Diary of an academic mum

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Many people have enjoyed my 'The sweet series' Instagram posts. Some have liked the relevance of the information to their within-run fuelling, but most have really just enjoyed the comparisons. I compared the amount of carbohydrate between gels (e.g. Gu ) and common snacks ( lolly snakes  [Image 1], muesli bars , glucogel jellybeans , jellybelly jelly beans , skittles , dates and red frogs ). I also outlined how much of each snack you need to consume to meet the equivalent amount of carbohydrate found in one gel. Image 1 : Lolly snakes were yummy but really impractical! Each of my posts included a pros and cons list related to the consumption of each snack during a one hour high intensity run, ending in a rating out of 5 stars. I didn't include any comments on how the consumption of each lolly impacted my performance because performance is influenced by m...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. There are people who insist on eating before a run to feel energised and prevent the dreaded mid-run "bonk" (no, not that kind of bonk...) and those who absolutely refuse to eat to avoid tummy upsets and hope for the best. Both of these runners will use stored carbohydrate, which comes from food consumed in meals consumed in the hours and days before the run. Regardless of whether you eat before a run or not, your run is going to use carbohydrate/carbs (sugars) to fuel your muscles. Therefore, getting the most out of your running depends on the food you consume, and don't consume, at times when you aren't running too. Those who make sure they get sufficient carbohydrate in their diet throughout the days leading up to their run will likely get more out of their running. Eating to run: How much carbohydrate should I eat each day? There's plenty of e...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. What is “running power”? Let’s start with an analogy:  You are walking in the park and feel water beginning to drop lightly on your shoulders. That’s OK, a little rain never hurt anyone and it’s certainly not going to stop you going for a walk in your favourite park on such a beautiful, sunny day. Wait…sunny? Yes, it’s a warm, sunny day. The temperature and the absence of clouds in the sky, together with your choice of summer outfit and knowledge that today is meant to be sunny, conflict with the feeling of raindrops on your shoulders. Ah, it rained last night! Those drops must just be left over rain falling from the leaves of the trees above you. The above example shows that, when coming to a conclusion, we can use one piece of information (feeling of rain drops = raining) or many pieces of information (sunny and warm day ≠ raining). Often, the more informa...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Running and walking solo means silly finish-line selfies are a must! Finally we have been given some freedom when it comes to running events. What?!? I hear you say. I know, it's ironic really with all the COVID19 restrictions and all. But what I mean is that we finally have the freedom to participate in running events at a time and place that we choose. No more getting up at 4am to get into the city in time to start my marathon on a rainy, miserable Melbourne Marathon day. I hear mothers and shift workers everywhere yell  "Halleluiah! I can compete in my run and be back in time for when the kids wake up/my shift starts!"  Personally, I have noticed that suddenly I'm not overcome with the guilt associated with taking half a day out from mum duties to prepare, attend and participate in a fun run (although the atmosphere, and lack of snotty noses, is p...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. Aim: Establish the effects of wearing a facial mask on perceived exertion and physiological outcomes during running. Method: One 31-year-old woman (max HR = 189 beats per min) pushing a pram with one 10 month-old-child (weight = heavy) ran* 2.7km twice while attending a work meeting. The second run was completed while wearing a three-layered facial mask. The space between each run involved getting the grocery shopping done, allowing heart rate and perceived exertion to reach normal levels. One Garmin Forerunner™ watch measured physiological outcomes (heart rate [HR] and percentage heart rate maximum [%HRMax]). Distance, time to complete and pace was also recorded using the watch. Rating of perceived exertion was measured on a scale of 0 (as easy as sleeping) to 10 (exhausting). Results: The two runs were successfully completed with baby and pram in situ, as we...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach. My last post involved talking about the potential positives of being isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now it's time to talk about some of the negatives. But, I'm not going to talk about the immediate negatives like poor health and economic outcomes . Instead, I'm going to focus specifically on the future negatives. What could go wrong when we encourage the entire Australian population to stay indoors? Image 1: Will you look circle-like after self-isolation? (credit: Bored Panda ) For those who don't know, I am a researcher and do a lot of work in changing health behaviours (e.g. supporting people to exercise more). So this pandemic has made me not only fear for our current health, but also our future health as a result of the lifestyle changes we'll make as we transition to increasing the amount of time spent indoors trying to dodg...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.   Isolation throws many ordinary things at us, like boredom, loneliness and the potential for poor fitness and general health. Let's try and overcome our isolation obstacles with a homemade obstacle course! I created two obstacle courses at home using stuff I have lying around. Yes, there's some exercise equipment, but you don't need it. Check out my videos below.  Are you new to exercise? Check that you're safe to exercise by  completing this online quiz first . Talk to your preferred health care professional (e.g. GP or physio) if you have any concerns about your safety to exercise before undergoing a new activity. Make sure you warm up and cool down appropriately before exercising (e.g. gentle walking around the block) Cardio Obstacle Course This short circuit starts and ends with a gentle cardio exercise, like stepping up...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD).  Physiotherapist, behaviour change scientist and run coach.   COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") has officially been  declared a pandemic  by the  World Health Organisation (WHO) . Australia has recently taken the extreme and necessary step of asking people to self-isolate if they :  Are experiencing symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat [Image 1]); Have been in contact with someone with COVID-19; or Have travelled overseas and arrived back in Australia after March 15. Image 1: Symptoms of COVID-19 (credit: health.gov.au ) Self isolation can be just that: isolating . We often say that we wish we could just stop time for a couple of weeks and take time off from our responsibilities, like work and exercise, and put our feet up. Well, now that it's enforced for many, we start to realise that it's actually not much fun. In fact, breaks from usual activity can be  bad...

Dr Breanne Kunstler (BBiomedSci, BHealthSci, MPhysio, PhD). Many who are close to me know that, as a physical activity researcher and physiotherapist, I am passionate about supporting people to become physically active. I enjoy being physically active myself and do something active every day simply because it makes me feel good, like a warm bed on a cold night ( well, maybe not that good ). I am also a co-convenor of Physiotherapists for Physical Activity (P4PA) , which is an Australia-wide group (with some international members too!) of physiotherapists and physical activity researchers who are passionate about increasing the capability of physiotherapists to change physical activity behaviours of all Australians. Our ultimate goal is to see each and every Australian participate in some kind of physical activity that suits their abilities, all the way from moving their legs in bed if they are bed-ridden to participating in their first fun run if they are more independent, and...