Everyone has different experiences when it comes to physical culture and health. When you are a part of the same family, DNA and genetics are a factor. Yet, upbringing and influences of your family members can also play a huge part of what shapes you as a person. My family and I have all had different ways that we grew up therefore varied experiences that influenced my life and my own physical culture experiences. We all fit into the physical health schema very differently. My mom and my dad are the people who have affected me most just because they are my primary caregivers.
Then my grandmother and my randfather on my mom’s side were a huge contrast from my dad’s mother and father. I will be discussing their experiences in that order followed by myself. Then I will wrap up by tying in what we have discussed in class. My mom was born in 1966 in Arab, Alabama. She was the middle child with two brothers. Arab is a very small town in northern Alabama. In my mom’s younger years, her form of exercise was playing outside, playing softball, riding bikes, swimming, baton twirling, dance class, water skiing, and PE class at school.
In her middle and high school years, she was a cheerleader and continued to play softball. In high school, she became involved in the school band. The band was more demanding and required frequent practice and exercise. Three out of the four years of band, she was in the color guard (flagger), which required a bit more physical activity than just marching with an instrument. She was always active so she didn’t have a need to diet for a weight problem or was concerned about what she ate. She then decided to attend University of Alabama in Huntsville.
During some of her college years, she still lived at home. She had to find another form of exercise since she wasn’t maintaining the same level of activity ince in high school. She could not afford to go to a gym. So she started using the Jane Fonda exercise tapes, which was becoming popular at the time. She married my dad during her college years, which changed their exercise and eating habits. At this time, they both moved from Arab to Huntsville, Alabama. She got a job at Teledyne Brown Engineering for IT help desk.
Working at her job during and after college, affected her time that she actually had to exercise. Step aerobics was starting to get popular and her place of employment actually offered aerobic and step classes that she attended. With all of the hanges in my mom’s activity level, there was always a weight gain involved, which always followed with diet and exercise. Living on campus offered the opportunity to go to the campus gym for classes and weight training and walking to class. Walking was her main form of exercise. Throughout the following years, she would join a gym to get motivated to be healthy.
There were times, when health experts pushed weight training verses aerobics. At the age of 30, she was pregnant with me. “I did not change my exercise habits during that time. After the birth, I did walk with my child a lot, as well as running fter her. ” (Deanna Copeland Bagwell). At some point, when having checkups with her doctor, her cholesterol was on the borderline for the normal range. She would then start watching the diet and exercising more after that. Almost a decade ago, wellness in the workplace for the insurance benefits had started trending at her company.
The wellness program had many incentives like cash awards that stimulated her to be more active to meet activity goals as well as watch the diet so her blood level screenings would have good results. Going on 10+ years, the program is still going strong and increasing my mom’s wareness of exercising, eating right, overall health, and how these things help in more than just losing weight. “As I age, I have also had arthritis in my hips and back, which I have started taking medicine for which allows me to keep my level of exercise activity up.
Since taking the arthritis medicine, it has since made me have high blood pressure, which I now take medicine for. ” (Deanna Copeland Bagwell). With aging, exercise and nutrition is even more of a focus to prevent any more issues for her. With her job changes, she has been switched to being on her feet all day to sitting behind a computer screen. She started gaining a little bit of weight because of job changes and slower metabolism. She recently joined the new craze of Zumba, which makes exercising fun by way of dancing. With some recent back issues, she also went through therapy sessions and realized she has poor lower back/core strength.
She then started to participate in the recent trend of barre classe to combat the poor core strength. With all of this at the age of 50, she still to walks 3-4 times a week, which helps relieve stress and allows a social time with her friends and dog. She never had any serious illness or addiction to anything. My dad was lso born in Arab, Alabama in 1963. In my dad’s adolescent years outside activity was his primary form of exercise. It was all my dad knew due to limited TV channels and primitive video gaming. During the summer he was constantly playing outside. Everything from playing Army, Kick-the-can, croquet, pickup games, riding bikes and skateboards, etc.. ” (Jeff Bagwell). He played organized sports since he was a boy until his teenage years. My dad participated in t-ball, baseball, swim team and basketball. He also worked in my great grandparent’s garden and would mow yards.
