In today's employment climate, it is vital to emerge with a degree that provides both a strong academic and practical start to dynamic careers in related disciplines of Exercise and Sport Science, Sport Management and Education (Health and Physical Education Training).

Human Movement courses equip graduates with the necessary knowledge, attributes and skills to understand the processes underlying physical exercise and the means by which they are influenced by physiological, biomechanical and psychological factors. Students are also encouraged to pursue research interests at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Within the sport science field, research projects are typically divided into two broad areas: Biomedical Exercise Science, and Athletic Performance. Biomedical Exercise Science (research level) focuses on the effects of exercise and nutrition on various disease states. Studies in this area are conducted in association with local medical specialists and hospitals, and utilise the state-of-the-art equipment in the Human Performance Laboratory and the Biomedical Science Department.

The second area popular with research students is the improvement of athletic performance through either advanced training techniques or the use of ergogenic aids. Elite athletes from local Institutes of Sport often volunteer as subjects to have access to the latest findings in exercise physiology and sports nutrition. Current projects include the use of folate supplementation on homocysteine levels in transplant patients, and an investigation into the changes in power output during different phases of the menstrual cycle. The local community benefits from the translation of these highly sophisticated concepts via educational, sporting, rehabilitation and work settings.

Tim, as a Health and Physical Education undergraduate student and a competitive triathlete, recognised that elite athletes had difficulty in improving their fitness and appeared to plateau even when they were doing considerable amounts of training. For his honours dissertation, he designed a high intensity treadmill training program, that was effective in improving the aerobic fitness of highly trained middle-distance runners. Currently a teacher at a local primary school, Tim dismisses his class at the end of the day, packs away the sporting equipment and heads back to the University, where he is now a PhD student extending his previous research by looking at the mechanism that explains why high intensity treadmill training is effective, and whether this program is appropriate for different types of athletes.

In the Human Performance Laboratory, Tim is joined by many other students, including full-time Bachelor of Human Movement Honours students Michael and Chelsea. Michael is researching the effects of bovine colostrums supplementation on the endurance performance of cyclists, while Chelsea's research is into the effects of combining soy protein and exercise on the lipid profiles of hypercholesterolemic patients. In the laboratory, they are assisted by Melanie, a Bachelor of Human Movement (Exercise and Sport Science) graduate, who is now employed as a research assistant, simultaneously undertaking her Masters by Research in the area of antioxidant therapy and cardio-vascular disease with hemodialisis patients.

Exercise and Sports Science programs, as demonstrated by the diversity of the research, are dedicated to promoting the acquisition of knowledge and the development of critical thinking in a creative learning environment. Students are expected to strive for excellence in the advancement of science, fostering scholarship and a commitment to community service. When searching for a Human Movement course, be sure to look for those that are both academically and practically based to ensure that you develop a wide variety of skills, while also having the opportunity to participate in specialised research projects.

Studying Human Movement allows students to combine their interests in sport, recreation and exercise science with a valuable academic qualification which This will open the doors to a diverse range of challenging and stimulating careers, including corporate health and fitness, family and community services, the health and fitness industry, local and state government bodies, sporting associations, rehabilitation clinics, sports institutes, and teaching in schools, colleges and universities.

Take the opportunity to make a difference - help improve the quality of life for everyone through development of their health, well-being and fitness. Human Movement is now well-established as an industry related to health, physical activity and performance needs of the community.

Author
Robyn Pryce-Jones
Assistant Head of School - Bachelor of Human Movement
University of Tasmania