Reminder: Fitness starts Monday

A quick reminder that we will be starting our fitness class on Monday. Students are asked to bring a series of different size cans to act as weights. Remember to bring TWO cans of each size (one for the left arm and one fir the right!).

Monday Fitness Classes! (pm)

Starting Monday, January 21, the grade 5/6 class will be participating in weekly fitness classes. These classes are aimed to increase strength and muscle endurance. About half of the exercises will require just the student's body weight (e.g. squats, lunges, sit-ups  push-ups) but the other half require some form of weight to act as resistance (e.g biceps, triceps, shoulders).

I am asking students to bring in 6 cans to act as weights: two small cans (like soup cans), two medium cans (like canned tomatoes), and two large cans (like apple juice). These cans will be kept in the class until the end of the project. At that time, the cans may either be returned home or donated to the Kanata Food Cupboard.

The goal of this project is increase muscular strength in a safe way. The focus is on muscle endurance, not on strength. We will be stressing proper technique while completing the exercises so that if students wanted to continue exercising (weight training) at home, they will be doing the exercises properly.

I do expect students to be sore following the first couple of sessions but as they build the muscle, their recovery time will decrease - I know I was sore after yesterday's introduction to squats and lunges!

SMART Nutrition/Fitness Goals (pm)

As part of our health and phys ed program, students have been investigating SMART goals surrounding healthy eating and exercise. Student are to think of ONE goal in which they plan to work towards for the remainder of the term (end of January). Some students may be focusing on endurance, while others may focus on eating habits. Some students are focusing on increasing flexibility (in yoga) and others are working towards gaining strength. Each student is to develop a goal which will help them lead a more healthy and active life. I have asked that NO student sets a goal of losing weight but rather to focus on increasing activity or making better choices when it comes to food.

The goal needs to be "SMART". A general goal, such as, "I will run longer" or "I will eat healthier" doesn't mean much since these are not specific and lack a deadline for reaching the goal. Students are to identify an aspect of health, nutrition, and/or fitness in their life that they feel they can improve. In class, we will be setting up our goals and tracking our progress (via Google docs) throughout the term. Parents are strongly encouraged to discuss these goals with their child and ensure that the home environment is supportive of these goals (e.g. if your child is trying to eat healthy, don't pack chips or hot dogs for lunch please!). Thanks in advance for your support of this project.

Click HERE to view an online article about fitness goals.