Exercise Prescription and Personal Training
Physical activity and exercise are foundational to
good health. Furthermore, to assist in
achieving your optimal fitness goals, weight goals, rehabilitation from injury and also disease prevention,
exercise must be included. However, which exercises are best and how do you fit this into your already busy schedule? This is the specialty of Kinesiology. Evidence-based exercise
prescription is a powerful treatment tool for many health issues including prevention
of bone loss (osteoporosis), diabetes management, treatment of high blood
pressure and elevated cholesterol, treatment of back pain, reducing the
symptoms associated with menopause, stress management, and an adjunct treatment for depression. The Mountain
Health Team will utilize an individualized combination of exercise prescription
and lifestyle counseling to help you reach your goals.
Kinesiology
The word Kinesiology is derived from the Greek words, kinesis and logos
and is the academic study of human movement, and its goal is to discover
strategies for human health and performance.
The science of Kinesiology involves the study of muscular activity,
anatomy, physiology, nutrition, mechanics of the movement of body parts,
psychomotor behaviour, as well as social and cultural factors.
It is this multidisciplinary approach to movement and human performance that makes Kinesiology an important contributor to health and wellness, as well as to high performance sport especially as society becomes increasingly health-conscious and fitness-oriented. As such, a Kinesiologist benefits not only high-performance athletes but also people suffering from chronic injury or disease, and those wanting to improve their overall physical health. Accordingly, the work of a Kinesiologist complements naturopathic medicine especially in terms of science based exercise programs, weight loss programs and healthy nutrition.
Unfortunately, the use of the word Kinesiology is becoming increasingly associated with a wide spectrum of non academic and pseudoscientific claims, especially in the arena of complementary medicine. Consequently, Ontario will be the first province in Canada to protect the title of “Kinesiologist” (under the new Regulated Health Professions Act) to those who have a Kinesiology degree from an accredited university. The Alberta Kinesiology Association is also working towards this goal.