| Course | EF310 Applied Exercise Science for Healthy Aging and Special Conditions |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 9 |
| Paper type | Client education handout |
| Length | About 610 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Health Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for EF310 Unit 9
Why the Watch Says You Are Not Working Hard Enough: A Unit 9 Client Education Handout for Exercise on a Beta-Blocker
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
EF310: Applied Exercise Science for Healthy Aging and Special Conditions
Unit 9 Client Education Handout
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The client is composite; the perceived exertion paper, the guidelines text and the position stand cited are real.
Part 1: The Handout
Side one, in large type.
Heading: Why does my watch say I am not working hard enough?
"Your blood pressure medicine, metoprolol, keeps your heart from beating as fast as it otherwise would. That is part of how it protects you. It also means your watch's heart rate zones do not fit you. You can be working just right while your watch says you are barely moving."
"So instead of your watch, use your own sense of effort."
An effort scale runs across the page from 0 to 10, each number paired with a description: 0 to 2: Resting. Breathing normally. 3 to 4: Easy. You can talk in full sentences and could sing. 5 to 6: Just right for most of your exercise. You can talk in sentences but would rather not sing. 7 to 8: Hard. You can say a few words at a time. 9 to 10: Too hard. Stop and slow down.
"Aim for 5 to 6 on your walks and your strength exercises."
Side two.
Your week: Walking: five days, 30 minutes, at effort 5 to 6. On hills, slow down to stay at 6. Strength: two days, your eight exercises, two sets each. The last few lifts of each set should feel like effort 6. Stretching: after every walk.
When to stop and call your doctor: chest pain or pressure, feeling faint or dizzy, a heartbeat that feels irregular or racing, or unusual shortness of breath.
Your watch is still useful for counting steps and minutes. Turn off its heart rate zone alerts.
The handout never mentions heart rate except to explain why she should ignore it, because a number her medicine controls cannot tell her how hard she is working.
Part 2: Rationale for the Instructor
Why effort instead of heart rate. Beta-blockers such as metoprolol blunt the heart rate response to exercise, so heart rate targets calculated from age are not valid for people taking them. Ratings of perceived exertion give a usable alternative because they track how hard the body is working overall (Borg, 1982). The guidelines text recommends using perceived exertion or the talk test to guide intensity for people on beta-blockers (American College of Sports Medicine, 2021).
Why a 0 to 10 scale. The 6 to 20 scale is more common in research, but the client found the numbers confusing when they were explained. A 0 to 10 scale with breathing and talking descriptions matched how she already described her effort, and moderate intensity falls at 5 to 6 on it.
Why large type and two sides. She reads without glasses at home but struggles with small print. Each side fits one purpose: understanding on one, doing on the other.
Why the stop list. A handout that encourages ignoring the watch must make clear which signals she should never ignore.
Why plain words. The handout avoids terms like beta-blocker, target heart rate and perceived exertion except where she will hear them from her doctor. It was read back to her and she explained the effort scale in her own words, which is a simple teach-back check.
How the plan matches recommendations. Moderate walking on most days and strength training twice a week match recommendations for older adults (Chodzko-Zajko et al., 2009).
References
American College of Sports Medicine. (2021). ACSM's guidelines for exercise testing and prescription (11th ed.). Wolters Kluwer.
Borg, G. A. (1982). Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 14(5), 377-381. https://doi.org/10.1249/00005768-198205000-00012
Chodzko-Zajko, W. J., Proctor, D. N., Fiatarone Singh, M. A., Minson, C. T., Nigg, C. R., Salem, G. J., & Skinner, J. S. (2009). Exercise and physical activity for older adults. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 41(7), 1510-1530. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181a0c95c
What the EF310 Unit 9 assignment asks for
The ninth unit typically asks for a client education handout on one part of a program, plus a short rationale explaining your design choices. The handout is usually one or two pages, and the rationale a page or two more. Graders look for plain language matched to the client, a single clear purpose, actionable instructions, safety information and a rationale that ties each design choice to the client or to evidence. Many sections reward a check of understanding, such as teach-back, and attention to reading level and print size. Cite sources for any clinical content, such as how a medication affects exercise response, in the rationale rather than on the handout itself.
How this EF310 Unit 9 example is built
Part one reproduces the handout. Side one opens with the client's question as a heading, explains the medicine's effect in plain words, and lays out a 0 to 10 effort scale with breathing and talking descriptions. Side two gives her week of walking, strength work and stretching, a stop-and-call list and a note on what the watch is still good for. The highlighted sentence explains why heart rate appears only to be set aside. Part two, the rationale, explains effort instead of heart rate, citing the perceived exertion paper and the guidelines text; why a 0 to 10 scale; why large type and two sides; why a stop list; and how plain words and teach-back were used.
Where the points sit in the EF310 Unit 9 rubric
Education handouts are generally scored on clarity for the intended reader, accuracy, usefulness, safety content and the quality of the rationale. Clarity for the reader usually weighs most, because a correct handout the client cannot use has failed. Accuracy covers clinical content, such as why beta-blockers change the heart rate response. Usefulness rewards instructions the client can follow without help. Safety credit goes to clear stop signs. The rationale earns points when each choice is justified by the client's needs or a source. A documented check of understanding, such as teach-back, shows the handout was tested rather than assumed to work, and it often earns separate credit.
EF310 Unit 9 help from the desk
The most common shortfall is a handout full of clinical terms, such as target heart rate or beta-adrenergic blockade, that the client did not ask about. Another is trying to cover the whole program on one crowded page. Some students give heart rate targets to a client on a beta-blocker, which the medication makes meaningless. Others leave out when to stop. A rationale that describes the handout again, rather than explaining choices, earns little. Writing for a different client, perhaps someone new to resistance training or managing arthritis pain? Share the client's question and reading needs, and the handout can be shaped to answer that one question.
Get an EF310 Unit 9 example written to your instructions
Send the plan your handout has to translate, what the Unit 9 case says about the client's reading level or background, and the rubric. The handout keeps every instruction faithful to that plan, trades jargon for plain language, and includes the rationale page whenever the instructions call for it. First sample free; 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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EF310 Unit 9 questions, answered
How should a handout handle a medication that changes exercise response?
Name the effect in everyday terms and leave drug decisions to the prescriber. For a beta-blocker, that means explaining that heart rate stays lower on purpose and that the effort scale replaces heart rate numbers. A handout telling the client to adjust or retime the medicine has crossed scope, however helpful the intent. Naming the medicine is optional; naming the effect is not.
Should the effort scale use numbers, words or both?
Both, in most versions. Numbers let the client report effort consistently, and words make each number mean something in the middle of a walk. Anchoring three or four points with breathing and talking descriptions usually works better than describing all eleven. Whatever scale the professional plan uses, the handout should match its range exactly, so the two documents never disagree about how hard a session feels.
Should the handout explain why the client is doing each exercise?
Briefly, where the reason helps the client follow the plan. One sentence explaining that a slow cool-down helps blood pressure settle is useful; a paragraph on vascular physiology is not. Reasons that connect to what the client wants, such as walking to the market without resting, tend to motivate more than clinical explanations do.
Where can I find a free EF310 Unit 9 sample paper?
This page holds the complete Unit 9 handout and rationale, explaining exercise effort to a client whose beta-blocker lowers her heart rate.
Why not use heart rate zones for someone on metoprolol?
The medicine slows the heart rate response to exercise, so age-based zones underestimate effort. Rating perceived effort or using the talk test is more reliable.