The largest “take-away” for me from participating in Fitness for Life was the last set of

exercise logs. Since we were required to keep track of different areas of physical fitness it forced

me to focus on more than just cardio workouts. I realized that even though cardio is important I

needed to be adding in stretching and weight training to make my workouts count more. After

incorporating these other areas, I realize that I feel better and have more energy. I also feel that

adding weight training made my cardio workouts easier and more worthwhile.

I plan to apply what I have learned from Fitness for Life by maintaining a well balance work

out using all areas of physical fitness. I will aim to keep using my exercise log and tracking my

food as much as possible. I plan to pay attention to my health and weight and my stress levels to

stay the healthiest possible person that I can be. I know that I need to do this to be healthy and

energetic for myself and my kids. I have come to recognize and acknowledge that I am a happier

and better person to be around when I’m taking care of myself and feel better about myself.

Before taking this course, I assumed that it would be mostly about exercise and running

because of Physical Education classes that I had taken in high school, but it turned out to be

much more than that. I liked that the course included many other topics like nutrition, flexibility,

stretching and even stress management. These are areas that I think all people to need to be

educated on and apply to their daily lives. I believe that the discussions were possibly the most

influential part of the course. It helps to know that we are not alone in our struggles to maintain

a healthy lifestyle in conjunction with all the stresses of daily life. It’s beneficial to hear so many

other people share what worked for them and possibly try it for ourselves. I think that this

concept of talking to other and asking for their input can help all of us in the future even after the

course is over.
 Not only will this course help me with my own physical health, but I feel that this was a great

class to help me as I begin my degree in the health care field. Starting out with this class as it

briefly talked about cardiorespiratory health and diseases will be very beneficial to me in future

classes and even in my field of work when that time comes. Learning about some of the major

health issues that are prevalent today and that there are many things that can be done to prevent

them got me really excited to continue my studies in the medical field.