Unit 7 Reflection

Unit 7 is all about the muscular system. We began with how synovial joints let us perform different actions, for example, flexion and extension. We created mini dances that included all the different movements and performed them in front of the class. It was all in good fun, but also uniquely helpful in memorizing each different synovial movement. We also learnt the basic anatomy of muscles: the major muscles in our body, and in a chicken (by dissection), such as the major and minor pectoralis, the deltoid, and the trapezius. The dissection was really cool - seeing all the different muscles and how similar they are to a humans was really impressive.

We then moved onto how muscles are separated and classified into different groups. Next, we zoned in and learnt about how muscles specifically work, right in each muscle fiber. I found the sliding filament theory particularly interesting - how the muscle shortens and lengthens when contracting and relaxing. We made a short video showing how a muscle works. It was challenging, finding a way to portray it clearly, but it was a great learning experience and it was cool how we made an actual short movie on it. Next, we moved onto how muscle fibers respond to different exercise - slow oxidative fibers in marathoners, fast oxidative fibers in a regular person, and fast glycolytic fibers in high intensity/ short burst workout, like sprinters. Finally, we covered performance enhancing substances and how the affect the mind body. The mini project for this section was that we made a satirical ad promoting P.E. substances.

The thing that really stood out to me about this is that none of them are FDA approved, or regulated in anyway, which in turn makes them all very unsafe for consumption. 

I'm really interested in learning more about performance enhancing substances, not only in the body, but those made for the mind as well. They are all so dangerous but many people treat them like no big deal - maybe not the ones aimed at body-building, but the ones that aid in focus and improve mental performance. Overall, I like a lot how my 20 time project is coming along, I'm really satisfied with my progress so far. Going back to my New Year's Goals, I am still working on more actively participating in class but in small groups I am participating a lot more. I am sleeping a fair amount every night - losing an hour to daylight saving wasn't great but I'm making it work the best I can. For horse riding, I am working hard to get to where I want to be - and hopefully a new horse is coming my way in the near future!