PH physical activity
Running head: Physical activity project 1
Physical activity project:
A 7-day analysis and action plans
Student Name
National University
Physical activity project 2
Introduction
Physical activity (PA) has been a major component of public health since the rise of
chronic illnesses and conditions in the population. For adults aged 18-64, evidence has proven
PA to be effective in improving functional health and cognitive function as well as reducing risks
of many chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, or certain types of
cancer (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion [ODPHP], 2018). Therefore, this
project shall help students assessing their level of physical activity and sedentary lifestyle. To do
so, a 7-day log of all physical and non-physical activity will be provided along with personal
evaluation. In addition, an action plan will also be created to help students achieving or
maintaining their physical goals.
Physical activity recommendations
For adults aged 18-65 to achieve optimal health benefits, the ODPHD (2008)
recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 75 minutes of vigorous
intensity, or an equivalent combination of both activities per week. For extra health benefits, the
number is suggested to be at least 300 minutes of moderate-intensity, or 150 minutes of vigorous
intensity, or an equivalent combination of both activities weekly with the addition of muscle-
strengthening exercises at least twice a week (ODPHP, 2008). To determine whether an activity
is at moderate or vigorous intensity, ODPHP uses metabolic equivalent (or MET), which is a unit
of energy expenditure, for categorization. 1 MET equal resting energy expenditure. Activities
between 3 and 5.9 MET would be at moderate intensity while those of 6 MET and more are
considered vigorous intensity (ODPHP, 2008). Additionally, The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) suggests using heart rate range as another method of calculation. First,
each person should determine his/her maximum age-related heart rate by subtracting his/her age
Physical activity project 3
from 220. Then depending on the percentage range of that number, the level of intensity shall be
determined. 50%-70% of maximum age-related heart rate would count as moderate-intensity
level while 70%-85% would count as vigorous-intensity level (CDC, 2015).
Physical activity analysis
Physical activity project 4
Day Low-intensity
physical activities
Moderate-intensity
physical activities
Vigorous-intensity
physical activities
Total minutes of
physical activities
(Moderate and
Vigorous)
Minutes of
sedentary time
Saturday,
September
15, 2018
Standing in line: 150
minutes.
Roller coaster rides:
20 minutes
Fast walking: 90
minutes
90
Driving: 180 minutes
Couch: 30 minutes
Sunday,
September
16, 2018
Cooking: 60 minutes
Laundry (not
including wait time):
30 minutes
Weight lifting
(Upper body): 45
minutes
Cardio (walking
uphill): 10 minutes
55
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 240
minutes
TV time: 120
minutes
Monday,
September
17, 2018
Meal preparations:
10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Warm up (walking
uphill): 10 minutes
Weight lifting
(Legs): 40 minutes
50
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 180
minutes
Class time: 200
minutes
Tuesday,
September
18, 2018
Caregiving (to a sick
friend): 120 minutes
Groceries: 20 mins
Weight lifting
(Upper body): 30
minutes
Warm up (walking
uphill): 10 minutes
Circuit exercises: 15
minutes
55
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 200
minutes
Physical activity project 5
Meal preparation: 10
mins
Sitting time (meeting
with friends): 30
minutes
TV time (American
Horror Story): 45
minutes
Wednesday,
September
19, 2018
Cooking: 30 minutes
Groceries: 30
minutes
Meal preparation: 10
mins
Caregiving (to a sick
friend): 60 minutes
Weight lifting
(Upper body): 30
minutes
Warm up (walking
uphill): 10 minutes
Circuit exercises: 20
minutes 60
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 240
minutes
TV time (American
Horror Story): 60
minutes
Thursday,
September
20, 2018
Caregiving (to a sick
friend): 120 minutes
Meal preparation: 10
mins
Warm up (walking
uphill): 10 minutes
Weight lifting
(Legs): 40 minutes 50
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 180
minutes
TV time (RuPaul’s
Drag Race): 60
minutes
Friday,
September
21, 2018
Light cleaning: 30
minutes
Weight lifting
(Upper body): 30
minutes
Warm up (walking
uphill): 10 minutes 55
Driving: 15 minutes
Computer time: 240
minutes
Physical activity project 6
Standing around (at a
bar): 90 minutes
Meal preparation: 10
mins
Circuit exercises: 15
minutes
TV time: 60 minutes
7-day todal 830 minutes 225 minutes 290 minutes 515 minutes 2155 minutes
Table 1: 7-day log of notable physical and non-physical activities from September 15 to September 21 of 2018. Note: All activity times
may not add up to 24 hours per day or 168 hours per week. Sleeping time was NOT recorded.
