Cross-country Ski Course Blast

This fun, fitness/brain blast is an excellent activity for cardio-respiratory fitness and core strength and stability.

Equipment:

• washable dry erase marker
• face cloths or small carpet pieces (2 per student)
• floor hockey sticks
• Elementary Fitness Charts: McGill Crunches and Push-up (Modified and Standard)
• Secondary Fitness Charts: McGill Crunches and Push-up (Modified and Standard)

Instructions:

1. Use a washable marker to record the station # and the number of reps for students to perform on the charts listed above.
2. Scatter Fitness Charts around the gym or football field.
3. Break students into teams of 4 or 6 members, depending on how large your class is.
4. Have all students place their feet on two face cloths or carpet pieces at designated "start" line.
5. All students should line-up with thier team to start on the designated "start line."
6. Object of the course is to ski to each station and perform number of repetitions on cards and proceed until all cards are completed.
7. Individual teams must cross the finish line together.

Winter Holiday Tune Up

Looking for some activities to do outside with your students? Here is a great "Fitness Blast Warm-Up" that was inspired by the season:
Bobsled Snow Blast (2-man or 4-man)
The object of this warm-up is to push or pull “bobsledders” across a course created using pylons either in the gym or outside in the snow.
Equipment Needed:

• field hockey sticks or floor hockey sticks
• large square or rectangle-shaped carpet, large face cloths, or old gym single layer mats
• magic carpets, oval sleds, or taboggans can be used if your are outside in the snow

Instructions:

1. Spread pylons around the gym/open space for students to pull partners around.
2. Be sure students are seated on mat/towel/sled securely, keeping core tight.
3. Students partner up and select a Country to represent.
4. Designate one student as “A” the bobsledder.
5. Designate one student as “B” the bobsled.
6. Partner A sits on towels, mat, carpet pieces, or toboggan and holds blade ends of field hockey sticks.
7. Partner B holds onto the “handle” end of the stick.
8. Partner B is in front of partner A.
9. Partner A sits in a static position: feet are hip-width apart, back straight, chest spread, arms fully extended out front holding onto hockey sticks, and head up looking forward (just like water skiing).
10. Partner B needs to ensure that A is ready and in position before starting to jog.
11. Partner B begins by taking short, choppy steps until enough momentum is reached to start to jog.
12. Partner B pulls bobsledder (A) around the course to designated finish line.
13. Partners switch positions at end of course and repeat going back to starting point.
14. Repeat for desired number of repetitions.
15. After the fitness blast is complete, allow students time to record activity in Healthy Active Living Student Handbooks.

For next class, have students read Page 8 in the Healthy Active Living resource to determine which health-related fitness components were targeted during the blast.

Click here to download the word file description.

Core Tag

Try this fun tag game as a fitness blast warm up, indoors or out. Great for cardio endurance and core strength!

Preparation:
You will need 8 tennis balls numbered 1 to 4 and the following Active Living Fitness Charts:

• #13 McGill Crunch (Secondary Series) or #5 McGill Crunch (Elementary Series)
• #12 Side Plank (Secondary Series) or #17 Side Plank (Elementary Series)
• #15 Back Plank (Secondary Series) or #18 Bird Dog (Elementary Series)
• #8 Front Plank (Secondary Series) or #13 Plank & Stack (Elementary Series)

Instructions:
Place each fitness chart in a corner of the gym or open space and number the charts from 1 to 4.

1. Select 8 students to be "It" and give each one a numbered tennis ball.
2. Students who are "It" will try to tag others. Once a student has been tagged, the student will go to the corresponding fitness chart that matches the numbered tennis ball (ie. tennis ball 3 will go to fitness chart 3 and perform the exercise).
3. Have students hold the exercise position for 6-8 seconds.
4. Once the exercise has been completed, that student is now "It" and tries to tag others.

* Switch up the fitness charts to focus on other fitness conditioning, ie. flexibility, agility, upper body strength etc.

North American Tour

Over the past couple of months, I have been busy attending and conducting workshops in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Texas for annual H&PE conferences, as well as conducting workshops in Ontario. Here are a few highlights:

Alberta & Saskatchewan Provincial Conferences

Dr. John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain was the keynote speaker at both the HPEC Alberta Conference and the SPEA/SHEA Saskatchewan Conference. He discussed the important connection between exercise and brain development, and the effects of physical activity on academic achievement. Grab a copy of his bestselling book for a great summer read!

Dr. Steven Norris, Director of Sport Physiology & Strategic Planning, Canadian Sport Centre Calgary and advisor for the Winter Olympic 'Own the Podium' campaign, was also a speaker at HPEC. He talked about the framework of the Long-Term Athlete Development Model (LTAD) and the American Development Model (ADM), and the benefits of athletic development in a variety of sports rather than specializing in just one. Check out the LTAD and ADM links to learn more on how to integrate these guidelines into your class.

I had the chance to meet with both speakers and talk to them about H&PE resources from Thompson Educational Publishing and our strong partnerships within the H&PE community. They were so impressed with our dedication that Dr. Ratey asked me to be on an advisory committee for his Naperville Experiment - click here to learn more. And Dr. Norris will be one of our reviewers for the upcoming Personal Fitness series coming this fall!

Texas Champs Camp & TAHPERD Get Active Summer Conference

More recently, we were invited to Houston, Texas to hold a Fitness Blast workshop during a week-long professional development "Champs Camp." In addition, we attended the annual TAHPERD Summer Conference held in Frisco, Texas by the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD), where we had an exhibitor booth and Fitness Blast workshop.

It was great to see the developments in H&PE south of the border, and I wanted to share a fun tag game you can use with your students. Check out my next blog entry for the activity.