- Over the last four years, I have developed a passion for exercising. The love of exercise I now have is my most cherished accomplishment. In high school I played multiple sports and was constantly consumed with practice. Here at Union over the past four years, I have been able to focus on myself at the gym. I have had more time to find out what I like to do and what works for me. I am very proud of how much I’ve grown, since coming to college in my love for exercise. Though I have only increased my running speed by about half a mile per hour, I genuinely enjoy running. This is something I never thought was possible. I am very happy when I enter the gym. At school, I have found the other benefits in exercise. I use it to clear my mind, take a break from my homework and spend some time alone. I cannot pin it down to one day at the gym or one moment in my head, but looking back over how I viewed exercise when I entered Union to how I view it now, I am very happy that I have developed a noticeable joy. I hope this desire to get to the gym everyday is something I take with me for the rest of my life!
- I think exercise physiology can serve as a paradigm for understanding biology because it encompasses a variety of topics. In doing the readings for this class, I have already reviewed a lot of the material covered in previous molecular and cellular biology courses. One aspect of exercise physiology is the chemical process-taking place within the body that makes exercise possible. Another topic covered in exercise physiology could be evolution. It is important to understand animal fitness and why organisms have developed the way they have. An organism’s structure, physiology, is an important aspect of it fitness and therefore how predominantly they evolve. I think exercise physiology can also serve as a paradigm for biology because it focuses on something relatable. I think exercise is easy to conceptualize. Everyone has exercised at some point in their life and understands how that makes the body feel therefore it is an interesting topic of study. Using exercise physiology as a model for biology I think helps students to better understand complicated concepts.
- One upper-level course I recently finished was Evolutionary Biology. In this class we focused on means of evolution as well as fitness in organisms. From this class I hope to contribute knowledge of animal structure and how that may contribute to their fitness. One case study we focused on was the evolution and breeding of horses. We learned that humans have artificially selected for horses that can run faster. Through studies they have determined that horses with longer legs and larger hearts are able to run at greater speeds. We learned that these greater running mechanisms can also have negative aspects on the rest of the body. Another upper-level course I took was Orthopedic Biomechanics. In this class we focused on bone and joint structure. From this class I hope to contribute my knowledge of human bone structure and how different joints may be affected during different durations or types of exercise.
Bio 375: Exercise Physiology
Spring 2019
I completely agree with you on the idea of gym as a stress relief. I had a hard time coming up with an athletic accomplishment because I feel the same way, I’m just proud that I now see exercise as almost therapeutic whereas in high school I feel like I was more on autopilot. I think any form of exercise is also good for your brain because it contributes to neuroplasticity and can improve cognitive function over time. I think everyone should strive to find what they like at the gym because it’s a great way to take a break from the craziness of daily life and reset.
I also enjoyed your perspective of evolution. Even though I’m a bio major I have not taken an evolution class or animal physiology course so I feel like I have a lot to learn about comparing species as they are today and also over time. Biomechanics sounds really helpful as well because without the molecular structures of bones and osteocytes we would be unable to understand movement and exercise.
Hi Maddie,
Thanks for the post. I think developing a joy (rather than feeling a requirement) to exercise is crucial for long term health. It sounds like you have it all figured out already. I wish i had discovered it during college.