Diary of an academic mum

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.     We are in the beginning of the first (and hopefully last) pandemic of our generation. The COVID-19 or "coronavirus" pandemic sees many of us having to undergo several behaviour changes that we never anticipated needing to make.  What is "coronavirus"? Check out this video for an explainer of the virus' action and COVID-19's infection outcomes. We are being asked to do things we never thought we'd need to do in 2020, like avoiding people around us by using  social distancing that includes 1.5m spacing . We have also seen a lot of the things we enjoy being taken away from us, like our  pubs, clubs, restaurants, cafes ,  gardens  and  beaches  being closed. Image 1: Introverts might enjoy the isolation, but those extroverts out there might struggle without their clubs and pubs (credit: knowyourmeme.co...