Signature Assignment
The biggest goal I made this semester was my cardiorespiratory endurance goal. This goal was the most important because cardio workouts and exercise have always been a struggle for me. Below is my original SMART cardiorespiratory goal from the beginning of the semester.
Cardiorespiratory EnduranceGoal: I want to be able to work out for 45 minutes to an hour without having to stop every couple minutes to catch my breath.
Specific: I will work out every day for at least 20 minutes doing a form of a cardio workout (videos, boxing, or dancing) after school on the weekdays and midafternoon on the weekends.
Measurable: I will do a cardio workout (videos, boxing, or dancing) every day for at least 20 minutes and add 10 minutes every week as shown in my fitness plan for this class.
Attainable: I will be able to do an hour of cardio fitness without stopping.
Realistic: I will be able to do an hour of cardio fitness without stopping.
Time Frame: Short Term-I will be able to do 40 minutes of cardio exercise by February 3rd
Long Term-I will be able to do an hour of exercise by March 4th.
While this goal didn’t change throughout the semester, some days I lived up to this goal and other days I didn’t. The hardest thing I dealt with for this goal was the daily motivation. Some days I felt highly motivated and other days I didn’t even want to do five minutes of exercise. There were some days where I only walked instead of dancing, boxing, or videos. I didn’t sweat quite as much but at least I did some form of exercise. My goal also states that I would work out everyday, there were some weeks that I workout everyday and other weeks were I only worked out three days. This became very discouraging but I told myslef it's okay not to be perfect and to just keep pushing onward. However, this goal helped me on the days I didn’t feel motivated. I reached my short-term goal but haven't gotten to my long-term goal yet. Overall, I stuck with this about 75% of the time. I wasn’t 100% successful but before this semester I wasn’t exercising at all. Since I’ve been struggling with my health for the past two years, I had been skeptical about learning about health and exercise. Especially making goals because I could never live up to them. I had learned about SMART goals in the past but never really applied them to my actually everyday live. Learning about setting SMART goals and sticking to it was very helpful through this journey. I also learned that being fit is more than just eating right and exercising. It’s about handling your stress, having a good mental mindset and your total overall health. I also learned a lot about myself. For one, I’m stronger than I thought I was. I always thought I didn’t have the will power to lose the weight I wanted but I do. I used to get discouraged when I didn’t get results fast but using SMART goals and reading about all the things that go along with being healthy helped me see it takes time and I need to be patient and persistent. I will continue these goals even after the semester is over. I still have a long ways to go before I lose the amount of weight I want to lose and to be healthy both physically and mentally, but this is a good start. I learned a lot in this class and know that this information will help me in the future.
Reflection
1. Of the information presented in class and/or as a result of fitness assessments, tracking progress through exercise logs, goals, and/or other content what is the largest “take-away” that you have gained from participation in this class? Why? Use specific examples and references to course content. The largest takeaway I took from this class was the exercise logs. I had never before logged my exercise. I have logged my food intake before and that really helped me to watch my calories. Logging my exercise was just as beneficial. I could look back on the day, week, or month and see what I had accomplished. It was very motivating and helped me keep up with my exercises. I also liked logging the specifies exercise I did so I could look at which ones I did the most of. Overall, logging my exercise was very helpful and I will continue to do it in the future on my weight loss journey.
2. How do you plan to apply the new knowledge you have gained as a result of class participation in your life’s journey? Why? Be specific in your future plans and why you choose to implement them. 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? Health and exercise have been a struggle for me over the last two years of my life. I have gained a lot of weight and started to ever doubt I could get back to the weight I once was. I had never had a lot of knowledge when it came to health and exercise because I was decently active in high school and could eat whatever I wanted and not gain weight. When that changed, I didn’t know what to do. This class helped me understand what it means to be healthy and that it’s more than diet and exercise. I have a long way to go before I reached my final weight loss goal and an overall healthy lifestyle both physically and mentally, but I now have the resources and understanding to get to that goal efficiently because of this class.
3. In what ways does the knowledge and information gained (and applied) as a result of this course relate or add to other courses you have taken or intend to take in the future? i.e. other fitness courses, health courses, or any other meaningful connections that can be made to specific courses. …and WHY? 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 haven’t taken many health courses in my life. I took one in high that was required and a nutrition course at SLCC to fulfill my life science credit. This was the first class I truly learned about overall health. However, I did learn about what is in all different sorts of foods and how to eat healthy in my nutrition class. In my nutrition class, we had to log what we ate and the number of calories we consumed for a week. It was very helpful, and I have since been logging my food every day or most days. I now have been logging my exercise because of this class which has also been very helpful. Learning about how to really eat healthy through my nutrition course and how to be healthy mentally and physically in this course has given me a well-rounded understanding of being healthy in all aspects and how they all connect.