Physical activity project 7
As indicated in table 1, the recorded 7-day duration accumulated 515 minutes of all
physical activities, 225 minutes of which being at moderate intensity and 290 minutes of it being
at vigorous intensity. The level of intensity is determined using the CDC’s heart rate range
method as indicated above. I am 27 years of age, which means my age-related maximum heart
rate is 220 – 27 = 193. Heart rate is tracked using my Garmin® fitness watch and a chest strap
(when applicable). Activities such as fast walking or upper body weight lifting usually put my
heart rate in 60% - 70% range, which translate to moderate intensity. Meanwhile, on days where
weight lifting exercise focuses on my legs, my heart rate range always falls above 75% of
maximum level. Additionally, with each workout session at the gym, I incorporate 10 minutes of
uphill walking (3.5 mph at 15-degree incline on the treadmill) as warm up and 15-20 minutes of
circuit exercises between weight lifting sets. Both of which normally push my heart rate above
70% of maximum heart rate. Aside from moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity activities
recorded, my week also includes other light-intensity tasks such as walking around, grocery
shopping, and laundry. The week recorded was not exactly a typical week for me as it included
two non-regular factors. The first one falls on Saturday, September 15, when I spent most of my
day at Six Flags’ Magic Mountain, waiting in line, riding roller coasters, and fast walking around
the park instead of the regular gym time and possible kickball practices. The second one falls
over the following Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, when I had to do extra grocery shopping
and cooking to provide care to a friend who contracted viral infection in his GI tract. Even
though patient care is normally considered to be a moderate-intensity activity (as cited in CDC,
n.d.), my level of caregiving was easier, thus making it a low-intensity activity.
In general, despite being a non-typical week, I have exceeded the recommended
guidelines for physical activity among adults aged 18-65, including the amount of muscle-
Physical activity project 8
strengthening activities per week (ODPHP, 2008). Without the non-regular factors in place, I can
still easily exceed the recommended amount of weekly physical activity as I like to at least walk
around instead of sitting at home and my gym schedule is fixed. I used to be afraid of the gym
but over time, I have developed a lifestyle that always incorporates exercise time of at least one
hour each day. A few years ago, even though my gym schedule was somewhat established, I
hardly knew what I was doing insignificant results. In 2016, I decided to hire a trainer and asked
him to teach me everything I need to know about strength training and circuit training, which
happen to be my two favorite types of exercising. After 3 months of working together, my
knowledge on how to work my body and how to utilize all available equipment for my physical
benefit had improved significantly. With improved knowledge and experience, my self-efficacy
had positively changed, which is a key construct that changed my attitudes and behaviors
towards exercising (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008 & Kohl & Murray, 2012). To sum up, my
personality of enjoying an active lifestyle and my serious commitment to exercising have
allowed my to easily surpass the current physical activity guidelines for Americans. However,
there is always room for improvement.
Physical activity plan
To maintain my fitness level and further enhance my personal ability, I have created a
plan that incorporates a healthier diet and a new physical activity plan. As for the diet plan, this
project will not explore in details but basically it involves fresh groceries, home-cooked meals,
reduced consumption of high-GI carbohydrates, and increased consumtion of healthy fat. For
physical activity plan, goals and daily routines will be discussed. My main goals for personal
health, aerobic activity, and muscle-strengthening activity are listed as followed:
Category Goals
Physical activity project 9
Health-related
Maintain cardiorespiratory health:
• Current resting heart rate (tracked by Garmin® watch) at 65-
70 beats per minutes
Maintain weight: 180 pounds
Reduce body fat (tracked by Omron® bioelectrical impedance
analysis instrument):
• Current: 20%
• Target: 13-18%
Aerobic activity
General aerobic goal:
• Frequency: at least 2 times weekly
• Intensity: maintaining heart rate range of 75-85% of maximum
heart rate
• Time: 20-30 minutes per session
• Type: uphill walking or light jogging.
Other endurance goal:
• Longer distance hiking: up to 10 miles total without major
break (of more than 1 hour).
Muscle-
strengthening
General muscle strength goal:
• Frequency: maintaining 6 sessions per week.
