Week 1

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Week 2

Week 2 Questions

• What are your specific goals for the upcoming Fitness appraisal? (12-minutes run, push- ups, sit-ups, wall-squat, side-hops, plank) — I wish to run at least 12 laps without walking during the 12-minutes run and I want to hold a frontal plank for an above average duration (1:31-2:00)
• What’s the point of doing a warm up? —To warm up and stretch muscles before a workout to avoid injuries. It prepares the body for physical activity and thus improves performance.
• What constitutes a successful warm up? — Around 6-8 minutes of dynamic stretching. Start with slow and low cardiovascular activities. The warm up should be specific to the following exercise(s) but it should include whole body movements and increase your body temperature. Your heart rate should increase to around the lower limit of your training range.
• What’s the point of doing a cool down? — It prevents dizziness, blood from pooling in the lower limbs, and nausea. It allows the release of built up muscular tension.
• When is the best time to stretch and why? —After the cool-down period as the muscles are still warm and are therefore easier and less painful to stretch.
• Why is stretching important? —To release muscle tension, to prevent post exercise soreness, to prevent muscle injury from lack of flexibility, to release physical and psychological tension, and to increase your range of motion.

Week 3

Week 3 questions

• On a scale of 1-10, what effort did you give the workout this week? 6 out of 10
• List three specific examples of what would motivate you to participate in and stick to a regular exercise routine? 1. Friends/family members participating with me; 2. Actual weight loss results; 3.If I could go at my own pace
• List three specific barriers or excuses which would prevent you from doing so? 1. It doesn’t actually make me lose weight; 2. The weather; 3. Having to do it as obligatory homework and having to film myself and answer questions.
• What type of workouts and physical activities do you like? Lifting and muscular strength exercises at the gym
• Do you prefer going to the studio/gym or working out at home? I prefer the gym as I go there with my mother and brother which is motivating. My brother and I also like to compete and “ego lift” which is funny.

• What could you see yourself doing as exercise for the remainder of your life? Outdoor manual work such as chopping wood, tilling the soil, managing a farm, etc.
• How was your nutrition over the course of this week? I tried to eat fewer carbs and I ate approximately 1200 kcal a day.
• What would you like to change in your nutrition for the following week? Fewer carbohydrates and more protein for longer lasting satiation.

Week 4

Week 4 questions

• How does your exercise program fit into your weekly schedule? I can usually insert it somewhere into my Wednesdays as I don’t have school on Wednesdays.
• Comment on how easy or hard it is to find the time to exercise. I don’t have a job so it is generally easy to find time to exercise.
• What are your stress levels before and after exercise? It depends on the exercise. If it is something I enjoy, I am less stressed after than before.
• What was your nutritional habit change that you chose last week to do for this week? Eat fewer carbohydrates and eat more protein.
• Did you follow it consistently? I ate more protein but I struggled to cut carbs from my diet.
• What will be your next nutritional goal for the following 2 weeks? I wish to try to snack less and only eat meals that keep me satiated longer.

Week 5

Week 5 questions
• How many servings of vegetables should you eat each day? One half of your plate at every meal.
• Are you getting enough vegetables? No.
• If not, how could you ensure that you do? I could eat more smoothies with veggies for breakfast instead of toasts, cereals and bagels . I could also bring vegetable in my lunch every day instead fruits.
• What are your three favorite vegetables? Carrots, parsnips, celeriac.
• Find a recipe that includes your favorite vegetables and post on your blog.

Carrot & Parsnip Cake (Grain-Free!)

• Author: Ariana
• Prep Time: 20
• Cook Time: 55 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Baking

Ingredients

3 cups finely ground almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
5 eggs
½ cup honey (maple syrup would work, too)
¼ cup coconut oil, melted
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (or 1 t dried ginger, optional)
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup grated parsnips
3/4 cup chopped dates
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (toasting them in the oven for a few minutes first is highly recommended, but not obligatory)

Instructions

1. Combine the first five dry ingredients in a large bowl.
2.  In another, smaller bowl, mix the eggs, honey, oil, and ginger together.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones and stir only until combined.
4.  Add the grated vegetables, dates and walnuts to the batter, and fold them inevenly– don’t over-mix.
5.  Pour the batter into a greased round 9-inch cake pan.
6.  Bake the cake at 325º F or 165º C for about 55 minutes, or until the edges are brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
7.  Let cool, and make your frosting (if using) and then frost it.
8.  Serve with a good cup of coffee (or tea.)

