Integr. Exercise Physiology

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course examines the cellular, systemic, and evolutionary mechanisms through which intentional physical movement can serve as a powerful tool for expanding healthspan and building physiological reserve across four critical domains of human health: Cardiopulmonary, Musculoskeletal, Metabolic, and Brain. This course conceptualizes health not as the absence of disease but as an active state of cellular resilience, organ-system reserve, and lifelong functional autonomy. Students will evaluate intentional movement across a multi-modal spectrum through both primary research literature and peer-reviewed secondary sources. Such modalities will include endurance, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), heavy resistance, stability, mobility, and flexibility. Through an integrated experiential component, students engage directly with physiological data collection and analysis. Using available biometric monitoring tools, such as wearable activity-tracking devices, field-based functional tests, and laboratory diagnostic tools where accessible, students evaluate real-time autonomic strain, cardiorespiratory responses, and recovery dynamics to bridge theoretical mechanisms and empirical observations.