Arihant Chordia

Behavior Change Project

Background

Health is wealth. Health is one of the most important aspects of life. Without being

healthy nothing can be accomplished efficiently or smoothly. I, personally, believe there are

several ways to remain healthy at all times, but two ways I focus on are working out at the gym

and eating healthy foods during each meal. Personally, working out for me is necessary because

I need to gain more muscle weight for my current height. However, to assist with muscle gain, it

is essential for me to eat proper foods that supply correct amounts of protein in my diet. As a

vegetarian, I must always plan out what to eat and how to work out to ensure the best results. As

an athlete who is vegetarian, if I do not intake the proper foods, I have higher chances of

deficiencies in micro and macronutrients. These nutrients include protein, B12, vitamin D, iron,

and many others (Rogerson, 2017). Crucial vitamins that help with oxygen transfer (iron) and

protein which repairs damaged areas are necessary for healthy living. As gaining ten pounds was

my goal for this semester, I wanted to gain ten pounds of muscle weight instead of body fat.

Thus, to accomplish this working out at the gym was mandatory. I researched and learned that it

was more efficient to take rests between sets allowing the muscles to relax. The relaxation of the

muscles then required the muscles to flex again allowing for more stretching. The relaxing and

contracting of muscles are what will enable them to grow faster. Faster growth was observed

because after the break weightlifters can do more repetitions through multiple sets. The rest in

between intervals is also an important variable in improving acute responses and adaptations to

resistance exercises (Simão et al., 2009). Though resistance exercises are the best way to stretch

and gain muscle, it has been researched stating that just by mentally thinking about flexing

muscles it can make a person stronger. In a study where a group inwardly flexed their little

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finger and another group physically flexed their little finger with weights. The investigation

resulted in the mentally flexing people gaining 35% finger strength versus the 53% increase in

the group using weights (Ranganathan et al., 2004). On the other hand, though mentally flexing

can improve muscle strength, heavy lifting of weights can also hurt the brain. A study done in

2012 showed that short-term high strength training affected short‐interval intracortical inhibition

(SICI). SICI is when a stimulus passes through the cortex of the brain allows for further

movement. Throughout the study, it was discovered that as subjects participated in more heavy

lifting, their SICI would decrease within the person (Weier et al., 2012). A decrease in the SICI

is an adverse effect because the body’s reflexes will in turn not respond as quickly as before.

Even though mentally flexing muscles and heavyweight lifting have some adverse effects, they

are not as bad as using anabolic steroids used by many bodybuilders. As the researchers in the

study with mice and anabolic steroids, many of the mice gained more body weight but slightly

less than muscle gain. In other words, as muscle mass increased in the body, fat was also

accumulating. Gaining fat oriented weight instead of muscle does not help my goal because it

would skew how much muscle I gained. Furthermore, in some cases the mice’s’ natural

chemicals when exercising nulled the steroid injected. Observing the suppressed steroid shows

that the steroid does not always work when building muscles and can add unnecessary body fat

(Fontana et at., 2013). From steroids to electric shocks, there are numerous ways to gain

muscles. Another procedure that has been deemed mildly useful is electrical strength training

(EST). EST is an electric shock sent through the brain, and then the excitement modifies the

excitably of specific neural paths to different muscles (Hortobágyi et al. 2011). The negative

side of this treatment is that users may experience side effects such as twitching or other body

area affected due to shock directly to the brain.

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Aside from electric shocks and steroids, there are several ways to increase strength and

endurance in natural methods as well as numerous benefits to these types of training. Endurance

training allows for improved oxygen transportation through the lungs and heart due to the

increase in “capillary and mitochondrial density” (Taipale et al. 2010). In order to, reach

maximum strength, it is necessary to perform prolonged training periods which result from

voluntary neuromuscular activation. Although it is arguable that endurance and strength training

cannot happen at the same time, they work together to improve the body’s physical structure as

well as chemical structure (Taipale et al. 2010). I experienced this as I worked out when I would

run one mile every day before lifting weights.

Enabling Factors

Beginning of this project I was afraid there was going to be a slim to no chance I

accomplish my goals. I thought this considering my several obstacles that would limit how

much I could achieve. Some of the challenges included my vegetarian diet resulting in a lack of

protein, motivation to go to the gym, maintaining good grades for classes, and finding a reliable

partner to go to the gym with. The most concerning to me was the lack of protein in my diet.

