{"id":22109,"date":"2004-10-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2004-10-29T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2004\/10\/29\/physical-therapy-education-promotes-couch-potato-workout\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T19:48:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T00:48:11","slug":"physical-therapy-education-promotes-couch-potato-workout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2004\/10\/29\/physical-therapy-education-promotes-couch-potato-workout\/","title":{"rendered":"Physical therapy education promotes ‘couch potato’ workout"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n
\n
\n

\n\"picture
\n<\/TD>
\n<\/TR>
\n

\n
\nPat Hageman, Ph.D., uses soda bottles to do the “soda stretch” side bend, but says cans or anything with solid weight will do. Photos by Walter Brooks.
\n<\/FONT>
\n<\/TD>
\n<\/TR>
\n<\/TABLE>Football season typically means hours on the couch watching games, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t get a little exercise at the same time.<\/p>\n

UNMC’s School of Allied Health Professions Division of Physical Therapy Education and the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), encourage football fans to put the APTA “Couch Potato” workout in play this season.<\/p>\n

The workout, launched this month as part of National Physical Therapy Month, allows fans to institute a “Get Fit For Life” offense. <\/p>\n

“We are really becoming a nation of couch potatoes,” said Pat Hageman, Ph.D., director and professor of UNMC’s Physical Therapy Education. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, physical inactivity is a major contributor to health problems for Americans. In fact, poor diet and physical inactivity now lead to 300,000 deaths each year – second only to tobacco-related deaths.”<\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n\"picture
\n<\/TD>
\n<\/TR>
\n

\n
\nFrom left: Michael Rennick, assistant professor, Jason Moore, physical therapy student, and Bob Fuchs, assistant professor, do “bad call” neck rotations between plays.
\n<\/FONT>
\n<\/TD>
\n<\/TR>
\n<\/TABLE>The majority of American adults — 55 percent — do not participate in a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate-intensity activity most days of the week, Dr. Hageman said. As a result, more Americans need more medication, are visiting the physician more often and are being hospitalized more often. Nearly 59 million adults are obese and the percentage of young people who are overweight has more than doubled in the last 20 years; leading to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis-related disabilities and some cancers, she said.<\/p>\n

Although the names of the six exercises in the “Couch Potato” Workout are tongue-in-cheek references to football, the specific exercises are all designed to work a large variety of muscles – without ever having to leave your television screen. The exercises include:<\/p>\n