A Surf Day

In exercise physiology this last week, we hung out at the beach and watched people surf

...I know, hard life I live... 

We actually hooked some weird devices up to our surfer classmates and then sent them on their way. This allowed us to take measurements while they were out in the water surfing. That is our surfer carrying the red board into the water.

Once again... I LOVE LIVING HERE!

Taking more measurements once she is out of the water. This is taking the skin's surface temperature. We were also measuring heat flow over certain parts of the body, heart rate, and respiration rate.

After the surfing measurements were taken, we headed back to the Long Marine Lab. This is where my exercise physiology lab usually takes place. We were testing the effects of cold water during a breath hold. When you hold your breath under water, your heart rate slows down. It was really cool to watch people's heart rates go lower and lower the longer they were under.  

This lab took place in the dolphin tank. They closed off this portion of the pool for our lab, so unfortunately we didn't get to swim with them but it was still really cool hanging out next to them!

Power Assessment

Today was the much anticipated "Run you into the ground until you pass out" lab. Wasn't sure if I was going to make it but I did! No puking and, for the most part, I stayed conscious.

It was a set of sprints with very minimal rest in between. The purpose of this was to deplete the ATP stores in my muscles, and observe the decline in power emitted and determine when and which energy store was used.

Yes, it was awful.

Yes, I did almost yak.

Yes, I did feel lightheaded.

Yes, I was incredibly sore after.

My conclusion: I am incredibly out of shape.

After this, we filmed ourselves doing an activity of our choice. Later we will view the footage in slow motion and with the help of a program, we will break down joint and muscle movement. and examine the flow of energy during our activity. 

Many people threw a ball or frisbee. Someone batted. Someone did a flip. One guy even did a chest bump. 

I kicked a soccer ball. 

I wanted to do a nice easy kick that allowed the ball to arc in the air but I think my nerves got to me and what was supposed to be a nice lofted kick turned into a powerful shot. 

I can't wait to see what it looks like in slow motion!

Next week in lab, we will be assessing oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide output during different intensities of exercise. I will try to remember to take pictures next week!

Fat Folds

Today in my exercise lab we measured each other's fat folds.

Yes it was absolutely as gloriously awkward as it sounds. Nothing like starting off the day by lifting my shirt and allowing a perfect stranger to grab and measure my belly fat thickness. This along with taking body density and length measurements has allowed me to determine more information about myself than I think necessary to know.

57.9% of my body is water
6.4% of my weight is bone mass
20.6% of my body is fat

All normal, healthy measurements.

Next week's lab is titled "Maximum Anaerobic Power Assessment" and there are specific instructions to not eat a big meal. Fingers crossed I don't throw up!

Exercise Physiology

In my exercise physiology class, I am learning all about the science of exercising the human body. I will be learning about proper fuels, effects of training, body compositions, mechanical responses, and psychological effects. So far this class has been nothing less than fascinating. Even though I am an athlete myself, I have never put very much thought into how all of these different processes come together to effect performance.

While the class so far has been very interesting, the lab that accompanies it is going to be nothing less than a nightmare.
In lab, we will be testing the human body's response to stress and what better subjects to test this on than ourselves!

For example: One week, we have to sprint to the point that we almost pass out or puke just so that my fellow lab members can test how each individual deals with the depletion of ATP from our muscles. Another week, we get to jump into the ice cold ocean and track our body's response to the temperature change as it goes into survival mode.