Now being in college, I do not have a lot of exposure to cooked vegetarian foods that are in high

in protein that I would typically eat at home. Due to this, I started drinking protein shakes in

which each bottle contains thirty grams of protein. Though these protein shakes are helpful, they

do not always contain other essential nutrients/amino acids needed by the body. Another

hindrance was my motivation to go to the gym. I would go for one or two days in a row then

feel tired and end up staying at home for a few days to recover. But then once I am ready to go

again, I get lazy. I made sure this didn’t happen during this semester. Although many times I

would be tired from class work or classes I continued to push myself. Going along with that a

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third hindrance is being able to manage working out and school efficiently. To me, I believe

health comes first and then classes but wanting to go to med school in the future requires me to

have a good GPA during my freshman year. With this always in the back of my mind, I feel like

I don’t set aside enough time for the gym. One thing I have experienced is a significant

reduction in stress when I work out and allowing me to focus on one thing. Lastly, one of my

biggest obstacles is finding a reliable gym partner to go with. Now, after several weeks of

working out alone, I am comfortable without anyone. But I believe having someone with me can

help me to push me to the max and perform exercises the proper way. Having a reliable gym

partner also allows you to talk a little and relax while at the gym. During my first two weeks I

went with my roommate, but then he began to be lazy and started to come to the gym. At first, I

was disappointed because we both would have a certain rhythm when we worked out. After

going alone, a couple times I felt more comfortable solo instead of being with someone. I say

this because I was able to focus more on myself and what I wanted to achieve instead of needing

to depend on what my roommate wanted to do. On the positive side of things, many things

helped me accomplish my goal. Most of all, it was my perseverance to keep going to the gym

despite who came with me or what I had to do. I believe my determination is one of my best

characteristics because it allows me to accomplish what I want no matter the path. But for me to

get on the proper track, I need to have a goal which will then put me on the right track. A goal is

important because if I had no end goal, then I would be a boat sailing mindlessly. To keep the

boat from sailing wildly, I used some of my prior knowledge to working out. The main one was

to train different muscles each day to give the previous muscles enough rest to heal.

Along with enough rest and a good stretch, a routine is needed to assure no torn muscles

or ligaments are encountered during the workout. Lastly, using a sheet found online or by a

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friend allowed me to keep track which machines I used and what to do the next day. This

systematic approach prevented me from blindly and randomly using equipment meant for

different muscles. On the other end when I am not sure how to use a particular machine or what

a specific machine is, I will search it up on google. Google has been one of the most useful tools

during this semester because I was able to perform the exercises correctly and also get a more

effective workout.

Health Activity/Behavior Change

There were many things that I had to go into assuring that I can accomplish all my goals

to the best I can. The three goals I had for this semester were improving my mile time, bench

press weight, and gaining 10 pounds of muscle. First thing I do is wake up between 6:15 am and

6:30 am and change to go to the gym. I eat a banana and drink a protein shake on the way. When

I get to the gym, I start with a 5-8 minute jog or until I break a sweat. After this, I take a thirty-

second break to prepare to run a mile. I reset the treadmill and immediately increase the speed of

the treadmill to 7.5 or 8 mph. I run at this speed until I reach a mile. If I feel like I am falling

behind I will increase the speed of the treadmill. At the end of the week, I do this same thing

except on the indoor track to see if I get the same results. I would usually be 30 seconds slower

on the track than the treadmill. I run on the indoor track once a week. After the run, I go onto

the Stairmaster and step 500 steps in two intervals usually 350 and 150. I learned that doing the

steps after high-intensity running increases endurance because it makes the muscles work more.

Once I finish the 500 steps, I take a 2-minute break to cool down a little. I then go and do some

upper body weight lifting. Depending on the day I go either to the lat pulldown or the chest

press. Alternating days of chests and triceps with back and biceps was a pivotal component to

building muscle. It was necessary to do this, so my muscles had enough time to repair

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themselves before the next workout session. Onn chest days I will typically fit in three sets of

bench press to work my bench press goal. I only bench pressed once a week because most of the

time the other machines will work on the same muscles needed for the bench press. At the end

of the upper body workout, I will go to the calf raise machine and do three sets of ten reps. I do

this to work my calves a little more and keep them firm. After I finish my workout, I walk back

home and immediately drink a protein shake once I reach. Fast-forward after classes I will try to

10-15 push-up to keep my muscles moving. I believe this truly helped with the bench press

because the technique used in push-ups and bench press are quite similar.

Regarding food I always ate three meals. Breakfast would usually be the lightest since I

just worked out. Lunch is typically my most substantial meal because I am hungriest the most

around 2 pm (the time I eat lunch). Lastly, dinner is usually around 7 or 8, and I try to fill my

stomach to the most part. If I were to estimate I had an intake of about 1700 to 2200 calories a

day including junk food, meals, etc. I will also drink at least 3 liters of water to keep me

hydrated for the next day of working out. It took me a couple days to adjust to the large intake of

water, but soon my body got used it.

Lastly, schoolwork, the most crucial part. I always tried to finish my homework during

class or during any free time I had. This strategy gave me more time after all my classes ended

to complete any remaining homework and study for upcoming tests or work on projects/lab

reports. If I were able to do all this, I would be able to sleep by 11 to 11:30 pm every day.

Weekends would usually be the exception due to hanging out with friends and watching movies.

