Abstract
This article examines the exercise practices of a group of faculty members at a regional university who for a decade have participated in their own racquetball league. These professors self-organized their exercise regimen and during the period of their participation have found significant benefits beyond the physical benefits, as a result. Through the production of reflective narratives focused on the impact of their racquetball participation, their self-reported data show two broad themes and numerous sub-themes that emerge from their exercise experience. They reveal significant health benefits, and they express more deeply the benefits of the positive social interaction that impacts many aspects of their personal and professional lives. The self-reported data from six players was requested and collected during a 6-week period. Faculty members were asked to write freely on the self-organizational aspects of their racquetball participation as well as their perceived benefits of this particular exercise. A qualitative textual analysis was applied to these narratives after they were coded for anonymity. Subsequent conclusions were drawn from the analyses of the content of each narrative.
Highlights
Commentary on American physical health reveals increased concerns of a steady overall decline
Humans have innate needs to be physically active; throughout our long history we have mostly depended on our cardiovascular and muscular systems, almost as much as our brains, to achieve our goals (Doherty 1976). This innate physicality has been slowly compromised by the kinds of jobs worked by many Americans – our inaction stems in part from sedentary employment environments (Blair, 2009)
One faculty member produced a narrative that focused on his exercise experience and offered an additional story he found pertinent, as it related to the university’s existing wellness program
Summary
Commentary on American physical health reveals increased concerns of a steady overall decline. Participants themselves possess awareness of their own motivation, so a self-organized approach from participants may offer the best solution for keeping employees active with long-term exercise programs at institutions. As in any other field of employments, faculty members who adopt risky health behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and/or a sedentary lifestyle will contribute to higher economic-cost outcomes such as medical costs (Cawley & Ruhm, 2011). It is the self-organized exercise behavior existing within the institution (or in the case of this article, the campus) that best promotes physical and mental health.
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