Hey
everyone! I’m so glad to be back and super excited to share my first week with
you!
It’s
really hard to believe that, after five straight years at BASIS, school is
done! Monday morning I woke up and it
hit me: I did not have to catch a bus to get to school or hurry to finish my
math problem set. This was very
relieving at first, but eventually brought a sense of nostalgia within me. However,
what helped me look past that was the idea of starting my senior project.
As
Tuesday morning arrived, I felt nervous mixed with exhilaration. It
was very ineffable.
But
as I started my first day, my nervousness was soon replaced by a sense of
inclusiveness. The friendly environment created
by the whole team of personal trainers, including my site mentor Matt Hoodie, very much eased my transition to Underground Fitness. This comfortable setting combined
with enthusiasm of the clients made it all the more easier andfun for me when observing
sessions, asking questions, and overall transitioning into the site.
Ok...
For
me, this week was more of an introduction week; however, I was still
able to make headway with my project. I
was able to create the questions for the surveys I would like to use for the
project. I had already created a set of
generic questions to ask the clients before the project began. These included questions that asked what
the clients’ stress levels were on a daily basis, how satisfied they were with
fitness, and how long they have continued fitness. But as soon as the project began, I
started to discuss these questions with my site mentor and my faculty advisor
Ms. Afsa. With their help I was able to
write more specific questions such as “How many years/months have you continued fitness/exercising on a
continual basis? ” and “ What is your workload in life (i.e. job, home,
etc.)?” I was also able to quantify certain
questions as well to better analyze the clients’ mood before and after the
workout. For instance, I was able to expand the generic stress level question
mentioned above to include a scale of 1-10, with one being not stressed much and ten being very stressed. I was
also able to use the same scale to analyze how satisfied clients are with
fitness in general. Overall I have a structure, but I am still
finalizing the list of questions and formatting the survey, which I hope to get
to the clients soon.
Another action item I hope to also progress on next week is creating a
sample group. To accomplish this, I will consult my on-site mentor. Given that he knows his clients best, I had asked
him to distribute the survey to clients who he feels would be comfortable taking
the survey. I also requested him to
spread the survey to a wide variety of people, to get diversity in the sample group. However, what I still need to determine is how
many people I want
in my sample group and the specific demographics— people with low to high stress professions, people who consistently exercise vs. people who do not, etc—I want to focus on in the group.
Well I
hope I didn’t bore you with the truckload of details in the last two
paragraphs. I just am very excited to
share my progress with you! This past
week has been really fun but also equally interesting. Being able to analyze the psychology of
fitness by observing the trainers and clients while also having fun discussing
a topic that I am genuinely interested about is truly thrilling! Thank you
again for bearing with me through my second blog post and I hope you tune in
next week to see what I do next!
Hey Anirudh! Oh my goodness, that Monday morning feeling was so relatable. I woke up like 'free time? what is free time, and what do I do with it?' :) Also, I love the gifs; it makes for a very humorous, entertaining blog! This may be a silly question, but later on in your project, will you be following a certain set of gym-clients every week, or a random set of different people? I can't wait to read next week's post! Good luck, and keep being awesome :)
ReplyDeleteHey Saleena, thanks for reading my blog! I am glad that the gifs made kept you interested in my blog! To answer your question, I do not see myself following a certain set of clients or a random set of different people but rather survey a variety of people and analyzing that data. However, I am probably going to be observing some clients during their sessions(if they are ok with that) to see, first hand, the reasons why they choose to continue fitness.
DeleteAnirudh! Your project sounds really interesting! I am curious to see if there are immediate results to relieving stress following a workout. I know I feel a whole lot better after a workout, so it will be cool to see if everyone feels that way. Important question: did you get a chance to work out there? (It's not that important but I'm just curious). Also, would you include yourself in the sample, or is that not an option? Sounds like you will have a great ten weeks during your project. Keep working out the details (pun intended)! Looking forward to the next post!
