P.

E
The Physical Activity Readiness
Questionnaire (PARQ)
 One tool that can be used for you to assess if
you fall under the HIGH RISK Category is the
Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire or
PARQ. There are different versions of this
questionnaire that composed of seven (7)
questions answerable by Yes or No. It is a self-
facilitated questionnaire that assesses the
presence of major signs of cardiovascular,
respiratory and musculoskeletal problems.
In this self-assessment, a Yes answers in any
statement entails you to fall under the HIGH
RISK Category, and should need medical
clearance from a physician before
participating in an exercise program.
Exercise 2: PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
READINESS QUESTIONNAIRE
Please read the questions carefully and
answer each one honestly.
YES NO

Has your doctor ever diagnosed you to have

a heart condition and that you should only do
physical activity recommended by a doctor?

Is your doctor currently prescribing drugs for

your blood pressure or heart condition?

Do you experience pain or discomfort in the

chest, neck and jaw area during mild physical
activity or at rest?

Do you experience shortness of breath with

mild physical exertion?
Do you get tired frequently even when not
doing physical activity or are you frequently
drowsy?

Have you lost weight rapidly recently with or

without feelings of extreme hunger?

Do you have a bone or joint pain that

increases with movement? Is there a
sudden increase in pain when bending or
touching the joint?
Do you know of any other reason why you
should not do physical activity?
Coronary Artery Disease
(CAD) Risk Factors
 After being cleared from being in the high
risk category through the PARQ, evaluating
ourselves with the Coronary Artery Disease
Risk Factors will help us know if we fall under
MODERATE or LOW RISK Category. There
are nine(9) risk factors to consider, 8 positive
and 1 negative factors, in the assessment. It
would be helpful for the participant to set
these factors in a checklist for easier
monitoring.
Exercise 3: RISK
STRATIFICATION FOR EXERCISE
PARTICIPATION
Identify the Risk Stratification Category
(Low, Moderate or High Risk) of the
following situations for Atherosclerotic
Disease.
 Case Category
1 Robert is a 32-year old businessman
with a normal blood pressure and
does not smoke for more than a
decade. Upon accomplishing the
PAR-Q, he reported a YES answer in
the question about experiencing pain
and discomfort in the chest while
exercising.

2 Amanda is a college student who

wants to pursue a higher intensity
exercise program. She has no
reported NO to all questions in the
PARQ and don’t have any known
major signs or symptoms of diseases.
After having a medical check-up, she
found out that her LDL level is 4
mmol/l/. Amanda quitted smoking for
3 months now.
3 John is a 24-year old athlete
with no major signs of diseases,
cleared from screening using
the PARQ. He is a non-smoker,
with BMI of 23 and LDL levels
of 2.8 mmol/l.

4 Emily, a 40-year old

government employee would
like to exercise because she is
experiencing shortness of
breath and easily fatigued
nowadays.
5 Bert would like to start to
exercise. However, he is now
taking medications for his
hypertension.

6 Andrea, a 16-year old student,

would like to join the varsity
track and field team. She does
not have any major signs of
diseases and answered NO to
all questions in the PARQ. Her
BMI is 30 and does not
participate in regularly
exercise. She has HDL levels of
1.8mmol/l.
7 Mr. Hernandez, coach of a
varsity team, is planning to
train for an upcoming IronMan
full marathon race. However,
he is still experiencing some
joint pains as reported in the
PARQ.

8 Miguel is a 23-year old degree holder

bachelor in Manila. Because he is
currently unemployed, he decided
to participate I an exercise program.
He passed the PARQ and other
symptoms, but in the latest blood
analysis, he used to have an LDL level
of 3.4mmol/l and HDL level of
1.0mmol/l. His BMI is normal with waist
girth of 90 cm.
9 Brenda, stating no YES
answer in the PARQ, would
like to pursue a Pole Dancing
Program. However, she
observed some kind of a
swelling in her ankle and
experiencing participations
at times.
10 Kathy, a 30-year old sedentary
woman would like to exercise
because of her depression. She
passed the PARQ and apparently
no signs of other diseases.
However, upon checking her
Fasting Glucose, it showed a level
of 7.0 mmol/l. She reported that
eating a lot of chocolates and
smoking helped her in dealing
depression.
Exercise Response Indicators
 When doing exercise, it is vital for us to
monitor ourselves and listen to our body
respond to the physical activity we do.
The way our bodies respond to physical
stress gives us a clue on the gains we can
get from it. With the help of a fitness
professional, this reaction of the body to
exercise help us know what activity to do
next, and what support do we need for
the entire program.
The most common and practical indicators for or
bodies’ reaction to exercise is e heart rate. Not only
in the field of fitness, heart rate monitoring is done as
well in clinical testings and medical assessment. In
hospitals, devices are being used for this such as
stethoscopes, pulse rate monitor, oximeters and
many others. However, in the activity field, devices
like these are somewhat impractical to use
especially while one is in the middle of an exercise
routine. Coaches and fitness professionals usually use
alternative methods in monitoring heart rates, one
of which are pulse rate sites.
 Pulserate is one of the reliable methods of
monitoring ones heart rate especially in
the field. There are common sites where
you can acquire a pulse rate reading.
1. Carotid Artery – the main artery that
supplies blood to the brain, neck and
face. It is divided into internal and
external carotid artery. It can easily be
located 1-1.5 inches from the tip of the
Adam’s apple going to the side.
2. Radial Artery – the main artery at the
lateral aspect of the arm. It is easily be
located right below of the wrist, at the
side of the thumb.
Heart rate monitoring is an essential part of
your exercise life. The data you get from
pulse rate reading will say something about
the following:
 Intensity of the exercise you do in relation
to your capacity
 Development of your vascular system
 Development of the heart and stroke
volume
Aside from the heart rate, respiratory rate is
also an indicator of how your body
responds to physical stress and measured as
the number of breaths per minute. We
knew from Chapter 1 that respiration is a
crucial aspect of cell oxygenation. The
number of breaths per minute during
exercise entails the capacity of our lungs
during exercise, specifically say something
on the following:
 Tidal
volume
 Maximal Oxygen Uptake (VO2max)

However, monitoring the respiratory rate

has not been that practical than the pulse
rate for it requires device to get more
accurate results.
Exercise 4: HEART RATE
MONITORING
Get your heart rate from specific sites on
the following