1. What connections have you had from what you’ve studied in Fitness for Life with what you’ve learned from other courses you have taken at SLCC or have learned before taking this class? Make specific references to your work in this class and in other courses. How did what you learned in other courses enhance what you learned in Fitness for Life, and vice versa? I have really enjoyed this living wellness class this semester. I took this class online because I did not have enough time in my schedule to take it in class, and I am so grateful that I did. I have learned so much about myself and about how important exercise and having healthy eating habits is. One of the biggest connections that I noticed from this class to my other nursing classes are how important exercising is and starting healthy habits while you are young. For example, in my nursing classes this year I took mental health and learned so much about psychotherapy. I learned that cognitive therapy is based on the cognitive model which focuses on the individuals thoughts and behaviors to solve current problems. Cognitive therapy can assist with treating depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other issues that can improve by changing a clients attitude toward life experiences. While I was learning about cognitive therapy this semester I thought to my self, what if you would combine cognitive therapy with exercise everyday? Exercise as well can treat depression, anxiety, eating disorders and other issues. I think that if people who were diagnosed with certain mental illnesses would try exercising and having better health habits that they would notice a difference and it would be a healthier alternative to medicine. The biggest thing that I learned this semester that really affected my other classes was how important exercising is and how it can affect your whole entire body. There were so many days this semester that I was studying or in school all day and my brain would just shut down. So I would go do a 30-45 minute workout and it felt like I had a clear mind and was ready to study again. I truly believe that exercise can improve your mental health and can change your mood whenever needed and relates to almost anything in life. I have really understood the importance of exercise this semester and I am so grateful for it.
2. Reflect on what you thought about Fitness and Lifelong Wellness before you took this course and how you think about it now that you have completed the course. Have any of your assumptions or understandings changed? Why? What assignments/activities/readings were influential in this process? How will you approach what influenced you differently in the future? When I signed up for this class I thought that I was just going to be doing different exercises every week and working on different physical activities throughout the semester. After being in this class I really enjoyed how much more in depth everything was. We had class discussions online, chapter quizzes and some interactive and fun assignments that really helped me get to know myself better. We set so many individual health goals, learned about our BMI and cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle endurance, our body composition, flexibility, stress and weight management, and we even did some nutrition evaluations about ourselves. I have always been a physically active person just because I enjoy playing sports and being involved in fun activities; but I never really understood how many benefits can come from exercise and healthy eating habits. One assignment and chapter that I really learned so much on was flexibility. The only form of stretching that I ever use is dynamic stretching, and it is the most common and easiest to do before and after a workout. After reading our chapter on flexibility I noticed that I was not meeting the requirements for effective stretching. I definitely never hold a stretch for longer than 30 seconds and I usually hold a stretch for about 10-15 seconds. So one of my goals this semester was to work on stretching and my flexibility and holding all of my stretches for at-least 30 seconds, and stretch before, during and after my workouts. I never knew before this class that there are so many benefits to being flexible and having good stretching habits. Since I have made it my goal to stretch more often I have noticed that it decreases my chance of getting hurt during my workout, it increases my performance, it gives me a better full range of motion, it reduces stress on my muscles, and I have noticed that I have better balance. It is crazy to me that something so simple such as stretching can really change the way you feel and perform on a daily basis. There were so many influential activities and assignments this semester that made me reevaluate some of my understandings. We did one assignment called the two day nutrition analysis and we had to write down everything that we consumed for two days, that includes meals, snacks, beverages, protein shakes etc. We then entered it onto a food tracker and it told us what we are deficient in, how many calories we are consuming, the nutrients our body is receiving and lots of other helpful information. This was an eye opener for me and really influenced my eating habits because there were many areas that I am lacking in my food intake and I could also be drinking more water and getting more nutrients. I really enjoyed this assignment because I think it is important to be more aware of what you are eating and the portion sizes that are recommended and healthy for your body. Everyone can work on this and it plays hand in hand with exercise and getting your body in a healthy state. I am appreciative for the knowledge that I have and can't wait to share it with others throughout my life. I am going to be a healthier and happier person because I am going to use all of this knowledge and my new skills for the rest of my life. 3. Give your general Ideas for improving this course: One of my favorite parts of this course was completing the two day nutrition analysis. I think that eating is so important, especially in today's society that it would have been beneficial to have more time studying nutrition and have maybe one or two more assignments about adequate nourishment. We need such a variety of nutrients everyday I would love to learn what meals and what types of food are recommended for our daily lives especially when you live an active lifestyle.