weeks workout and stay in the middle intensity zone.

Week 1 (Wellness 1: March 3-9, 2008)

The fitness aspect of this course was easier to completed than the wellness part. I had to finish all of unit two's assignment this week along with two discussion forums, an exam and a writing assignment for my other classes. My family and I are going to Pennsylvania for my cousin Sara's birthday so I needed to finish all of this before the weekend. I have a discussion forum and a writing assignment to finish up tomorrow before we leave for Pennsylvania in the afternoon. It's been stressful trying to finish all my work so that I can have time to study for my exams. I have two that I planned on taking this week but because of all the work piled up on me this week I have no choice but to take them next week. With spring break coming up I have no idea what the testing centers schedule is for next week. If you all have any idea please let me know, and thanks in advance.

The stress technique I used this week was managing my work overload. I bought a small calendar that also doubles as a monthly planner to better organize what assignments I will be completing during the week. I wrote down all my classes and the week each course was in during the beginning of each week because its easier to keep track of them this way. I also wrote down all the assignments I was supposed to have completed this week but because I didn't finish some on time my schedule got backed up. I plan to fix this next week by keeping my schedule realistic so that I won't have an overwhelming amount of things I need to complete altogether.