Michele Ercolano
The Fitnessgram and the Presidents Challenge are both very popular physical fitness tests used in physical education classes. Both tests are very effective yet, there are many differences between the two.The main purpose of the Fitnessgram is to inform the student, parents, teachers, and administrator of the current level of fitness of the student. There are a variety of fitness components associated with the Fitnessgram, which include aerobic endurance, body composition, joint flexibility, abdominal strength/endurance, upper body strength/endurance, trunk extensions, and strength and flexibility. The Fitnessgram also has multiple tests which include one mile walk/run, PACER test, skin fold/body mass index, sit and reach, curl-ups, push-ups, and trunk lift. Teachers and administrators within the school are usually the ones who administer the Fitnessgram test to the students. The students should be tested in the beginning of the year, and then again at the end of the year. It is important to see where the students are at the beginning of the year and then set goals for the students to strive to reach by the end of the year. The scores of the Fitnessgram are not compared between other children, yet they are compared to the healthy fitness zone standards. The healthy fitness zone standards focus on the level of fitness relating to good health.
The goal of the Presidents Challenge is to help improve and increase physical activity and fitness within people of all ages. The Presidents Challenge also has a variety of fitness components associated with it including abdominal strength/endurance, speed, heart/lung endurance, upper body strength/endurance, and flexibility. Along with the Fitnessgram, the Presidents Challenge also has multiple tests which include curl-ups, shuttle run, one mile walk/run, pull-ups, flexed arm hang, V-sit reach, and sit and reach. Coordinators and instructors administer the Presidents Challenge. Also with using the Presidents Challenge, it is important for students to get tested at least twice a year, preferably in the beginning of the school year and at the end. The Presidents Challenge offers an outstanding amount of rewards. Some of the physical fitness awards are the presidential physical award, national physical fitness award, and the participant physical fitness award. They also have a presidential active life style award. In addition schools areable to win an award, a state champion award. Lastly, there is a presidential champion award. The rewards include certificates, t-shirts, lanyards, ribbons, magnets, bumper stickers, etc. The scores for the Presidents Challenge are compared to the average of all the students who took the test.
The Fitnessgram program allows you to print out a report for each student as well as on for their parent. The Fitnessgram report recommends certain physical activities for the student so they can reach the healthy fitness zone in those activities were they did not meet it and improve in the ones where they did meet it. The Activitygram report portion of the Fitnessgram gives the students a better understanding of the importance of physical activity not only in school but out of school. Its goal is to have the students understand that it is important to be active and have an overall healthy lifestyle, that it’s not just about the testing. Once the testing is done, the student or the teacher enters the scores into the software. The Activitygramthen evaluates the students’ scores and prints out a report so they can learn more about their physical fitness activity. The software reports show the total minutes of the activity each day compared to a goal of 60 minutes, the period of time each day spent on activity, and the types of activity. There is also a Physical Best Activity guide for the elementary and secondary levels, which provides information on instructional activities. Overall, the Fitnessgram will help students and guide them to have a more physical active lifestyle. It’s about having the students learn about being able to reach their goals and be part of the healthy fitness zone.
The Presidents Challenge free software, Fitness File, is new this year and will be coming soon. The fitness file will allow instructors to enter each student’s scores, the tests they took, and make a report through excel. The Presidents Challenge also offers a guide on their website or you can purchase it. There are ones available for adults, kids and teens, and one for everyone overall. Also, there are many initiatives along with the Presidents Challenge. There’s box top for education fitness night, presidents council/national recreation and park association partnership, and let’s move! These initiatives all strive to help make Americans healthier.
In my physical education class I would use the Fitnessgram fitness program. One of the main reasons why I would use the Fitnessgram in my class is because it focuses more on the students’ personal progress toward their own goals. I prefer to have the students strive to be in the healthy fitness zone rather than against the average score of the other students. I feel students will engage fully in physical education class and feel more comfortable if they are not being compared to each other and instead to their own personal goals. I feel the Fitnessgram software will really help the students set self-improvement goals along with have a better understanding of their physical fitness activity. Having the students receive reports which include the type of tests they were involved in, theirs scores, and the total minutes of the activity each day compared to a goal of 60 minutes I feel can really help make progress in a student’s physical fitness outside of school and as a lifestyle.
The Fitnessgram tests I also feel are more beneficial for the students. The PACER test for example I feel every student should have to participate in. I feel it is one of the best tests to test aerobic capacity within students. I also think it is important for students to learn how to figure out their body mass index. These two tests I feel are very important for students to be involved in during their physical education classes.
Lastly I feel the Physical Best Activity Guide is also very valuable to students. The students’ not only receive the reports to lead them in the right direction; they also have a guide they can read to help them choose from a variety of different instructional activities of which they enjoy.