• Intensity (per session of respective muscle group):
o For legs: squatting at 245 pounds for 3 sets of 6-8
repetitions
o For chest: bench pressing at 165 pounds for 3 sets of 6-
8 repititions
o For back: bend-over row at 145 pounds for 3 sets of 6-
8 repititions
o For shoulders: military press at 125 pounds for 3 sets
of 6-8 repititions
• Time: 45 minutes per session
Physical activity project 10
• Type: compound exercises preferred: squats, deadlifts, bench
press, bend-over row, and military press.
Table 2: Personal goals related to physical activity.
I expect myself to achieve these goals in a 3-month plan (12 weeks) which will be
discussed below. For personal health, I believe to have achieved the optimal level, which
considerably reduces risks of various chronic diseases. The major goal I would like to achieve is
to reduce my body fat percentage from 20% to 15% after 3 months. As my physical activity level
is somewhat optimized, changes in my body fat shall depend largely on my modified diet as I
indicated above, which basically focuses on reducing high-GI carbohydrates and increasing
healthy fat. In addition, the other goals I have listed on maintaining resting heart rate and body
weight can be achieved simply with my new diet and committing to my current level of physical
activity and exercise. The new aerobic activity goals discussed below will also assist me with
having lower resting heart rate while my muscle-strengthening goals will be a great support for
fat loss as it may increase the amount of muscle mass in my body, accelerating the overall fat
burn process.
For aerobic activity goals, I currently can maintain 10 minutes of uphill walking (3.5 mph
at 15-degree incline). For hiking I can go for a total of 6 miles without taking a major break. To
achieve my listed goals, first I need to incorporate more cardio time into my exercise routine. My
plan is to have at least 2 cardio exercises per week that focuses on improving the aerobic
capacity, which ultimately increase my cardiorespiratory economy (Kohl & Murray, 2012). I
plan to have these 2 cardio exercises early in the morning during a fasted period (before
breakfast). The reason behind this plan is that fasted exercise has been shown to significantly
increase the level of fat oxidation (Vieira, Costa, Macedo, Coconcelli, & Kruel, 2016), which
may also support my goal of reducing overall body fat. However, since fasted exercise does not
Physical activity project 11
affect the overall energy expenditure over the 24-hour period (as cited in Hackett & Hagstrom,
2017). With the plan being over a 3-month period (12 weeks), I expect myself to commit to these
exercises and increase the duration for 2 minutes per session. At the end of week 5, I should be
able to do 2 cardio exercise per week for the duration of 30 minutes per session. Beginning of
week 6, I will start focusing on maintainance and incorporating this as a major part of my
exercise routine. With increased level of endurance, my hiking ability will hopefully follow. I
will start looking for longer trail and commit myself to hike every other Sunday. Hopefully I will
be able to finish Secret Canyon Trail in Descanso Forest District without a major break at the
end of this 3-month plan.
For muscle-strengthening goals, my current weights for some major compound exercises
are listed as followed:
• Squats: 225 pounds for 3-4 sets of 8 reps
• Bench press: 135 pounds for 3-4 sets of 8 reps
• Bend-over row: 110 pounds for 3-4 sets of 8 reps
• Military press: 85 pounds for 3-4 sets of 8
My plan for improving muscle strength is less complex than that of my aerobic goals. As I have
already incorporated 6 muscle-strengthening sessions per week into my lifestyle, all I need to do
now is to progressively increase weight lifted over the course of 12 weeks. My current muscle-
strengthening schedule is as followed:
• Monday & Thursday: Legs and shoulders
• Tuesday & Friday: Chest, abdominals, and circuit exercises
• Wednesday & Saturday: Back, abdominals, and circuit execises
• Sunday (optional): Arms and circuit exercises
Physical activity project 12
Over 12 weeks, I plan to add at least 5 pounds to each of the compound exercise listed
above until I have reached my goal. With a total of 60 possible additional pounds added to each
exercise at the end of the plan, some exercise will reach the weight goal before the deadline.
Upon reaching weight goal, I do not want to add more weight but instead I will focus on
reaching the set and repitition goal until I gain more strength and endurance, making the goal
weight my new regular lifting weight. The importance of weight lifting on my health goal is
significant. Firstly, higher strength combined with my increased aerobic capacity will benefit
greatly when it comes to sport performance. As a pitcher of my kickball team, the ability to
endure a long inning with a fast and strong pitch will provide a more competitive edge. In
addition, with increased leg strength, I may be able to have stronger power kick, which can be a
determining factor on whether I will be able to bring my bases home. Secondly, weight lifting as
resistance training has been proven to notably increase the total of muscle mass in the body
(Schoenfeld, 2010 & Abe, Kojima, Kearns, Yohena, & Fukuda, 2003). The increased amount of
muscle mass can bring several benefits to the body such as increasing resting and physical
activity energy expenditure, improving insuline sensitivity, and regulating food intake (Zurlo,
Larson, Bogardus, & Ravussin, 1990 & McPherron, Guo, Bond, & Gavrilova, 2013). Therefore,
the benefits of increasing intensity and improving strength through weight lifting can greatly
enhance my life in both physical health and sports performance.
