UBC BODYWORKS
School of Kinesiology

Exercise and You: Mental Health Benefits

With the welcome increase in longevity and joy in healthy aging, it is important to focus on physical as well as social and mental health. Mental health and wellness are vulnerable to the social distancing and isolation caused by the pandemic. A significant portion of aging adults struggle with mental health, with dementia, anxiety, and depression being the most common challenges.

Exercise is related to positive outcomes and has a protective effect on negative mental health symptoms. Exercise frequency, regularity, and duration were found to positively influence sleep quality, alleviate negative mental health symptoms, and improve general health even with the social distancing guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Get moving with BodyWorks and join our online group classes with the registration info below!

Registration Date for Summer 2021 Virtual Classes

Mark your calendars! Registration for all summer term (July/August) BodyWorks virtual fitness classes will open on Mon June 21 at 7am.

Classes will be available to view online on Mon June 14 at 7am. Summer term will run from Mon July 12 to Fri Aug 27 so get ready for an active summer!

If you do not have an online account, please create an account in our online registration system prior to the registration date to ensure a smooth registration. 

To view the class schedules on our online calendar, please follow these steps:

  1. Click here to view our online calendar
  2. Select "Online Services" in the BodyWorks column 
  3. Select the "Show Courses" option under the class you are interested in to see the schedule

If you experience any difficulties, please contact us at kin.outreach@ubc.ca. 

Virtual Classes: Change to Fit Over 50 and Community Fit

We are combining Fit over 50 into the Community Fit program to better tailor the experience to fit our members. We found that our members in both programs demonstrate a similarly high level of fitness and would benefit from the combined classes. Please see the new description below:

This class is for all adults that are generally unrestricted in their physical activity. Community Fit involves a full-body strength-endurance focus that includes a variety of strength, endurance, balance, core exercises and coordination drills. While we will modify exercises according to the class, participants should be comfortable with getting up and down from the ground and be able to safely participate in exercises that challenge balance and strength. The class will be 60 minutes, progressing to a moderate to vigorous intensity of 6-7 RPE that will safely challenge you to get stronger and move better.

Research Opportunity for BodyWorks Participants!

Cardiovascular response to respiratory muscle loading: Effect of menopausal status in women

We are recruiting volunteer subjects for a blood pressure study at UBC with Michael Leahy:

I am looking for active individuals to help me complete my doctoral dissertation! Specifically, I am looking for healthy men and women between the ages of 18-35 and 55-75 years old to participate in my study. My study looks to observe the blood pressure response to respiratory muscle work (hard breathing). Overall, I am looking at looking at the effect of menopause in blood pressure regulation. More information is also available here.

It is a single visit study (~2.5 hours), where we measure resting heart and lung function, and then complete what is essentially a workout for your breathing muscles while monitoring the blood pressure response.

If you are interested in participating, please e-mail mick.leahy@ubc.ca.

Staff Profile: Christy Choy

Christy has always been passionate about helping individuals live active, healthy lives through exercise and fitness. Through working as a group fitness instructor and personal trainer at UBC BodyWorks, she developed a strong interest in working with aging populations and helping them reach their functional goals. Christy believes that everyone can benefit from exercise in terms of physical health, wellbeing, and cognitive learning regardless of their age and physical limitations. In addition to older adults and seniors, Christy also has experience working with clinical, general, and youth populations. Her co-op placements and volunteering experiences in various physiotherapy settings has allowed her to adapt programs to help individuals recover from their injuries, in addition to maintaining and improving their fitness. Christy believes in taking a holistic approach to training individuals, and always educating them on understanding how their programmed exercises help to reduce risks of injuries and can be applied to daily living to achieve long term independence. After completing her Bachelors in Kinesiology this upcoming Fall, Christy plans to pursue a career in physical therapy specializing in geriatric care.

 

Certifications:

UBC Bachelors of Kinesiology

ACSM Certified Personal Trainer

If there are any questions, please give us a call at 604-822-0207 or kin.outreach@ubc.ca

Website: outreach.kin.ubc.ca/bodyworks/
Email: kin.outreach@ubc.ca
Tel: 604-822-0207
Address: 6108 Thunderbird Boulevard, Unit 1
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z3