“Growing up playing outside all the time y diet consisted of grill cheeses, Campbell’s soup, Spam, deviled ham, ham and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches etc. I also ate at my grandparents all the time especially the fresh corn, tomatoes, okra, pole beans, squash, etc. hat we grew” (Jeff Bagwell). As a teen during middle and high school, he continued playing basketball. He was involved with golf, billiards, water skiing, and swimming. My dad was also a lifeguard for my last two years of high school. He attended college at Auburn University, Calhoun Community College (Huntsville, AL), and Athens State University (Athens, AL). In ollege, he played intramural sports and recreational league basketball. Like my mom, he never really was concerned with diet because he was so active. During college, he started drinking recreationally.
He then met my mom and they got married in 1988. After getting married, he started working out again. He began jogging, mountain biking, weight training, endurance exercises, and road biking. My dad also started to enjoy home renovation and gardening. He went from being an accountant to finical manager of a business and back to an accountant throughout this adulthood. From changing jobs and raveling for work throughout my grade school life, my dad had a major lull in activity. He didn’t really do much with exercise until the past few years. He was still drinking regularly but then realized he needed to change.
He started to weight train, mountain bike, and work out at the gym near our house. He now rides his bike to the gym for extra cardio. He also cut back on drinking. “When I started working out I would eat Yogurt, brewer’s yeast, fruit and vegetables, and much meat for protein. took many vitamins and minerals daily based on the super saturation theory that Arnold Schwarzenegger developed. (Jeff Bagwell). My dad is now 54 years old. He has always had good blood work but is around 20 lbs. overweight. He has a balanced diet for breakfast and lunch. In the evening, he will tend to eat what he wants.
When my grandmother Copeland was born in 1944. When was young she was always an active child. She had three siblings so they were always playing and doing chores. She also participated in PE at school. As she got older, she started working in a salon. This required her on her feet all day doing peoples hair. Her parents worked hard to provide for them. Her father died at an early age, so her mother always orked hard to put food on the table. They did not consider the nutritional aspects, passed eating their fruits and vegetables. My grandmother got married young and started a family.
She worked when she could but mainly spent her time raising my mom and her two brothers. After having kids, she struggled with her weight. Being young, they just ate the things that our garden and what the family farm provided. She became a good cook like her mother and enjoyed cooking for others. She wasn’t health conscious when came to food because of the financial factor. As she got older, she started working on her eight issues. The Weight Watchers was the trending thing to do for weight loss. She joined and was very successful at losing weight.
She was on a very healthy and balanced diet. After losing the weight, she still struggled to keep it off. Even though drinking and smoking was becoming a social thing to do, she never smoked or consumed alcohol her entire life. With several health issues, she did become very aware of what to do and what not to do. Because of that, she did start walking and riding a stationary bike. Because of my dad’s workplace insurance requirements, they started requiring health exams. This made er even more aware of her health. She joined a gym and started going regularly.
Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and fought it for several years until she passed in her mid sixties in 2004. When my grandfather Copeland was born in 1944 in Russellville. He had a similar upbringing as his wife. He had four brothers and was also very active. They were always playing, doing chores, or working on the farm. His family was milking and feeding the cows before they went to school early in the morning. He also participated in PE at school. As he got older, he was on the school basketball team.
They orked hard for what they had and farmed for the food that they ate. Being raised on a farm, diet and nutritional information wasn’t part of my life. ” (Lucian Copeland). After high school, he got married and started a family in 1964. They then moved to Arab. My grandfather worked jobs that required manual labor and overtime hours to provide extra income for his family. It did not leave much time for planned exercise. He mainly spent his free time with his family and worked around the home and in the garden. Exercise was not in the daily activities of his family unless it was recreational. Being young, hey just ate the things that the garden and family farm provided.
He moved to Huntsville to be closer to his newer, more stable job to provide for the family. He joined in on the volleyball and bowling leagues that they offered and also enjoyed skiing as a recreational exercise. Like my grandmother Copeland, the insurance health exams made them more health conscious. This is when he started actually exercising and taking vitamins regularly. He joined a gym and started running to help get in shape. Since 5K to Marathon races started trending, my grandfather participated in several of them throughout the years including a half marathon. With age, he has had more health issues.
After being educated by his doctor, he has stayed in tune with all of the conditions and medications that he is required to take and improving his diet. He had prostate cancer but has had is it removed and is cancer free now. Even though my grandfather is older, he continues to run and is very active. With the insurance trends today, they provide a program called “Silver Sneakers” which allows him to go to the gym free of charge. He also run, bike, work in the yard, and maintenance on my property to stay active. Throughout his entire life, he never smoked or consumed alcohol.
