Peter Kollis

Peter graduated from the University of South Australia in 2019 with an honours degree in Clinical Exercise Physiology. Since then he has gained almost 3 years of working experience predominantly in private practice as well as gym settings, specializing in chronic disease management and the safe delivery of exercise to clinical populations.

Peter’s (somewhat last minute) decision to pursue Exercise Physiology stemmed strongly from his love of health and fitness, however his primary reason for choosing his career path was because he knew he’d be able to have a career centered around helping people. Peter continues to enjoy his work in Exercise Physiology because every day he’s able to see just how beneficial exercise and physical activity can be, enabling his clients to achieve whatever goals they set. Peter’s philosophy is: Treat the condition and you’ll win or lose. Treat the person and you’ll win every time.

When not working Peter likes to keep himself busy playing soccer, being in the gym and socializing with friends.

Fun Fact: With a massive love for sports, Peter grew up playing soccer, football, cricket, table tennis and volleyball, and his biggest bucket list item is to jet off to England to see his beloved soccer team Liverpool play.

July 21, 2023

“Good” vs “Bad” Posture

If you were asked to look at this picture and decide which of these positions was classed as a “good” posture, chances are you would probably say the image on the right. The truth is it’s not that simple, and there is a lot of scientific evidence debunking the ideas of good and bad postures.

Common Myths:

Upright = Good and Slouching = Bad.

Let’s start by looking at this idea from an efficiency perspective. If someone is sitting at their desk on their chair which has a backrest, sitting perfectly upright is actually a less mechanically advantageous position to be in as it takes more energy to maintain that position. In contrast, adopting a slightly more slouched position with the back against the backrest is more beneficial as it utilizes less energy to maintain. So if you had to sit at your desk for 8 hours a day, which position sounds better - the one that requires more or less energy to sustain?

July 21, 2023

Exercise and Bipolar Affective Disorder

What is Bipolar Affective Disorder?

Bipolar Affective Disorder (BPAD) is a medical diagnosis characterized by wide mood alterations, with periods of both depression and mania that can last several weeks or even months at a time. A person experiencing depression or mania may have intense mood swings and changes in thinking and behaviour.

By definition, Bipolar means sharing two poles (high and low) and Affective Disorder means a disorder having to do with mood i.e. the way you think and feel. In most cases, the high pole is experienced as mania and the low pole experienced as depression.

‘Switching’ from depressive and manic periods can be unpredictable and occur in a short time frame.