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Exercise Physiologist

What on Earth is Exercise Physiology? By Alister Murray

When I meet a person who asks me what an Exercise Physiologist is I am often met with 2 reactions after giving my response, 1 – a customary ‘oh, I see, that must be interesting’ even if they really don’t get it, or 2 – ‘So is that like a physio or a personal trainer?’ To which I reply ‘well, sort of, but different’

Confused yet? Don’t worry, you are not alone. Exercise Physiology is a hard discipline to define so let’s start with the Exercise part.

The Drug

Exercise is like a drug; it acts on our body in a particular way to elicit some sort of response. Just like a drug, exercise can influence our hormones, our biochemistry, our mood and emotional state, our physiology, even our appearance. It can make us feel good, and it can sometimes make us feel bad. Some people can even get addicted to it, whilst other’s avoid it at all costs! Drugs can be manufactured and used to deliver a very specific function and desired result for an individual, and exercise is no different.

The Practitioner

So if exercise is a drug, then who prescribes it? That is essentially the role of an Exercise Physiologist. You can think of us like the GPs of the exercise world. We help carefully mould, structure and prescribe exercise to meet an individual’s need. That may seem straight forward on face value however if you consider that a certain drug has the potential to react in many different ways from person to person, you can start to see the importance of getting specialised advice when it comes to developing a personal exercise program.

The Difference

You are different to the person next to you. Exercise is going to react with you in a different way, at different stages of your life. In order to give yourself the best chance of achieving your goals, numerous factors have to be considered, more than you probably realise. Exercise physiologists are tertiary qualified (3-4 year degree) practitioners who have studied the science of both exercise and the human body to gain a more complete understanding of the factors involved in maximising the results for an individual in the safest and most time efficient way.

Skills

Our skills are particularly useful for people who have trouble achieving their goals, especially if you don’t notice progress or keep relapsing after you reach them. For people with chronic disease or those who have injuries or pain but want to exercise, an EP can help you with the management of your condition so you can live life to the fullest. We can also offer support for people who just struggle for motivation and need the appropriate guidance to achieve their goals.

So if you have a particular health or lifestyle concern or feel that you need specialist advice to achieve your goals then the help of an EP is the way to go!