I understood that if I wanted to continue the workout plan I needed to finish my homework on

time and study efficiently to sleep on time and wake up early the next day.

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After analyzing my final results, I realized I didn’t meet all my goals. To begin with my

original mile time before the training was about 12:10. My weight before starting the behavior

change was 155 lbs. Lastly, I was able to bench press 75 lbs before starting the semester long

training. The mile time was my first minor goal for this semester and I was able to accomplish

this easily. I went from 12:10 mile to a 7:05 mile. My goal was to run a mile under 7 minutes

but every time I tried running faster, I would become exhausted or my legs wouldn’t be able to

keep. The grey line in the graph below shows the progression in my mile time. Next, my second

minor goal was to bench press 125 lbs. Before starting I thought this would be a hard goal to

accomplish but then I found my starting bench press weight was higher than what I thought.

Although I didn’t bench press every day, I worked on muscles that are required for bench

pressing every day. Some days I would work on triceps and chest while other days I work on

biceps and back. I believe this tremendously helped me with going over my goal of bench

pressing 125 lbs. The yellow line in the graph below shows drastic progression in my bench

press weight. Lastly, my major goal for the semester was gaining at least 10 pounds of muscle.

Although I was two pounds away from my goal, I am happy that I was able to get this far. I am

hypothesizing this happened to lack of proper meals on several days. Some days I would not be

able to eat a filling meal or not eat from breakfast until dinner. The graph below shows the slow

progression in my body weight but I was able to get close despite the food restrictions and class

schedule.

Overall, I believe the workout routine was very effective in allowing me to achieve my

goal. I was also able to become much more time efficient and realize the importance of time

instead of just dwindling it away. This project has truly helped in numerous different ways. To

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name a few: time management, physically active, and stress reliever. But most of this behavior

change project made a me a lot richer in the fundamentals of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Day vs. Body Weight vs. Time vs. Bench Press

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Body Weight
80 Mile Time
Bench Press
60
40
20
0
1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58

Day

Recommendations

I learned that it was necessary always to make goals of what you want to accomplish.

Without an end goal, you wouldn’t know where to go. We all need to goals to be able to do what

we are doing right now otherwise there would be no motivation. I also used my time more

efficiently to get a good night sleep along with a good chunk of time to work out without being

rushed. I learned it is necessary to get a good rest for the body to relax and repair the muscles

used during the day. A significant benefit to working out was that it made me tired by the end of

the day thus allowing me to get a deep sleep. Throughout the semester of working out, I began

to understand that it is not beneficial working out under pressure of time. It was necessary to do

all workouts appropriate and in regular intervals. Being rushed while working out can also cause

a lousy body posture by putting too much strain on areas not being worked. I would recommend

this program to others including friends, family, and anyone else who asks. This program has

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changed me as a person from being lazy and only going to class and doing homework to being

more proactive about my health and improving my physique. I believe it is necessary for all of

us to move towards something like at some point in our lives. The obesity rates in the United

States will go down, and the prevalence of the disease will drastically go down. Working out

does not mandate having 200 machines to work with and being in a 5000 square foot area.

Instead of working could be as simple as doing ten push ups a day, running one mile a day,

running up and down stairs, crunches, and many other exercises without machines.

References

 Taipale, R., Mikkola, J., Nummela, A., Vesterinen, V., Capostagno, B., Walker, S., . . .

Häkkinen, K. (2010). Strength training in endurance runners. Int J Sports Med, 31(7),

468-476. doi:10.1055/s-0029-1243639

 Hortobagyi, T., & Maffiuletti, N. A. (2011). Neural adaptations to electrical stimulation

strength training.  European Journal of Applied Physiology,  111(10), 2439-2449.

doi:10.1007/s00421-011-2012-2

 Fontana, K., Campos, G. E. R., Staron, R. S., & Da Cruz-Hof̈ling, M. A. (2013). Effects

of anabolic steroids and high-intensity aerobic exercise on skeletal muscle of transgenic

mice.Plos One, 8(11), e80909. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080909

 Weier, A. T., Pearce, A. J., & Kidgell, D. J. (2012). Strength training reduces intracortical

inhibition. Acta Physiologica, 206(2), 109-119. doi:10.1111/j.1748-1716.2012.02454.x

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 Belmiro Freitas de Salles, Simao, R., Miranda, F., Jefferson da Silva Novaes, Lemos, A.,

& Willardson, J. M. (2009). Rest interval between sets in strength training. Sports

Medicine, 39(9), 765-777. doi:10.2165/11315230-000000000-00000

 Rogerson, D. (2017). Vegan diets: Practical advice for athletes and exercisers. Journal of

the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 14, 36. doi:10.1186/s12970-017-0192-9

 Ranganathan, V. K., Siemionow, V., Liu, J. Z., Sahgal, V., & Yue, G. H. (2004). From

mental power to muscle power—gaining strength by using the

mind. Neuropsychologia, 42(7), 944-956. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2003.11.018

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