Jennifer 1

Running head: Jennifer

Jennifer

Deanna D Rogne

Kaplan University

EF 310-01

Current Trends in Exercise and Fitness

 Jennifer 2

Jennifer

Jennifer is a 35 year old mother of 3 boys, she works full time as an office assistant and

does not have assistance at home. Jennifer is 5 feet 6 inches and weighs 175 pounds. Jennifer has

high blood pressure but maintains it with prescription medication which she is extremely reliant

on at the moment but hopes to not be. After answering yes to question number 6 on the Physical

Activity readiness questionnaire Jennifer was cleared by her doctor since her blood pressure is

well maintained with medication. Jennifer knows that her current lifestyle as well as her

children’s is not healthy but does not know what steps she can take to turn the wheel. Jennifer

and her family are also on a tight budget that makes it hard to make a commitment to the gym or

to buy gym equipment for home.

Jennifer received a free fitness assessment and was tested on the 12 minute run, YMCA

bench press test, curl-up test, sit and reach and skinfold measurement for body fat composition.

Jennifer did not have any conditions that prevented her from conducting the testing and was

recently cleared and encouraged by her doctor to begin an exercise program so that her and her

family did not get any premature diseases that could possibly affect their life quality.

Skin fold test: is a fast, modest and non-surgical procedure used to assess body fat

percentage (Howley, 2012). The test measures skin fold thickness at sites such as the abdomen,

triceps, chest, mid-axillary, subscapular, supra-iliac and thigh (Howley, 2012). The test is based

on the expectation that the adipose tissue would cause the skin fold thickness to correspond to

the extra fat weight (Howley, 2012). Jennifer was measured at tricep, supra-iliac and thigh skin

folds totaling 101mm. Using the table in the fitness professionals handbook it was determined

that Jennifer’s measurements along with her age put her at 36.6 % body fat. Jennifer would be
 Jennifer 3

considered “class 2 obese”. Jennifer does recognize that she is overweight and that this is a

problem.

The next test Jennifer conducted was the 12 minute run test. The 12 minutes run test is a

test that measures how far you can run in 12 minutes and that depends on the running velocity

and oxygen used to keep running at that velocity (Howley, 2012). This test is used to determine

cardiorespiratory fitness and oxygen intake. Jennifer ran 1.2 miles in 12 minutes with a VO2

rating of 25 ml/kg/min. Jennifer scored a rating of “borderline”.

Jennifer also conducted both the YMCA bench press test and bent knee curl up test to

determine muscular endurance. The YMCA bench press test uses a set weight of 35 pounds for

women. The test is used executing set repetitions at a pace of 30 lifts * minutes -1 (Howley,

2012). Jennifer was able to do 16 reps using the 35 pound weight scoring “below average”. The

bent knee curl-up test is measures muscular endurance of the abdominal muscle (Howley, 2012).

Jennifer marked a score of 20 giving her a “very good” rating.

Lastly Jennifer conducted a sit and reach test which is controversial yet still widely used to

measure flexibility. The sit and reach test assesses flexibility in both the hip joints and lower

back. Jennifer was able to reach 14 inches giving her a score of “good”.

Jennifer is below average in some aspects of the fitness assessment and in others she is

just above average or on the line. Jennifer does need to find time in her day for her to exercise.

She loves to walk and wants to incorporate her children into her physical activity as well. She

spends time taking kids to and from activities and I would suggest that if it was plausible perhaps

her and her children start walking or riding bicycles to and from some of the closer activities. It

saves her a little time and gives her and her children a healthy way to get some quick physical

activity in. She can also learn to cook quick and healthy meals at home instead of grabbing what
 Jennifer 4

is quick and convenient. There are a lot of healthy ways to save time and money in the kitchen.

Meal prepping or even just meal planning is extremely helpful and always leaves you with the

exact list that you need to pick up at the grocery store doesn’t leave any surprises when it comes

to time and ensures that you eat a healthy meal if you follow it. Steaming vegetables is also a

great way to save time in the kitchen. Investing in an instant pot is another. You can cook frozen

meats, vegetables, yogurt, rice, noodles and so on in just a matter of moments and it is perfect for

those no time, in a pinch kind of nights.

Because Jennifer has hypertension (high blood pressure) she should follow a heart

healthy diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, poultry and fish, whole

grains, nuts and legumes and non-tropical oils (American Heart Association, 2016). She should

limit things like red meat, high saturate or trans fats, sugar and sweet drinks and sodium

(American Heart Association, 2016). There are several physicians that would recommend a

DASH diet to people with high blood pressure. The diet entails all of the things listed above, a

plan for it can be found:

http://healthandwellness.kaplan.edu/articles/fitness/Applying%20the%20Principles%20of%20Ex

ercise%20to%20your%20Personal%20Fitness%20Program.html

Since Jennifer does have hypertension and is considered obese she is at a higher risk for

cardiovascular disease and it is important for her to know her limitations and to look for signs

that she is pushing herself to far. Those signs could include loss of consciousness, chest pain,

shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid or decreased heart rate. It is also important to self-monitor at

home by measuring her blood pressure on a regular basis. The Mayo Clinic suggests that people

with high blood pressure get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day, lose weight, eat a heart healthy

diet as discussed above, quit smoking, limit alcohol, limit caffeine intake, reduce stress and get
 Jennifer 5

support when discouraged (Mayo Clinic, 2015). Doing any one of these things can lower your

blood pressure significantly and can give a person a new lease on life and less of a dependency

on medication (Mayo Clinic, 2015).

 Jennifer 6

References

American Heart Association. (10/2016). Managing Blood Pressure With a Heart Healthy Diet.

Retrieved from:

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/MakeChangesThatMatt

er/Managing-Blood-Pressure-with-a-Heart-Healthy-

Diet_UCM_301879_Article.jsp#.WgjRmVuPLIU

Howley, E. (04/2012). Fitness Professional's Handbook, 6th Edition. [Kaplan]. Retrieved from

https://kaplan.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781450471077/

Mayo Clinic Staff. (05/2015). 10 Ways to Control High Blood Pressure without Medication.

Retrieved from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-

depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20046974?pg=1
Jennifer 7