November 15, 2010

Assess Your BQ: Body Intelligence Quotient

We've all heard of IQ (intelligence quotient) and perhaps even EQ (emotional-intelligence quotient) - but how many of us have ever stopped to consider our BQ (body-intellgence quotient)?  If you're anything like us here at bene-fit, you may have never heard this term or thought about why it might be central to your overall health and fitness.  However, BQ is a critical component of total-body wellness and regular BQ assessments are key.

BQ consists of three major dimensions: body awareness, body knowledge, and body engagement.  Body awareness questions ask you to think about how you perceive and experience your own body from the inside.  Body knowledge questions assess whether you are familiar with the physical functioning of your own body and how to better those processes.  Body engagement questions inquire about the long-term or more complex aspects of how you eat, move, and live.

Courtesy of our partners at IDEA, we've reprinted the full BQ Assessment Tool for bene-fit readers below.  This week, take the time to print (or copy and paste!) and answer the following questions - and feel free to include your partner, friends, and family as well!  You may learn more about your current health and fitness regimen than you ever realized.


BODY AWARENESS
When does your body feel good?  Not so good?  To what do you attribute these feelings?
When was the best you ever felt physically?  How do you think this came about?
How do you know when something is wrong with your body?  What signals do you watch for?
What is a useful metaphor to describe the workings of your body (i.e. a machine, a highway, a computer)?


BODY KNOWLEDGE
What do you think you have to know about your body to take good care of it?
What is your pattern of "checking in" with health professionals (i.e. doctors, trainers, therapists)?  Whom do you see and why?  Are there certain professionals you should see but are not currently seeing?  Why?
Where do you get information about health, fitness, and nutrition?
What anatomical, physiological, kinesiological, or neurological knowledge do you have about your body?  What do you think you should know about the science of exercise and nutrition?
What do you think makes a healthy diet?  What should you eat or not eat?  Where did you get this information?
What is your understanding of the purpose and importance of exercise?  Where did you get this information?


BODY ENGAGEMENT
What's your formula for taking care of your body?  What components does it have?
What makes an exercise program "right" for you?  What are the desired effects of such a program?
Describe your typical diet over a week, then give it a "healthy score" of 1-10.  What improvements can be made?
What is your relationship to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, caffeine and other substances?
How much sleep do you need?  How much do you get?  What helps you sleep?  What is your sleep "routine"?
What kinds of medications or supplements do you take, and for what conditions?  Do you have any medications/suppplements you no longer want to take, or some that you think you should be taking?  Why?


Completing the questionnaire is the first step in raising your BQ.  What if you want to take your BQ one step further?  Bring your completed BQ to bene-fit personal trainer today to learn how to transition your responses into attainable goals with a customized fitness and nutrition action plan.  Knowledge is power - so make sure to inventory your BQ today and you can begin to find your bene-fit tomorrow.