ReplyDeleteHey Brent, thanks for reading! I also am curious to see if people feel better after workout compared to before. To answer your question, yes I got to workout there on Wednesday and it was actually really fun! With regards to your second question, I am still debating on whether I should include myself in my sample group. It would allow me to have a fuller understanding of what the sample group feels(as I would experience it first hand); however, I am still deciding if I should do that.
DeleteHey Anirudh! Although it's week one, your project seems really developed. I'm glad that you're trying to include as many people in your survey as possible and I'm certain that it's going to lead to more accurate results. Also, I wonder if there's a set amount of time or effort that people need in order to feel relieved after a workout or if it corresponds to the individual. Bummed your not in drama anymore but keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Nathan, thanks for reading! Yeah I hope if I can get a variety of people to analyze, I can have more accurate results and valid conclusions. With regards, to your question, I am not really sure if there is a set time. That is really subjective, but the sessions at the center are usually an hour long. So, I would have to analyze my data off of that.
DeleteHi Anirudh! It looks like your research (and the results you find) is going to be really interesting. Besides creating questions for your survey, I'm just curious: what sorts of things did you do onsite and how was it shadowing the owner? I'm excited to keep reading!
ReplyDeleteHey Shreya! Thanks for reading! To answer your question, I usually observe the client's sessions and ask either the owner or the client questions if I have any. This either gives me general information about fitness itself and its benefits or more background information on some of the clients. However, this week was more introductory so I wasn't able to observe too many clients.
Deletehey Anirudh! i am glad that you are having fun with you project and you seem very interested in it which is amazing because there is nothing worse than doing something that bores you. i think its a brilliant idea to include the immediate effects of working out and i wonder if working out relieves the most stress straight after the workout or if it has lasting effects? i am also wondering if you will include people of all ages, specifically teens, as teens have a lot of stress and i wonder if working out will be more or less beneficial for teens. keep up the amazing work!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! With regards to the things you are wondering about, I will try to see if there is a long term effect as well as a short term effect. With regards to the sample group, I am trying to gather a wide variety of people–including people of different ages. However, I am not sure if I have the opportunity to analyze teens as I have not seen many teens come to the personal training center. But it has only been one week, so if more teens and youth come, I will definitely include them.
DeleteHi Anirudh! Do any of the clients work out together (like mothers and daughters, for instance), or is it always one-on-one? I'd be interested to know if working out with others affects how they feel afterwards. I know my mom loves to work out, alone or with others, but I only really enjoy it when I'm with someone else.
ReplyDeleteHey Stirling! So far what I have seen is that sessions are usually one-on-one. However, it would be interesting to see if group exercise can also, maybe even better, reduce stress.
DeleteHi Anirudh!
ReplyDeleteBefore I begin on the more serious SRP related comment - your gif choices are so on point. I remember that exact seen from How I Met Your Mother and you can never go wrong with a little Chandler Bing in your life.
Ok, now for the more important stuff. Are you participating in the work-outs too? Also, in your group do you plan on following a certain set of people throughout your whole study or do you just want to ask as many people as possible? I'm really excited to see how your project continues to develop (it seems like you've got a good start as of right now)! Can't wait to check in next week to hear more!
Hey Anjalee! Thanks for reading and I am glad you enjoyed the gifs! To answer your question, I have participated in one workout this week; however, I am still debating on whether I should go about working out with the clients. But that would be fun though!
DeleteWith regards to my group, I want to ask a wide variety of people to be able to analyze how different conditions are affected by fitness.
Hey Anirudh! I'm glad you're enjoying your time at the gym! So soon you will be sampling people to conduct your "experiment" soon. I am wondering how you will be choosing these people. Will it be a random sample, or will you be choosing specific type of people with certain traits/characteristics. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHey Kasi, thanks for reading! With regards to your question, I am trying to target a variety of people. For instance, people who frequent the gym often vs people who do not and people who have high workload vs people who do not and people who have high stress vs people who do not. To accomplish this, I have asked my on site mentor for help. Since he is the owner, he knows his clients well and I've asked him to aid me in distributing the survey and achieving that diversity in the sample group.
