ROADTOFITNESS(R2F)

AProjectProposalforaRegularExerciseProgramforUndergraduate
StudentsofUPLB

InpartnershipwiththeDepartmentofHumanKinetics(DHK)UPLB
andtheUPLBSportsandRecreationCommittee(SRC)

Proposedby
AndreaCanivel
ChelseaInton
CasandraLazaro
MannaPalomera

March30,2017

Problem

Itisawell-knownfactthatregularexercisehasamultitudeofbenefits.Fromreducing
thechanceofcardiovasculardisease,preventingobesityandotherlifestyleandchronic
diseases(Warburton,Nicol&Bredin,2006),toreducingstresslevelsandimprovingmental
health(StnescuandVasile,2014),regularexercisehasbeenproventobehighlybeneficialin
manyaspects.Oneneglectedareaofresearchthatmanyhavebeguntoexpandisthephysical
activityofcollegestudents(Keating,Guan,PieroandBridges,2005).

Collegeisatransitionalperiodintermsoflifestyle.Theyaremoreexposedandproneto
developunhealthyeatinghabitsbecauseofthelowcostandavailabilityofunhealthyfood
options.Theyarealsoatriskofdevelopingasedentarylifestylebecauseunlikeinhighschool,
theyarenolongerrequiredtoparticipateinregularandcurriculum-integratedsports(West,
2012).Undergraduatesmustlearntocatertotheirownneedsandmanagetheirowntime,
especiallyiftheyliveon-campusornearcampusratherthanwiththeirparentsthroughoutthe
week.Achangeinsocialenvironmentaswellasrolesandresponsibilitiesmeansthatcollege
studentstendtoneglectphysicalactivityandhealthinordertobetteradjusttocollegelife.The
lifestylechangesmadetobettercopewiththenewenvironmentrarelyinvolveimprovementin
exercisehabits,healthierdietsandsleephabits.

AstudybytworesearchersfromtheMannheimInstituteofPublicHealth,Socialand
PreventiveMedicinesurveyed689collegestudentsandfoundthatthereisadecreasein
physicalactivityamongcollegestudentswhohavejustenteredcollegeandthatthosewho
migratetodifferentcitiesforcollegehavelessphysicalactivitythanthosewhostillattend
collegewheretheyoriginallyreside(Peelor,2016).UPLBisanexampleofacollegesetting
wheremoststudentshavemigratedfromtheirhometownsandresideon-campusorinthe
surroundingarea,atleastforthedurationoftheschoolweekorsemester.

EnablingandencouragingcollegestudentstoexerciseregularlyisItisevenmore
importanttoenableandencouragecollegestudentstomaintainaregularexerciseroutinesince
thiscanbehabitformingandtopersistintoadulthoodpost-graduation(Silliman,Rodas-Fortier,
andNeyman,2004).

Proposedproject/program

TheROADTOFITNESSprogram(R2F)isafitnessandwellnessinitiativethatwill
establishaweeklyexerciseprogramopenforUPLBstudentsconsistingofbothyogasessions
andultimatefrisbeegames.Thisprogramwouldallowstudentstoengageinexerciseroutines

thatarenotonlyfree,beginner-friendly,andfunbutwouldalsogreatlybenefittheirphysical
well-being.
Whilestudentsclaimthatthebiggestbarriertoexerciseislackoftime(Sillimanetal.
2004),becauseoftheirbusyschedule,andheavyworkload,itisanimportanthealthconcern
thattheyareabletodoso,especiallysincetheyarewillingiftheyhavethetime.Throughthis
program,studentswouldbeabletoparticipateinaregularexerciseregimenandintegrateitinto
theirroutineswithouthavingtomissalreadyexistingcommitmentssuchasclassesand
extracurricularactivities.

AccordingtoareportbytheHarvardMedicalSchool(2015),yogapromotesoverall
fitnessasthisimprovesmusclestrength,flexibilityandendurance.Withthis,italsohelpslower
cholesterol,bloodsugarandbloodpressure.Yogacanalsohelppeoplelookattheirbodiesina
morepositiveway.Italsohelpspeoplebecomemoreconsciousorawareofwhatandhow
muchfoodtheyeat,whichthen,alsohelpscontroltheirweight.

AccordingtothestudydonebyDalleck,VanDeVelde,andWeatherwax(2016),oneof
thehealthbenefitsofplayingultimatefrisbee,orsimply,ultimateisthatitcanimprove
cardiorespiratoryfitness.Also,anultimatematchcanburncaloriesandhasbenefitssimilarto
doingmoderatetovigorousexercises.Lastly,playingultimatealsoshowedcardiovascular
benefitsclosetowhatintervalworkoutscangive.

TheprogramwillberunincoordinationwiththeDepartmentofHumanKinetics(DHK)
UPLBaswellastheSportsandRecreationCommittee(SRC)UPLB.ThetwoUniversityunitswill
determineandthevenueandscheduleoftheprogramandassistinthesign-up,publicityand
monitoring.Theinstructorsorfacilitatorsthemselveswouldideallyconsistofstudentswho
haveadequateknowledgeandexperienceorhaveundergonesomeformoftrainingor
instructionundertheDHK.