Plan analysis and recommendations
In regards to my health goals, most of it fall under maintenance, which would rather be
easy as my current physical activity level and diet have not changed them in recent months.
However, with my goal of losing 5% body fat in 3 months, I need to be more self-disciplined in
order to push my strength performance and to commit to a strict diet that focuses on reducing
Physical activity project 13
high-GI carbohydrates. I must stop going through the bakery section at the grocery store and start
stocking my kitchen with fruits that have high fiber content such as apples, bananas,
watermelons, or grapes.
For my aerobic goals, I will dedicate two days of the week to start waking up earlier
(possibly Wednesday and Saturday) for fasted cardio. One day will be for uphill walking while
the other will include light jogging on the treadmill available at the gym in my neighborhood.
Each session will be recorded on the Note app on my phone so I can have easy access anytime I
need. I will push myself with 2 extra minutes every session as indicated. I will need to listen to
my favorite music so I can distract myself from the clock and burning legs. After week 6, I will
try to add another fasted cardio session to my week but this would be optional. At the start, this
plan may feel easy but towards the end when each session must be at 30 minutes minimum,
things will get more difficult and demotivation may arise. If this happens, I will have to put a
note on my work desk to remind me why I started this in the beginning. Hopefully it will keep
me pushing through the challenge.
For my muscle-strengthening goal, notekeeping is a major factor that will help me track
the amount of weight lifted and motivate myself into pushing further each week. Up until this
point, I have been using my memories and gut feeling to determine the emount of weight I lift.
But at the same time, I have not increased my lifting weight for the past few months. Things
have been stagnant so a note of what I have done and what I need to do will be a great reminder
of my exercise plan. I do not like using complicated fitness app as they may take away my
exercise time to input data. A simple note app preinstalled on my phone will do the trick just
fine. Additionally, pain and fatigue are two major factors that will either slow down or prevent
me from performing lifts. To avoid this, proper rest and nutrition are always needed. My workout
Physical activity project 14
schedule always allows at least 48 hours of recovery for each major muscle group, allowing them
to heal before the next session. Also, limiting myself to 45 minutes of lifting will prevent
overtraining, which is associated with injuries, burnout, excessive tiredness, and more (Kohl &
Murray, 2012).
Generally for my plan, there are many factors involved that could either prevent or
promote my success. Sometimes unexpected events such as sickness, travel plan, or schedule
changes may arrive and disrupt my daily routine. But I have made backup plans to always
incorporate some kind of exercise into my schedule. Even when things happen that force me to
push back my gym time, I plan to keep myself going even if I have to lift weight at 10PM. In my
mind, as long as I can finish one dedicated exercise for my target muscle group for the day, I am
still on track of achieving my goals. My dedicated exericses are squat (for legs), bench press (for
chest), and bend-over row (for back). With this mentality, I hope to be able to push through
despite the increasing workload from school, volunteer, and personal life in the coming months.
Once I have made plans to take down barriers (or walk around them), the rest will (hopefully)
push me towards achieving my goals. Personally, I believe that my performance peaks with
motivation that is realistic and honest. It has been established that not only skills and knowledge
enhance self-efficacy, motivation is also a crucial element in changing one’s attitudes and
behaviors for the better (Glanz, Rimer, & Viswanath, 2008 & Kohl & Murray, 2012). Since I
have already had the sufficient knowledge and experience in exercising, I will try to find
motivations from all angles of life to strengthen my adherence to this plan and possibly push it
further. In the past year, I have lost over 10 pounds, which never happened before. It has been
one of my greatest motivators for exercising and healthy eating. In addition, participating in my
first-ever sport competition and having to buy smaller size clothes for the first time also remind
Physical activity project 15
me of how much I have achieve, which indicates a sign of personal improvement. I have made
this far on my physical and fitness journey I would not want to stop or go back ever.
