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Welcome to my Health & Fitness blog!

My goal is to show my audience how easy it is to incorporate fitness into your everyday routine to improve your health. I am currently a Health and Fitness major at The University of North Georgia. I am very passionate about doing what I can to improve individuals health and quality of life with regular exercise.

You will find a “research interpretation” within my blog that will help you better understand the importance of being healthy through conditioning and how this is impact your quality of life. Further into my blog, you will also find a “How To” of an exercise I have chosen to demonstrate, as well as how to progress and/or regress this exercise, based off your preference.

Thanks for visiting Health and Condition!

Research Interpretation

The Effect of Group Exercise Program on the Self-Efficacy and Activities of Daily Living in Adults with Cerebral Palsy

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of group exercise programs with self-efficacy and activities of daily living on those who have cerebral palsy. This study also focused on how effective group exercise programs would be on the physical and emotional interaction in the future of the subjects.

The 23 subjects were split into two separate groups; control and experimental. Control: A range of motion of joint exercise and stretching exercise were executed on the arms, legs and trunks. Experimental: Group exercise programs were implemented 2x a week for 4o minutes. The program lasted for 6 weeks, which meant the participants went to 12 sessions.

Both groups, control and experimental, showed statistically significant changes in average scores of self-efficacy and activities of daily living after the exercise when comparing to the pre-study testing. Group Exercise induced physical and emotional interactions and showed to be an effective way to improve self-efficacy and activities of daily living.

Kim, B., Kim, S., & Kwon, H. (2017). The effect of group exercise program on the self-efficacy and activities of daily living in adults with cerebral palsy. Journal of Physical Therapy Science,29(12), 2184-2189. doi:10.1589/jpts.29.2184

Exercise of the Month: How To

Bicycle Crunches

Begin by laying flat on the ground with your lower back pressed against the ground. It’s best to “suck” in to make sure your lower back is fully against the floor. Bring your fingertips to the back of your head while bringing your knees up towards your chest. Lift your shoulder blades off the floor by contracting your abs, it’s important you don’t pull with your neck. Finish by bringing your left knee upwards to meet your right elbow in the middle. Extend that left legs back out as you bring your right leg upward to meet your left elbow. Repeat until set is done.

Regression: Stabilized Bicycle Crunches

Begin by laying flat on the ground with your lower back pressed against the ground. It’s best to “suck” in to make sure your lower back is fully against the floor. Bring your fingertips to the back of your head and lift your shoulder blades off the floor by contracting your abdomen. Bring your left knee forward to meet your right elbow. Return to the starting position before continuing the next move with your right leg forward to meet your left elbow. Repeat until set is done.

Progression: Russian Twists

Begin seated with feet flat against the floor. Hold your preferred weight in front of your chest with your elbows slightly bent. Lean back slightly, keeping the abdomen tight and the spine straight, bring the feet up slightly to help keep balance. Bring the preferred weight to the left sight of the hips, you can tap the floor with the weight if you wish, and return to center. Repeat this step to the right side of the body and increase speed. Repeat until set is done.