Running head: ADULT FITNESS

Adult Fitness

By June Saxton

11/13/2012

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ADULT FITNESS

Adult Fitness

The subject of this paper is Dan age 55.

PAR-Q Rating

Dan was able to answer “No” to all the questions on the Par-Q, therefore he is able to

start becoming more physical active and take part in a fitness appraisal.

Health Status

Overall Dan’s health status is good.

General Medical History

Dan has had asthma since he was a child. Currently it is well under control and he only

has to use an inhaler occasionally. The only concern that his doctor had during his physical this

year is that his HDL is border-line.

Assessment Results on testing CRF, Endurance, Flexibility, Strength

To access Dan’s physical fitness, I used the Adult Fitness test from the President’s

Challenge (The President's Challenge, n.d.). The results are as follows: 1 mile walk test = 12

minutes, heart rate 160, VO2 Max 39.7 score 65th percentile, Half sit-ups = 25, 25th percentile,

push-ups = 15, 50th percentile, sit-and-reach = 14, 60th percentile. His overall score is in the 50th

percentile. This showed that even though he is currently not engaging in any regular exercise, his

scores are average.

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ADULT FITNESS

Risk Factors and Precautions

Because Dan has a history of asthma, it is important for him to be aware of his breathing

and use his inhaler if needed. He has lost 40 pounds in the past year and only gained about five

back since he stopped a regular exercise program. Losing weight and exercise improved his

asthma greatly and he rarely has to use his inhaler.

Medications

Besides his asthma inhaler, Dan’s doctor recommended Fish Oil (because he eats very

little fish), Vitamin D (because his level was low on his blood test) and one baby aspirin a day

(because of the higher risk of heart attack at his age).

Health and Lifestyle Behaviors

I administered the Health style Self-Test and Exploring Your Health (Thygerson &

Thygerson, 2009). The Health style indicated that Dan does not use tobacco, alcohol or other

drugs that his eating habits are generally good, that he is not getting enough exercise that his

stress management is good and he scored excellent in his safety habits. Dan’s results on the

Exploring Your Health Questionnaire showed that he assessed his emotional health as good, his

fitness and body care as good, his environmental health as excellent, his stress as good, his

nutrition as good and his medical self-responsibility as good.

Body Composition

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ADULT FITNESS

Dan is 5’10” tall and weighs 180 pounds. His Body Mass Index is 25.8, therefore, he is

overweight.

Nutrition

Dan presents several challenges nutritionally. Besides being a fussy eater, he also is

allergic to molds and funguses which makes it hard to plan a wide variety of meals. He does not

like many vegetables cooked. The only ones he likes are corn, carrots and green beans. He will

eat salads thus allowing me to add several raw vegetables such as onions, spinach, peppers,

cabbage and shredded broccoli. He eats very little whole grains and the only fish that he eats is

an occasional tuna sandwich.

I have learned over the 31 years of our marriage that the best way to get him to change

his dietary habits is a little at a time. When we were first married, he would only drink whole

milk. Slowly, I have been able to switch him to non-fat milk by first switching to 2% then 1%

and finally non-fat milk. Because of his allergies, milk and ice cream are the only dairy products

that he can consume.

My next goal is to get him to eat more whole grains. I have already started toward this

goal. The first thing I did was switch him from regular white bread to whole grain white.

Recently, I began using my bread maker to make homemade bread and he is now eating

homemade white bread when he wouldn’t eat homemade bread at all before. Recently, I made

whole wheat pancakes and muffins and he ate them. So, it will probably not be too long before I

can get him to eat homemade whole wheat bread.

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ADULT FITNESS

Since I make the meals, it is up to me to improve his diet and I am constantly working on

it.

Readiness for Change

Dan has a very physically demanding job and is very tired when he gets home from work

and feels that he does not need to engage in any other physical activity. He works at Home Depot

in the garden department and walks a lot at work and regularly lifts heavy objects

To determine his readiness for change, I administered the Stages of Change questionnaire

(Thygerson & Thygerson, 2009). The questionnaire showed that the stage that Dan is in is

Contemplation. He has been thinking that he may want to start exercising regularly, wondering

if he will be able to and that he should work on getting started with a regular exercise program

within the next six months. He knows that regular exercise is worthwhile, but doesn’t think he

will have time for it in the near future and doesn’t know how he will fit it into his schedule.

Motivational Strategies and Techniques

My main strategy to improve Dan’s nutrition is to continually introduce healthier foods

into his diet and encourage him to try them. This has worked well in the past because nine out of

ten times, he has found that he does and I have been able to include the new foods in his diet.

I would suggest that Dan make use of the equipment we have available in our home and

start walking on the treadmill and progress to running. He was doing this regularly when we

belonged to a gym and enjoyed the benefits that he felt. I would also suggest that he start lifting

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ADULT FITNESS

weights and use the Wii Fit strength and Yoga improve his strength and flexibility. I would also

suggest that he resume tracking his exercise using The President’s Challenge or Wii Fit.

I would show him that he doesn’t need to exercise all in one big chunk of time, but that

he can break his exercise up into 10 or 15 minute sections several times a day.

I would encourage him and support him in this effort. I would also suggest to him that

we do Wii Sports games together.

Recommendations

Frequency Intensity Type Time

5days a week 3 mph at 1%

incline

Walk on the treadmill 15 minutes twice a

day

3 days a week 20 pounds Lift weights 15 minutes

3 times a

week

Beginning Wii Fit Strength training 15 minutes

3 times a

week

Beginning Wii Fit Yoga for balance and

flexibility

15 minutes

In conclusion, Dan realizes that he felt better and his health was better when he

participated in a regular exercise program and knows that he should be. My job is to help him get

started and encourage him to continue.

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ADULT FITNESS

References

Thygerson, A. L., & Thygerson, S. M. (2009). Fit to be well, essential concepts. (2nd Ed.

ed.). Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Marcus, B., & Forsyth, L. (2010). Motivating people to be physically active. Champaign,

IL: Human Kinetics Publishers.

The President's Challenge. (n.d.). Adult fitness test. Retrieved from

http://www.adultfitnesstest.org/

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