DeleteWhy hello there Anirudh. I'm glad you're enjoying your free time and researching! Quick question, do you think the type of exercise (Core, arms, legs, etc) would affect the decrease in stress level of someone?
ReplyDeletePs 8th period drama misses you <3
Hey Anil, thanks for reading! And I miss 8th period drama too; it was really fun! With regards to your question, analyzing from a psychological perspective(given that I don't have access to a lab to measure actual stress levels), it would be different for everyone really. Certain people would respond to different types of exercises differently. However, I will still ask my on site mentor if there are certain exercises that could potentially reduce more stress than others.
DeleteHello, Anirudh. Nice quick introduction. I enjoyed your current blog post about exercise. I hope you can find the right people for your study group, with other research. Can't wait to read your further studies on the topic. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteHey Zak, thanks for reading! I also hope I can find the right people as well! Keep tuning in for more information!
DeleteHey Anirudh,
ReplyDeleteCould it be possible that the overall environment of the gym affects a persons stress levels more so than the physical exercise? Are you going to conduct research in one gym or are you going to look at multiple?
Hey Andrew! The environment probably does affect a person's stress level. However, what my research focuses on if physical exercise in general can reduce one's stress and other disturbed mood states while also potentially leading to a healthier life. Most likely I will be conducting my research at my one site throughout my project time span.
DeleteHi Anirudh,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are very comfortable with the environment you are currently working in. Is there any sort of control group that you would need for the survey? and if so then what kind of people would that encompass? By the end, do you think you will be able to say that there is any causation between exercise and decrease of stress?
Hey Riley, thanks for reading! To answer your question, yes. I am working out the details on exactly who I would like in my control group. By analyzing the data collected from a survey, I think there would be a correlation and I hope I can make a valid conclusion.
DeleteAnirudh,
ReplyDeleteGood work so far with your project. Which questions did you use to quantify mood? This seems like a pretty important part of the project, and you include the questions for determining how long someone has "continuously" been actively fit, but you don't include the questions for quantification. Also, have you specified what "continuously" means? Does it mean working out every day? A couple times a week? Or does continuous mean different things for different people?
Good work
Mr. Wells
Hi Mr. Wells! With regards to your first question, I've used questions on the lines of "Rate how you feel on a scale of 1-10" to quantify the clients' mood. I've asked this question in an initial survey before their workout and also after to compare how they feel. With regards to your second question, the questions for quantification were how people felt before and after—did they feel better or not— the survey and their overall satisfaction level. To answer your last question, continuously to mean that the client has consistently gone to workout, whether that be once a week or twice or everyday. However, given that this term is vague, I will elaborate/clarify that in the question. Thank you again for reading!
DeleteHi Anirudh! Sounds like you had a relaxing and progressive first week. I was wondering how many people you were considering having in your sample group and if you thought of how specific exercises could reduce stress better than others and if that question could be a part of your survey for the clients? Thanks and can't wait to read more about your experience!
ReplyDeleteHey Anisha, thanks for reading! To answer your questions, I am still deciding on the size of my sample group. Yes, I have thought of the possibility of how different exercises may affect different people in different ways. However, from a psychological perspective that would be too subjective. My research thus focuses on if fitness and physical exercise in general can lead to less stress and help other mood states. However, I will still ask my on site mentor if certain exercises can help more than others.
DeleteHi Anirudh! Great post! I can't wait to see the data that you receive from the client's survey's. I think that it will give you a lot to look at and will help you get closer to answering your research question. How many clients do you plan on providing the survey to?
ReplyDeleteHi Ms. Afsa! Thank you for reading and the help with the project! With regards to your question, I am still deciding on the exact number of people I want to include, but I hope to figure that out soon!
Delete