Introducing Physical Activity
Minding Our Bodies is…
 An initiative of the Canadian Mental Health Association,
Ontario
 In partnership with YMCA Ontario and York University,
Faculty of Health
 A two-year project (2008-2010)
 With support from the Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion
through the Communities in Action Fund
What this workshop is about?
Background
Key terms and definitions
Components of fitness
Benefits of physical activity
Principles of conditioning
Monitoring Intensity
Motivation
What are the numbers?
The majority (56%) of Canadians are inactive
Two-thirds of Canadians strongly agree that a healthy
lifestyle contributes to long-term health benefits
The majority of Canadians fully intend to be active in the
next six months
Lack of time, energy and motivation are most frequently
rated as important barriers to being active
What is physical activity?
 Bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that results
in an energy expenditure and is positively correlated with
physical fitness
What is exercise?
 A sub-set of physical activity that is planned, structured and
provides for repetitive bodily movement
What is fitness?
 A set of attributes that people have or achieve relating to
their ability to perform physical activity
What is active living?
 A way of life in which physical activity is valued and
integrated into daily life
What are basics in Canada’s
physical activity guide?
 Recommends 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity
daily
 Suggests adding up activities in periods of 10 minutes
 Gives great tips on getting started and how to make active
living a part of your daily life
 www.paguide.com
What are the components of
fitness?
 Cardiovascular endurance
 Muscle endurance & strength
 Flexibility
 Balance & coordination
Endurance
Endurance
(2 types)
Cardiovascular:
The ability to continue strenuous
tasks that stress the circulatory
and respiratory systems for
long periods of time
Muscular:
The continuation or
maintenance of
muscular contraction
until fatigue sets in
Definitions
 Muscle strength: The force that a muscle can exert in a
single contraction
 Flexibility: Range of motion at available at a joint
 Balance: The maintenance of equilibrium either with
movement (dynamic) or no movement (static)
 Coordination: The ability to integrate movements involving
different muscle groups into a single pattern
Benefits of being active
 Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles, and joints
and makes people with chronic, disabling conditions
improve their stamina
 Promotes psychological well-being, reduces stress, anxiety
and feelings of depression and loneliness
 Helps control weight and lower the risk of becoming obese
by 50% compared to people with sedentary lifestyles
 Reduces the risk of dying prematurely
Stress benefits
 Physical Activity reduces stress by…
– promoting relaxation
– providing a psychological distraction
– changing mood
– enhancing personal resources such as self-esteem and
self-efficacy
– providing time and opportunity to work through problems
– generally regulating emotional and physiological
reactions to a stressful event
Wait…. There is more!
 Physical activity…
– reduces the risk of developing heart disease or colon
cancer by up to 50%
– reduces the risk of developing type II diabetes 50%
– helps to prevent / reduce hypertension
Even more….
 Physical activity…
– helps to prevent / reduce osteoporosis
– reduces the risk of developing lower back pain
– can help in the management of painful conditions, like
back pain or knee pain
Start slowly and build up
To improve your physical fitness, you should do a
little more, a little:
More often
Harder
Longer
More safely
This can be referred to as the FITT principle
FITT Principle
F – Frequency (how often)
I
– Intensity (how hard)
T – Type (what kind of activity)
T – Time (how long)
Frequency
Canada’s Guide to Physical activity recommends the following:
 30-60 minutes of moderate physical activity daily
 Endurance – 4 to 7 days a week
 Flexibility – 4 to 7 days a week
 Strength – 2 to 4 days a week
Intensity
METs*(expend
ed energy at
res)
% of max HR
Examples
Light intensity
Medium
Intensity
Vigorous
Intensity
<3
3-6
>6
<64%
65-74%
<75%
strolling,
stretching,
gardening
swimming,
dancing,
raking leaves
jogging,
basketball,
hockey
Type of activity
 Anything goes! Find a variety activities that you enjoy and
stick to them
 Remember to choose activities that will improve the four
components of fitness: endurance, flexibility, strength and
balance
Time
 The length of time will depend on the amount of effort
– Light – 60 minutes
– Moderate – 30-60 minutes
– Vigorous – 20-30 minutes
How hard do I work?
Am I going fast enough?
