Min D. Teng MDT2524 MON 3:30 FIT – In-Laboratory Notes 1) What is aerobic fitness? Aerobic means 'with oxygen'. Aerobic fitness, best defined as maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), is the ability to take in, transport, and use oxygen to produce energy. VO2max is the maximal amount of oxygen you can use and is best expressed in milliliters of oxygen used per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). The higher the VO2max the better. 2) Why is aerobic fitness important? Aerobic fitness is essential, mainly because it is linked to our cardiovascular health. Aerobic exercise strengthens one’s heart and helps it more efficiently pump blood throughout the body. Aerobic exercise can also help lower blood pressure and keep arteries clear by raising “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lowering “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels in the blood. Also, aerobic exercise can help regulate regular blood sugar, reduce asthma symptoms, reduce chronic pain, strengthen the immune system, and aid sleep, etc. 3) What suggestions will you make to a person going to the FIT lab for VO2 max test? No unaccustomed exercise the day before the test. Training sessions should be light recovery workouts for the 36 hours leading up to testing. Normal diet for the two days leading up to the test as you would eat in preparing for a race. The two meals prior to the test should be high in carbohydrate content. Consume lots of fluid in the 12 hours prior to testing. Avoid the following from midnight the night prior to the test: Smoking, Caffeine, Alcohol, Supplements that can affect aerobic performance (eg: Bicarbonate, cold medication, etc) 4) What is body composition assessment? Methods to determine one’s body fat mass and fat-free mass. Special equipment like DEXA can also provide information on bone density and fat deposition site. 5) What does DEXA stand for? DEXA stands for (Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry) which is used to assess your bone density and well as your body composition. DEXA uses an x-ray technique to look at the density of the body and can then estimate the amount of lean muscle mass and fat tissue. 6) Why is body composition important? Risk factors for cardiovascular disease are often related fat mass. Maintaining a high lean body mass (fat free mass or muscle mass) and minimizing fat mass have been shown to reduce the risk of inactivity-related diseases including coronary artery disease and diabetes. Furthermore, minimizing fat mass can enhance exercise performance in athletes competing in weight-bearing activities such as running where fat mass act as the “dead weight” that must be carried. Therefore, monitoring body composition is more important than simply monitoring body weight on a simple scale. Min D. Teng MDT2524 MON 3:30 1. 10) Why is muscular fitness important? Muscular fitness is important for activities of daily living, for developing optimal body composition, for developing strong bones, and more. Muscular strength varies with each muscle group of the body. Muscular Power is assessed most often in athletes where speed and power are important. 2. 11) What advice would you give a person planning to lose 4 pounds over 4 weeks with while maintaining the same physical activity? The person should change his diet and caloric intake. A calorie deficit is the only way to lose the way, and one can achieve that by calculating total daily caloric expenditure first. Use tools like a caloric deficit calculator to determine how many calories he should take daily to lose weight. After he implements a new diet plan, he should monitor his weight daily and average it at the end of the week to see if he lost the desired weight. If his weight didn't as much as he calculated, he should intake even less daily.
