As students are faced with the decision of what classes to take in the next semester, Introduction to Exercise and Fitness is a great class for those who are struggling to pick a science course.
As soon as halfway through the semester, some students may feel the pressure to select classes skyrocket. The sheer variety of classes available to students can be a daunting prospect — there is one course that surprised me when I took it in the fall semester, and I would like to recommend it to anyone struggling to find the right course for them. Especially if they need to complete a science credit but aren’t gifted at science.
The class is Introduction to Exercise and Fitness, taught by professor Daniel Credeur. This course fulfills three credit hours toward the biological sciences requirement for general education courses.
At its core, Introduction to Exercise and Fitness is about the science behind physical activity; how our lifestyles influence our health and lifespan.
“The major focus of the class is just understanding how the body responds to physical activity,” Credeur said.
Topics in this class include how to maintain a healthy lifestyle, managing one’s weight and understanding the cardiovascular system. Each lesson is delivered as a lecture using PowerPoint slides, though Credeur treats the lectures as more than just a recital of facts.
“A big goal of mine is to increase engagement and success,” Credeur said.
Notably, he includes “movement breaks” in his lectures. These breaks give students a chance to stand up and move their bodies partway through the lesson with the intention to provide a time to relax and refocus before continuing. I found that this does a great job at helping me focus the second half of class, since the break gives me a moment to clear my mind and stretch my body.
In my time in the class, I’ve found myself adopting new behaviors relevant to what I learned. These included making more frequent visits to the gym, paying closer attention to how many minutes of exercise I get each day and tracking my resting heart rate more often.
The assignment schedule for the class is also easy to keep track of. One unit consists of two weeks of class. At the start of each unit, the professor assigns a reading concepts assignment, which consists of answering questions based on information gathered from the textbook and a lab assignment that involves some simple self-measurements, such as tracking one’s heart rate after running for a set period of time. These assignments are due at the end of the current unit, so students have two weeks to complete them.
I found this timeframe to be more than enough to complete my assignments, though I did have to buy some supplies for one of the lab assignments. It only cost about $5, so not too bad.
As for examinations, there is an assessment at the end of every unit. This consists of a short quiz with multiple-choice questions from the previous unit, and it’s not particularly stressful so long as students pay attention in class. There is a 10 minute time limit, though, so you need to understand at least most of the material.
Overall, Introduction to Exercise and Fitness is a seemingly simple science course that’s unexpectedly relevant to everyday life. It talks about numerous topics like how many minutes of exercise you should perform each day or how to balance meals so you get all the required nutrients. I didn’t realize that there were so many little things that I could do to improve my lifestyle.
“You take a lot more from this class beyond how you perform on an exam,” Creduer said..
With this course, Credeur aims to encourage students to adopt a better lifestyle that will persist far beyond their college years. So, if there’s even one student out there struggling to pick a science course for a new semester, I would highly recommend this one.
Edited by Tierney Kugel
Copy edited by Brooklyn Cross and Grace Knight | gknight@themaneater.com
Edited by Scout Hudson | shudson@themaneater.com