Unit 7 Reflection

In this unit we learned about muscles. Muscles are responsible for movement of our bodies and  they also keep us warm. We learned about major muscles of our body, and to do so we had a chicken dissection. In this lab we inspected the chicken´s muscles because they are similar to our own. We also learned about muscle contraction. To view my group´s muscle contraction video, click here! In this unit, I wish we learned about muscle spasms and how pulling a muscle effects a muscle. One concept I found really interesting during this unit was how different athletes from different sports have different amounts of slow and fast twitch fibers. It all depends on how aerobic the sport is, because the more aerobic the sport the more slow twitch muscle fibers the athlete will have. 

As a student this unit, I have been productive in class. I have done a lot of research for my 20 time project and I can wait to continue learning, writing and baking for this project. I have not made progress on my New Years goals. I may have actually done worse this month. I have not gotten much sleep, so I want to modify this goal. My goal is now to spend less time on my phone and devices to manage my time better. This goal seems more realistic. 

Writing for my food blog

I have finished half of my research for the effects of whole wheat on our bodies. One new thing I have learned from researching is that white flour is processed, and when it is being processes most of the vitamins are extracted from the grains. Whole wheat, on the other hand, is not refined and has a higher vitamin content. Manufacturers can add vitamins back in to white flour, and this makes the the vitamin content in white flour about the same as whole wheat. One set back I have is a lack of time to bake. In order to complete this project I have to be able to test out the recipes. Since junior year has gotten really stressful and hectic, I have not been able to test out the recipe yet. I hope to do this during our upcoming spring break. 

My next steps are to finish researching and to start writing for my food blog. I also want to start delving into food photography during spring break.

Performance enhancements

Above is my satirical performance enhancements advertisement. A performance enhancing substance is one that contains a stimulant, amino acid, and a hormone precursor herb. Looking at my ad, it is easily seen that the costs of using performance enhancements outweigh the benefits. To become a better athlete you can always just practice more. Even though it takes longer, exercising does not come with as many risks as steroids do and it actually benefits our bodies. Performance enhancements are very risky, so I am still confused on why athletes even consider taking them. I think it comes down to how much student athletes are educated on the befits and risks of these deadly substances. 

Chicken Dissection Lab

In this lab we dissected a chicken to see all of its muscles and relate it to our own muscles. We examined the chicken's breast, upper back, upper arms, forearms, thigh, and drumstick. We took pictures during the lab and we labeled the muscles we saw:

Muscles, bones, and tendons all play a role in movement. Specifically, this is how we are able to move our forearms. Our muscles do the pulling, so to move our forearms upward, our biceps contract, making our triceps relax. This contraction of the biceps pulls on the tendons connecting bone to muscle. The bone in this case are the radius and ulna (because the joint that is being used is the elbow). 

There are differences between the tendon at the origin and the tendon of the insertion. The tendon of the origin does not move very much; the tendon of the insertion does move. When a muscle contracts the tendon of insertion gets closer towards the tendon of origin. The insertion of the tendon also tends to be more distal, although it doesn't for sure have to be. 

There are also some differences between chicken muscles and human muscles. An obvious difference is the size of chicken muscles are smaller than that of human muscles, except for the breast (the chicken breast seems to be bigger). Chickens also have similar muscles to us; for example, they have biceps and triceps as well. A difference between the two is also that chicken muscles have different names than human muscles, but both the names are describing a similar muscle. For example the Iliotibialis, in birds, is equivalent to the gluteus maximus in humans. 

2nd Blog Post 20% Time

2 week progress report:

So far I have chosen my first recipe to work on. I chose to switch out all purpose flour for whole wheat in my mom's banana bread recipe. I chose this recipe because it is one of my favorites and I wanted to avoid copyright issue that come with using other people's recipes.I have researched about the effects of whole wheat on our bodies and some of the differences between whole wheat and white flour. I am making a bibliography on noodletools to keep track of my research.
I have learned that I am capable of doing this research project, I just have to take it one step at a time and break the project into smaller goals. My first goal is to finish researching. 
I have not had any set backs yet. I will continue researching on the effects of whole wheat on our bodies. After I am done with that, I will create a blog post using the research and start experimenting with the recipe.  
I have learned that whole wheat is important for people who need to control their blood sugar levels. Whole wheat does not spike blood sugar levels as much as flour does. Whole wheat also has more fiber than flour does, which means that it can prevent constipation and help people potentially lose weight. These are only a few of the benefits of whole wheat; there are more benefits that I have yet to research.  

"What Happens When You Stretch"

3 quotes + analysis:

"One of the reasons for holding a stretch for a prolonged period of time is that as you hold the muscle in a stretched position, the muscle spindle habituates and reduced signaling."
- This quote is interesting because it explains how stretching can increase our flexibility if we stretch often and for long durations.

"This is one reason why sit-ups are good for strengthening the back as well as the stomach."
-Someone told me that sit-ups are bad for your spine and that they could make back problems worse. That statement contradicts the one in the reading, so I wonder which one is true.

"When stretching, it is easier to stretch a muscle that is relaxed than to stretch a muscle that is contracting."
I can relate to this quote because my yoga instructor tells us to take a hot shower before coming to practice because it relaxes our muscles.

Relate and Review:
This article relates to our class because we learned how muscles contract. When muscles contract the sarcomere contracts and when muscles stretch the sarcomere is relaxed. This article also relates to me personally because I occasionally go to yoga lessons. Our yoga instructor always tells us to "lift and lengthen" our muscles while we are stretching. This accurately describes our muscles because it is actually possible to lengthen our muscles. You are able to lengthen your muscles by holding a stretch for a longer period of time, therefore relaxing the muscle.