Exercise physiology is able to provide strategies to improve an individual’s health through movement implemented as medicine! Exercise physiologist’s prescribe specific exercises to aid the recovery and rehabilitation of an individual who has been injured, suffers from a chronic illness or would like to be more active but is unsure how to do this safely or effectively. Exercise physiology encompasses exercise rehabilitation, exercise for health and complex medical conditions, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, recovery from injuries at work, postural control and improvements in sports performance.

What is the difference between exercise physiology, physiotherapy and personal training? 

Exercise physiology is performed by highly-trained allied health professionals who have a degree in applied science or human movement studies. In collaboration with other health professionals, exercise physiologists have the expertise to target the cause of the problem and injuries and provide exercises which aid the process of rehabilitation. Physiotherapy can assist with the initial or acute phase  of an injury through diagnosis and manual or passive treatments. Personal training also utilises exercise but sessions tend to be designed for individuals without needing specific health or injury considerations. Exercise physiology serves to empower individuals to understand how to safely move their body, how frequently they should exercise and how to measure their outcomes to see the improvement over time.

How can movement be medicine?  

The goal of exercise physiology is to understand your personal reasons to be more active and what you’d like to achieve which you currently cannot do. This may be hanging the clothes on the line, achieving your personal best at a swim meet or being able to pick an item up from the floor without back pain. Furthermore, exercise physiology seeks to understand what equipment you have available and any time constraints to implementing a safe program designed specifically for you. There are different types or modalities of exercise that you can do to assist you in achieving your goals.

For example, one way that exercise physiology may help someone to recovery from an in jury or improve overall body strength is through the process of circuit training. Circuit training is a form of exercise combining both aerobic and resistance training with minimal rest between activities. Research has shown the combination of both aerobic and resistance modalities are most effective in improving health outcomes such as weight loss and muscle tone. It also helps to improve the endurance of many muscles in the body and return to previous sport and daily activities. There are many great advantages to circuit training in exercise physiology as the intensity of exercise can be tailored specifically to you ensuring that your program will help you achieve your goal safely.

Also, circuit training does not require specialist equipment to be able to complete. For example, many people who build their own circuits may use items such as weights, stepping blocks, a skipping rope. Even household objects such as a water bottle, bag of rice and an inside step can be all the equipment you need. There are many great advantages to circuit training in exercise physiology as the intensity of exercise can be tailored specifically to you ensuring that your program will help you achieve your goal safely.

How do I know if exercise physiology is right for me? 

Experts in the field of exercise physiology will not simply prescribe basic exercise  but seek to resolve the problem and  enable long term movement strategies to improve your life and achieve your goals. To find out more from your trusted exercise specialist, call Bodytrack Exercise Physiology on 07 3870 4119.