Exercise and sleep are two important parts of staying healthy. However, there is more to think about when being active, according to Angie Wood, fitness coordinator at the department of athletics at Durham College and UOIT.
She said there should be some component of moderate to vigorous sweating when it comes to your day.
Wood teaches “Find Your Fit,” a general elective course at Durham. She also teaches a cycling class at the FLEX gym and she is passionate about yoga.
She uses guidelines produced by the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) in the course she teaches and in her own life.
CSEP is a science research volunteer organization website designed to help Canadians with the four main parts of their day: sweat, step, sleep, and sit.
Wood recommends people take at least 10,000 steps a day. She approves of activity trackers, such as Fitbit, and watches that track daily steps.
She said sleep is often the ‘S’ left behind.
For those who already work out and don’t have time to sleep, Woods has a message.
“You can’t workout at your max 24/7 and never have any rest,” she said. “Because it’s those times that you’re resting that are actually doing some repairing in your body.”
According to the 2016 Canadian sleep review by Project Sleep, 74 per cent of Canadians are getting less than seven hours of sleep per night.
Instead, adults should receive at least seven to nine hours of sleep and a maximum of two hours of sitting per day, according to CSEP.
Wood said it is important to be active and not be sitting for no more than two hours per day.
As much as these four components are important, she says people can’t forget about nutrition.
“You can work out all day and then eat McDonalds 24/7 and not have the body that you want. But if you fill your body with the proper nutrition and exercise that’s when you’re going to see some really big changes,” said Wood.
Physical activity and nutrition go hand and hand. Wood has a veggie and fruit shake in the morning, along with snacks such as nuts, seeds, and yogurt.
Tyler Tompsett is a Kinesiology student at UOIT and an intern at the gym. He said bodies are meant to move.
“You’re going to feel a lot better if you’re physically moving your body,” he said.
Tompsett knows a lot about how to treat your body because he is on the Ridgebacks rowing team. said it is better to drink chocolate milk as opposed to Gatorade when being active.
Tompsett and Wood are walking buddies and both motivate each other to take a quick stroll during the day. Wood said it is important to exercise with a buddy, making sure you both stay on track and get the sweat your body needs.
The gym offers activities such as Zumba, yoga, Pilates, belly dancing and many more. There is also an indoor track, saunas, and much more.
The FLEX is located in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre. Durham College and UOIT students can access the gym for free.
But Wood says walking your dog or walking, shoveling the snow, hiking, gardening, and walking to school are also perfect ways to be physically active.
“The better you move, the better you are,” said Wood.