Find it online: https://andhereweare.net/carrot-and-parsnip-cake/

Week 6

Week 6 questions

• What have been some major barriers so far in your activity plan? My muscles hurt after the given workouts so I can’t go to the gym as often as I used to.
• How have you adapted your plan to overcome these barriers? I do my filmed workout session on Wednesdays so that I can go to the gym on the weekends and Mondays because by then, my muscles don’t hurt as much.
• What solutions have you found? I take cold showers after the home workouts so that my muscles hurt less. Stretching after my workout helps as well.
• Have you noticed any energy level changes now that you exercise every week for the past 6 weeks? They’ve lowered because I can’t go to the gym as often because of the muscle pain.
• Have you started working out more than once a week? If so, when and what? I still go to the gym on Mondays and weekends in addition to the filmed workouts on Wednesdays. At the gym, I work on my cardio (treadmill, elliptical) and my strength (rowing and various machines.)

Week 7

Week 7 Questions:

• Do you need to revise your original goal(s)? Yes, probably all of them.
• Are/is your goal(s) still realistic? Why or why not? No. I don’t think I will be able to do the plank for 2:00 nor will I be able to do 12 laps of running in 12 minutes. I may or may not improve my verbal rating in the side hops.
• State your new goals if they’ve changed. 1) Run 11 laps in 12 minutes. 2)Plank for 1minute and 30 seconds.3)Keep my side hops goal.
• What is working in your program? Everything except the running because the weather is always terrible for an exterior jog.
• What do you need to change? I’ve decided instead to use an interior step machine.
• Do you feel different this week… more energy, better sleep, better mood, or increased self-confidence? No… mid-terms.
• What effect is the activity plan having on you? My muscles hurt all week.

Week 8

Week 8 questions:
• How much sleep should you be getting every night? Around 8 hours a night.

• Are you getting that much? Yes

• If not, what could you do to ensure that you do get enough sleep? —

• What are the serious health effects related to insufficient sleep? High Blood pressure, fatigue, weight gain, memory problems, mood swings, decreased coordination.

• Give two examples of healthy snacks that you can munch on while studying. 1) A pear, 2) a glass of oat milk

Week 9

First goal: Plank

– My goal is to do the plank for one minute and thirty seconds.

-I did the plank for one minute and seven seconds.

– I did not achieve my goal

– I didn’t achieve my goal because I haven’t worked on my upper body strength for a while. The quarantine means I couldn’t go to the gym anymore.

Second goal: Side hops

– My goal is to get and average verbal rating (20-29 side hops)

-I did 47 side hops.

– I achieved my goal

– I achieved my goal because it may have been a goal that was too easy. I think my partner may have counted wrong the first time.

Third goal: 12 minute run

– My goal is to do 11 laps in 12 minutes (1760 meters)

-My phone calculated around 1,8km

– I achieved my goal

– I achieved my goal because ever since the start of the quarantine, I’ve been taking daily walks with my mother which has improved my cardio.

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 13 questions:
• What will motivate you to continue to be active in the future?

Warmer weather.

• How do you see yourself living an active lifestyle?

I want to build my own house and live off of my crops which will undoubtedly be very physically demanding.

• What was the most important thing you learned about yourself?

I have very short limbs.

• Describe any physical and psychological changes that have happened over the course of this semester.

I’m more relaxed. I feel more grounded.

• What did you learn in this course?

Alternate nose breathing. I regularly check which hemisphere of my brain in receiving more oxygen.

• What did you enjoy the most?

The “get to know each other” warm-ups.