For future mainentance, I would like to continue on with my goals. For aerobic goals, I
believe 2-3 sessions of endurance exercises for 30 minutes each per week is sufficient to
maintain cardiovascular health. I do not plan to increase this goal as excessive aerobic exercise
could cause adverse health effect on the heart (O'Keefe, et al., 2012 & as cited in Lee, Morrison,
Isserow, Heilbron, & Krahn, 2016). In addition, increasing aerobic power from endurance
exercise will increase cardiorespiratory economy (Kohl & Murray, 2012). While this appears
benefitial for those who needs more endurance, it may conflict with my other goal of increasing
muscle strength and mass. For muscle-strengthening goals, I would like to keep going and
probably increase my goals further in the future. I want to burn more overall body fat and the
evidence seems to suggest that with more muscle mass, overall energy expenditure will increase
(McPherron, Guo, Bond, & Gavrilova, 2013). When combined with a healthy diet, higher
muscle-strengthening goals and higher body mass will provide more assitance in reaching body
fat goal in comparison to aerobic goals.
Conclusion
This project has allowed me to fully analyzied my physical activity level. Even though I
have exceeded the guidelines for American, I do believe that I can push myself futher, thus I
have also created the plan to improve my physical ability and fitness level. In the coming
months, there will be obstacles and challenges but with knowledge, motivation, and self-
determination, they will be overcome and goals will be met. In the long run, I truly want to have
optimal health and fitness so I can focus on my passion of helping and inspiring other people to
achive their health goals through my personal experience and career in public health.
Physical activity project 16
Additionally, with my family being unfit and suffering from cancers, type 2 diabetes, and
obesity, improving my physical health is the only way to reduce my risks of developing a
chronic condition.
Physical activity project 17
References
Abe, T., Kojima, K., Kearns, C. F., Yohena, H., & Fukuda, J. (2003). Whole body muscle
hypertrophy from resistance training: Distribution and total mass. British Journal of
Sports Medicine, 37(6), 543-545. doi:10.1136/bjsm.37.6.543
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, August 10). Target heart rate and estimated
maximum heart rate. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from
https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/measuring/heartrate.htm
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). General physical activities defined by level of
intensity. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from
https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/pdf/PA_Intensity_table_2_1.pdf
Glanz, K., Rimer, B. K., & Viswanath, K. (2008). Health behavior and health education:
Theory, research, and practice (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Hackett, D., & Hagstrom, A. D. (2017). Effect of overnight fasted exercise on weight loss and
body composition: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Functional
Morphology and Kinesiology, 2(4). doi:10.3390/jfmk2040043
Kohl, H. W., & Murray, T. D. (2012). Foundations of physical activity and public health.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Lee, A. K., Morrison, B. N., Isserow, S. B., Heilbron, B., & Krahn, A. D. (2016). The impact of
excessive endurance exercise on the heart. British Columbia Medical Journal, 58(4), 203-
209. Retrieved September 23, 2018, from https://www.bcmj.org/articles/impact-
excessive-endurance-exercise-heart
McPherron, A. C., Guo, T., Bond, N. D., & Gavrilova, O. (2013). Increasing muscle mass to
improve metabolism. Adipocyte, 2(2), 92-98. doi:10.4161/adip.22500
Physical activity project 18
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2008). 2008 physical activity guidelines for
Americans. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
O'Keefe, J. H., Patil, H. R., Lavie, C. J., Magalski, A., Vogel, R. A., & McCullough, P. A.
(2012). Potential adverse cardiovascular effects from excessive endurance exercise. Mayo
Clinic Proceedings, 87(6), 587-595. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2012.04.005
Schoenfeld, B. J. (2010). The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to
resistance training. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 24(10), 2857-2872.
doi:10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181e840f3
Vieira, A. F., Costa, R. R., Macedo, R. C., Coconcelli, L., & Kruel, L. F. (2016). Effects of
aerobic exercise performed in fasted v. fed state on fat and carbohydrate metabolism in
adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. The British Journal of Nutrition, 116(7),
1153-1164. doi:10.1017/S0007114516003160
West, D. S., Gorin, A. A., Subak, L. L., Foster, G., Bragg, C. , Hecht, J., . . . Wing, R. R. (2011).
A motivation-focused weight loss mainentance program is an effective alternative to a
skill-based approach. International Journal of Obesity, 35(2), 259-269.
doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.138
Zurlo, F., Larson, K., Bogardus, C., & Ravussin, E. (1990). Skeletal muscle metabolism is a
major determinant of resting energy expenditure. Journal of Clinical Investigation, 86(5),
1423-1427. doi:10.1172/JCI114857