Prescription: Exercise

Exercise: not only does it make you fit, it improves health in other ways. Benefits of moderate activity include protection against coronary artery disease, diabetes melitus (type II), hypertension, some cancers, and osteoporosis. 

BUT...

<30% of physicians in the US discuss exercise with patients!

AND

The most influential factor for people to get involved with regular exercise programs is physicians' recommendation for exercise.

The ideal prescription addresses frequency, intensity, duration, and type of exercise.  It's got to be individualized and id what people enjoy.

The American College of sports Medicine recommended adults spend 30 minutes/day doing moderately intesne activity most days of the week in 1993.  But new guidelines from the Institute of Medicine suggest 60 minutes every day to avoid weight gain. 

Man...that's like an hour a day!  For most people I know, we spend a lot of time sitting.  So, I'm trying to do well in school because I want to really know my stuff and be the most competent physician I can, but that means...I spend a lot of time sitting in class, home, cafe, whatever...but I'm sitting while I'm at my computer going through powerpoints, looking things up, checking email, being distracted from work ...all in all...without really moving anything.  When I start to think about all the lectures I have to go through and the time it takes...well, there just doesn't seem to be enough time, so how am I supposed to set aside 1 hr plus to work on moving my body? 

Well, EXERCISE is really important. and here is why! 

Every good exercise program should include (1) aerobic exercise (2) strength training and (3) flexibility exercise.

(1) aerobic exercise:  it works your heart plus it increases caloric consumption (important in weight control and fat loss)

For this effect: maintain a good target heart rate range for 20-30 minutes 3 time per week. 

--> Target heart rate= 50-75% of 220-(your age) beats per minute.

(2) strenght training: resistance exercise builds muscle tone and strength by progressiviely overloading your muscle tissue.  It also affects bone, ligaments and tendons so it's good for osteoporosis prevention, injury prevention, and weight/fat control.

(3) flexibility: strethcing reduces the likelihood of muscle strain and injury, prevents muscle soreness, helps maintian mobility and functionin arthritic joints, and improves muscle elasticity (after a brief aerobic warm-up). 

For this effect: do slow, static stretches held for 15-20 seconds.

Exercise is safe and benefits people of all ages, you just need to make sure do have a regular program that is individualized for you. 

Source: Bernstein, Joseph. Musculoskeletal Medicine. 1st ed. Rosemont, IL: American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, 2003. Print

Well, I'm off for an hour walk.

Welcome back Julia.

That's right I am welcoming back myself. In August, my intent was to blog about life in med school every week so people could check in if they wanted to.  Funny: I didn't do any posts, not at all. But, 2 hours ago I decided to start back up but not on any set schedule.

I have a new focus for this blog, but before I dive into that, let me sum up what life as a med student has been for me so far:

There are more interesting aspects that go beyond what is expected. Within the lastc ouple of weeks I've realized something. It's hard to explain but here is my best shot. Over the past year, I've kept a seemingly balanced life...focusing on school work, making amazing friends, learning new things like guitar and surfing, keeping up with what I enjoy, exploring new places, focused on reducing the stress...etc, etc, etc. I look back and I'm amazed at all I have done. However, medical school has a strange effect on people. I'm just surprised of how much I've grown and how it's forced me to really understand who I am at a deeper level than I ever knew existed.

Back to the new focus. these are things I'm learning that you just might find interesting.

In a lecture today by Dr. Nevins, DO:

"Knowledge becomes wisdom when it becomes your personal experience"

So I guess, simply, my goal is to turn what I learn into wisdom and hope to spread it around.

Adventures of Med Student in Pomona

So I thought it would be a good idea to keep a blog for people out there to keep up with my amazing experiences in Pomona.

My goal is to update my blog at least once a week about life, school, living, and such....so we'll see how this goes!

Saturday 25 August 2007

Final Day in Amsterdam...!

Well, tomorrow is my last day but I'm leaving for the airport at 8:45am so I don't think that counts. I'm so looking forward to about 22 hours of travel time..yes!!!!

So today, I tried to make the most of it as possible.
10:00am I sold my bike..it was a sad moment, but it was necessary. I'm sure Rebecca will take good care of it.
12:30pm I wandered over to the Uitmarkt festival. It's like an opening weekend with different performances of the arts throughout the weekend and along a good chunk of land. By the way, it's free....gratis in Dutch. The kid section was primarily situated next to the NEMO. I found that a band called Brown vs. Brown was playing so I headed over the the Bimhuis.

It turned out to be this awesome group that plays jazz fusion, funk, it's hard to say, but it was awesome for many reasons. I loved the doubling of the sax and bass or sax and guitar. Sometimes it would be the same melody or syncopation. Sometimes there would be some dissonance. I liked the alto sax because of the growlling. The drummer was on fire. In the last song, the drummer used chains to drum on the set....wow.


After the performance, I wandered around the information market outside. There were endless rows of organizations for the arts. I really, really liked this logo....and this booth had some hard bread spread with some candy coated seeds...I forgot the name but licorice is made from it.

I went back to the Bimhuis to see this band...I think they are called the Suzanne Alt Quartet. It was more jazz standard sort of music. I like the alto's energy, but her breath support really bugged me. She, the pianist, the drummer, and the bassist were amazing.


Now here's a clip of them performing. The recording is not so hot...I couldn't even hear the awesome bass....sad, but it still gives a good idea of it.



Heading back to the city center..I passed the NEMO. These were really cool performers. She's on a huge sphere and wearing what looks like a really uncomfortable skirt.

I headed off to Koningplein to the bookstore. Here are some bikes by Centraal Station. I'm going to miss it all.
This was close to the bookstore. I ended up going down some path and ending up in this triangular courtyard type of deal. There was lots of grass with religious figures standing on it. When I emerged through a different pathway, I ended up coming out of this door. I would have never guessed that what I experienced was beyond this door.
After the bookstore, I headed back to the dorms. Here's a coffeeshop. I'm sad that I don't have a bike, but walking around is interesting because there's so much you miss going fast.
At the flower market they had these fly traps. They are so scary looking, yet beautiful at the same time.

I just thought these signs were interesting.
So, I got to the dorms, then I headed down to the final group dinner on Overtoom near OT301. I got there early so Haley and I decided to go to Vondelpark for a bit. Here's an awesome picture I found on the side of a building.
Dinner was amazing as usual. I think it was Pakistani....I don't really know.
Afterward, Julie presented us with some certificates and took time to recognize each one of us.
We had our own space in the back room. It was really comfy. I had a pillow.

This was on the menu....interesting.

During the walk back with Shirley and Ray, I wanted to jump into this fountain. Alas, Ray didn't want to join me...so we just kept walking.
In the night, some of us went to an Irish Pub that is Jenny and Jana's Irish Pub.
I just thought it was funny how they had wrestling on the tv. This is for Jory.
There are some weird characters in the group. Mark, Sathi, Irina. The Pub was called Molly Mallone. They had some live music..a guy on a guitar..it was pretty good.
We have to say goodbye to our numbers that some people picked up from Brussels.....I think some people wanted to try to check them in for their flights. I don't know how well that will be.

I still need to pack...nnnooooo!