Ideally,theprogramwillbetwiceaweek.Onedayforyogaandtheotherdaywillbe
dedicatedtofrisbee.Theyogasessionswillrunforanhourtoanhourandahalfintheearly
morningsforstudentswhopreferandhaveschedulesmoresuitedtothistimeandwillbe
conductedintheFreedomParkorneartheswimmingpoolbesideBakerHallifmoreprivacyis
preferred.Therelativequietandtranquilityofearlymorningisalsoconduciveforanactivitylike
yogaandwillhelptheparticipantstofocusmore.Thefrisbeesessionswilloccurinthelate
afternoonorearlyeveningsintheFreedomParkaswelltoaccommodatethosewithschedules
morefreearoundthistimeofdayandthoselookingforamorephysicallychallenging,
interactiveteamsport.TheFreedomParkasahighlyvisiblevenuewillalsoprovideexposure
andpublicityfortheprogramwhileitisinsessionaspassersbycaneasilybeencouragetojoin
aswell.Bothvenuesarealsoaccessibletothestudentpopulationintermsofdistanceand
locationandarecoveredbycampussecurityandhealthservices.Theyarealsolocatedclosely
toimportantfacilitiessuchasrestroomsandplacestobuyfood.

Qualificationsandexperienceincarryingout
theproject/program

TheresearchersrecommendthattheDepartmentofHumanKineticsincoordination
withtheCollegesCommitteeonSportsandRecreationtofacilitatethefitnessandwellness
program.Thisisbecausetheyhavetheknowledgeonfitnessandoverallwell-beingthat
studentsneed.Also,theycoulddesignanddevelopfitnessprogramsspecificallyintendedfor
thestudents.Theresearchersarealsowillingtoworkcloselywiththemtofurtherdevelopthe
programbefore,duringandafterimplementation.

Whilethisproposalhasbeenheavilyguidedbydeskresearchandreliable,informal
interviewsofUPLBstudents,theproponentsfeelthattheadministrativeandlogisticsworkof
settingupandpreparingforimplementationoftheprogramiswellwithintheircapacityas
organizers.Themeans,resources,manpowerandtechnicalexpertiseontheactualcontentare
theareasofassistancethattheproponentslooktowardstheDHKandSRCfor.Fostering
partnershipandcoordinationwithinandamongthesetwoUniversityentitiesthroughthis
programfromtheplanningtotheevaluationphaseissomethingthattheproponentslook
forwardtoifgiventhechancetocarryouttheproject.

Completiondate

Ifapprovedimmediately,theprojectwouldbeginbyfirstsemesterA.Y.2017-2018.It
wouldrunfromAugusttoNovember.ThefirstsemesterofA.Y.2017-2018wouldserveasthe
trialperiodfortheproject.Preparationssuchascallforandtrainingofthestudentsfacilitators
willbedoneduringthemid-year.Publicitywillalsobeginduringmid-yearthroughonline
campaigns.Sign-upwillbeginamonthpriortothebeginningofthesemestertoensurethata
numberofparticipantswillbeattending.Howeverparticipantsarefreetosign-uporjoineven
afterthisperiod.Monitoringandevaluationwillbeconductedregularlyattheendofevery
month.TheremainingdaysofthesemesterduringthemonthofDecemberwillbeusedfor
gatheringfeedbackandassessingtheprogram.Itisalsoherethatthecontinuityoftheproject
willbedecideduponaswellastheimprovementsifitistocontinue.

Sources

Dalleck,L.C.,Byrd,B.R.,VanDeVelde,S.,&Weatherwax,R.(2016,May19).
ACE-SPONSOREDRESEARCH:Canyougetfitplayingultimatefrisbee?.RetrievedMarch29,2017
from
https://www.acefitness.org/about-ace/press-room/5945/ace-study-evaluates-health-benefits-o
f-ultimate

HarvardMedicalSchool.(2015,February).Yoga-benefitsbeyondthemat.Retrieved
March29,2017from
http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/yoga-benefits-beyond-the-mat

Keating,X.D.,Guan,J.,Piero,J.C.,&Bridges,D.M.(2005).Ameta-analysisofcollege
students'physicalactivitybehaviors.JournalofAmericanCollegeHealth,54(2),116-125.
RetrievedMarch29,2017from
https://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/31561668/A_Meta-Analysis_of_College
_Students.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1490845455&Signature=
bTIB6toiLcmhT0Mjhe0NvsrsuTU%3D&response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%3D
A_Meta-Analysis_of_College_Students.pdf

Peelor,A.(2016,September6).Studyfindsdropinstudentsexercisehabitsafterhigh
school.TheDailyFreePress.RetrievedMarch29,2017,from
http://dailyfreepress.com/2016/09/06/study-finds-drop-in-students-exercise-habits-after-high-s
chool/

Silliman,K.,Rodas-Fortier,K.,&Neyman,M.(2004).Asurveyofdietaryandexercise
habitsandperceivedbarrierstofollowingahealthylifestyleinacollegepopulation.CalJHealth
Promot,18,281.RetrievedMarch29,2017,from
http://www.cjhp.org/Volume2_2004/Issue2/10-19-silliman.pdf

Stnescu,M.,&Vasile,L.(2014).Usingphysicalexercisestoimprovementalhealth.
Procedia-SocialandBehavioralSciences,149,921-926.RetrievedMarch29,2017,from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042814050022

West,C.D.(2012).EatingandPhysicalActivityHabitsofCollegeStudents.Retrieved
March29,2017fromhttp://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1049&context=honors