What is Exercise Physiology (EP)?
…and why start writing about it?
First off, I’ll disclose straight away that I’m writing this from the UK. Here, EP is less well known than in other countries, such as Australia and in Europe.
The definition is simple enough: The study of the body’s responses to physical activity and exercise. Right, there we go then, that’s all there is to it, let’s go home…
My official title is a Clinical Exercise Physiologist. Naturally, this makes me an individual who has specialised in the field of studying human responses to, and optimising protocols of, exercise to improve health. However, there is also the added ‘clinical’ component. As you may have guessed, this leads me to further specialise to work with individuals with a whole host of conditions, including, but not limited to: cardiovascular disease, frailty, cancer, renal disease, neurological disease, respiratory disease, metabolic disease and mental health disorders. Just for clarity, overweight and obese individuals fall under the ‘metabolic disease’ category, so I do work with those who wish to lose weight too. These are vulnerable individuals, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they require support from specialists like to correctly create interventions to improve their outcomes. Secondly, many of the popular online protocols on exercise for health should not apply to these folks. I mean, is a 2 day water fast going to be practical for Mary, the 94 year old with Dementia. Or is James, the 26 year old who is 20 kilos overweight, going to enjoy a burpee filled HIIT circuit? Probably not, but this is what these people, or their close circles, are seeing online on a daily basis.
In many ways, this is not a new problem. The loudest voice has never consistently been the correct voice. However, I worry when it has serious implications for health. We are heading towards a generation of internet experts. Instead of leaning on years of practical experience and study, people are turning to instant answers and short term solutions. Evidence of this is clear: When I was growing up, HIIT circuits were all the rage - selling the idea of a 20 minute workout to improve fitness. Then Tabata protocols were a big hit - ‘a maximum of 20 seconds of exercise at a time? Result!’ More recently, cold plunges have taken over. ‘You mean all I have to do is sit in cold water for 5 minutes each day and my fat will melt off? Count me in!’ Whether deliberately or not, the internet is leading us in the search for quick fixes.
This is where I want to come in. If this substack steers one person away from the generic protocols online, and towards a more suitable one, then I will be over the moon. This is my space to discuss popular topics and spread knowledge from an evidence-based point of view. We will cover a range of areas - exercise for sports performance, exercise for health, the keys to a healthy lifestyle, stress management, sleep optimisation, and more.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. Let’s dive in…