 Talk Test
 Perceived Exertion
 Target Heart Rate
Talk test
 Simplest of all the tests
– Can I…
 Sing? (light intensity)
 Talk? (moderate intensity)
 Neither? (vigorous intensity)
Perceived rate of exertion
Rating
Description
0
1
2
3
Nothing
Very light
Light (weak)
Moderate
4
5
6
7
8
Somewhat hard
Heavy (strong)
9
10
Very heavy
Very, very heavy (near maximum)
Perceived rate of exertion
 Based on “listening to your body”
 How hard is the activity for you?
– Light intensity: 1-2
– Moderate intensity: 3-4
– Vigorous intensity: 5-6
Target heart rate
 Measures intensity, but can be inconvenient
 Maximum Heart Rate: (220 – age) x % (desired intensity)
 Example
For a 30-year-old who wants to work out at a vigorous
intensity (80%):
Max HR = (220 – 30) x .80 = 152
Finding your THR
To assess your heart rate:
1.
Stop and find your pulse (use the carotid artery or the
wrist)
2.
Count the number of times your heart beats in 10
seconds
3.
Multiply this by 6 to get your heart rate
Compare your heart rate to your max heart rate – are you
working hard enough? Too hard?
Heart rate chart
Barriers (individual)
 Most common barriers:
 Lack of time
 Lack of energy
 Lack of motivation
 Cost
Barriers for some with mental
illness
 Social isolation
 Stigma
 Fear of injury/not having the skill
 Transportation
 Cost
Ways to overcome individual
barriers
 Add physical activity to your daily routine.
– For example, walk or ride your bike to work or shopping,
organize school activities around physical activity, walk
the dog, exercise while you watch TV, park farther away
from your destination, etc.
 Make time for physical activity.
– For example, walk, jog, or swim during your lunch hour,
or take fitness breaks instead of coffee breaks.
Overcoming barriers
 Convince yourself that if you give it a chance, physical
activity will increase your energy level; then, try it.
 Plan ahead. Make physical activity a regular part of your
daily or weekly schedule and write it on your calendar.
Overcoming barriers
 Invite a friend to exercise with you on a regular basis and
write it on both your calendars.
 Join an exercise group or class.
Environmental barriers
 Lack of facilities nearby
 Lack of safe places
 Insufficient programs
 Lack of a partner/support
 Lack of transportation
Ways to overcome
environmental barriers
 Select activities that require minimal facilities or equipment,
such as walking, jogging, jumping rope, or calisthenics.
 Identify inexpensive, convenient resources available in your
community (community education programs, park and
recreation programs, worksite programs, etc.).
Ways to overcome
environmental barriers
 Visit the local shopping mall and walk for half an hour or
more.
 Encourage exercise facilities to provide child care services.
Ways to overcome
environmental barriers
 Explain your interest in physical activity to friends and
family. Ask them to support your efforts.
 Develop new friendships with physically active people. Join
a group, such as the YMCA or a hiking club.
Are you ready to be active?
What stage are you?
I am not currently … and am not thinking of doing so in the
coming month.
I am not currently … but I have thought about …
I am not currently … but I plan to do so within the next month.
I am currently … but have only been doing so for the past 6
months or less.
I am currently … and have been doing so for 7 months or
more.
Staying motivated!
 Keep a diary. Note down how far you ran or the match
score, your pulse, how you felt, etc. That way you can look
back and see how you have improved over time.
 Collect inspiration. Inspirational stories from people who
have achieved against the odds may help – if they can do it,
so can you.
Staying motivated!
 Remind yourself of the reasons that motivated you to start
exercising in the first place.
 Visualisation. Picture yourself achieving your goal, and
imagine what it will feel like. These images and feelings will
help to motivate you to achieving them for real.
Staying motivated!
 Enjoy it! Exercising releases chemicals in the brain, such as
serotonin, that have a strong affect on your mood, helping
reduce anxiety, stress and depression. So whenever you
don’t feel like exercising, try to remind yourself how good
you’ll feel afterwards
How much did you learn?
 This is a fun quiz that could be provided at the end of
educational session on physical activity.
 Take the Physical Activity Quiz to find out how much you
know:
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/pau-uap/paguide/quiz/question1.html
Where to find out more?
 Local information (e.g., YMCA)
 www.paguide.com
 www.active2010.ca
 www.participaction.com
 www.mindingourbodies.ca
Questions?