Introduction to Physical Education

Introduction to Physical Education

The Lesson Activities will help you meet these educational goals:

• Exercise—You will participate in physical activities that get you moving.
• 21stCentury Skills—You will apply creativity and innovation.

Directions

Please save this document to your desktop. Type your answers directly in this document for all activities.

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Self-Checked Activities

Read the instructions for the following activities and type in your responses. At the end of the lesson, click the link to open the Student Answer Sheet. Use the answers or sample responses to evaluate your own work.

Background

You most likely wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, travel to school, attend class, and sit with friends you know at lunch. This is part of your daily routine, or schedule. Routine is a normal part of life, but routine can be difficult to break if it includes unhealthy habits. To live your healthiest life possible, physical activity should be a part of your everyday routine. In this set of Lesson Activities, you will create a daily schedule that includes physical activity. You will follow your new daily schedule and evaluate how it affects your overall fitness. The activities will get you used to a routine that you can stick with throughout this course, and possibly beyond this course.

1. Creating an ExerciseSchedule
2. Write a schedule for the coming week in the table below. Include all of your daily activities, including meal times and transportation times. For example, if you take the bus to work or school, include the amount of time spent on the bus.

Examine your schedule and highlightany cells where you could fit in physical activity. For the best results, physical activity should be done five times a week for about one hour each time. Make sure that you choose a realistic time of day for exercise. If you are not a morning person, then exercising in the morning might not be a good time for you.

Do not be tempted to skip breakfast or lunch in favor of activities. A healthy body needs fuel, or food, just as much as it needs exercise. To be successful, make time for five or ten minutes before and after your exercise routine to change clothing, regain focus on schoolwork, or get back to your job. Then you will not feel rushed or tempted to skip exercising on busy days.

Sample answer:

1. Are your planned exercise times for this week realistic? Why or why not?

Sample answer:

Yes, my times are realistic. During the week, I usually relax after school by watching TV. I could exercise during myTV time, around4 p.m. Also, I usually make it to bed by 9 p.m. and wake up at 7 a.m. That’s ten hours of sleep. Since I need only eight to nine hours of sleep, I could cut my sleep short and work out first thing in the morning at 6 a.m.During the weekends, I could give up some of my free timeactivities, such as watching TV, hanging out, and playing on the computer. Those are all tough things to give up, but I thinkthe activity would do me good. Maybe my friends could do something with me.

1. What are the potential obstacles preventing you from completing your exercises as scheduled? How can you overcome those obstacles?

Sample answer:

If I exercise right after school, I might be low on energy. I suppose that I could eat a snack and drink something before my workout. If I exercise before school, I might be tired. But, as long as I keep getting eight to nine hours of sleep, I think that my body will adjust to the new schedule after a while. The trick will be getting to bed on time and eating a little breakfast before I work out. I’mkind of worried that the gym won’t be open early in the morning. On the weekends, my friends might keep me from exercising. I suppose I can try to getthem to do it with me. We can pickthings that we all like to do. I know they like to play tennis sometimes.

1. What support system do you have in place to complete your scheduled exercises? How and why did you choose your system? If you do not have a support system, how can you implement one?

Sample answer:

I didn’tmake my schedule with a support system in mind. But, I can build a support system by finding people who can keep me on track. On the weekends, my friends can be my support system. During the week, it’s not that easy because my friends and family are so busy. I know that my mom goes for a 20-minute walk in the morning before work. Maybe I could walk with her and then workout on my own for 40 minutes afterward.

1. Describe three small changes that you can make to your current eating habits to support a healthier lifestyle. Be specific. Use the Internet if you need to do additional research.

Sample answer:

I know that some foods have a lot of sugar. I read online that I don’t need any more than25 grams of added sugar a day. One kind of pop that I like to drink has 40 grams of sugar per can. I can start by drinking less pop. Next, I learned that some food makers are now putting nutrition keys on the front of their boxes. I love all kinds of breakfast cereal, so I can use the nutrition key to compare brands. Cereal high in fiber is good, but cereal high in sugar isn’t. I’ll be more careful, too, when ordering fast food. Sometimes fast-food placeswant to change the size of my order from medium to large for a higher price. From now on, I won’tpick the bigger meal. Picking the medium-sized meal should be better for meand can even save me money.

1. Following Your Exercise Schedule—Walking

Walking is a low-impact activity, one that places little strain on your joints and muscles. Take a walk during the time you set aside for exercise in the schedule you created earlier. Walk for an hour in your neighborhood or on a path. Try walking somewhere you enjoy or listening to music or an audio book while you move.

If you do not live in an area with access to safe outdoor walking areas, find a local community center or gym where you can use the facilities and make at least one visit there for exercise time. You can walk around the inside of a building that you know is safe, such as your school. If walking is not possible because of physical limitations, complete another type of physical movement for an hour.

1. Where did you walk? What did you find most enjoyable while walking: listening to music, listening to an audio book, or nothing? How did your body react to this introductory amount of exercise? Was it more exercise or less exercise than you are used to? If you did not walk, what other type of physical movement did you do?

Sample answer:

I walked on the sidewalks around my neighborhood. I didn’t listen to music or an audio book. I just listened to the sounds of the neighborhood. I felt great for the first 20 minutes of the walk. For the last 40 minutes, I was bored. My legs felt heavy, but I wasn’t out of breath or anything. I take swimming lessons twice a week, so the walk was less exercise than I am used to.

1. How did the one-hour walk fit into your personal schedule? Did you feel rushed? Had you left yourself enough time before and after the walk to get refocused on school or work?

Sample answer:

I walked to and from school as part of the walking activity. That took me 30 minutes altogether. I walked the other 30 minutes around my neighborhood after school. It fit my schedule well because walking to and from school is something I do every day of the week. I didn’t feel rushed because I planned when I was going to leave my house. After walking, I felt more awake than if I had taken a car or bus. Walking actually helps me focus on things. Sometimes I even jog part of the way to school if I’m late in the morning.

1. Looking ahead, do you think you’ll have to change the personal exercise schedule that you drafted in the first activity? Why or why not?

Sample answer:

I don’t think that my personal schedule needs any changes.I split my exercise time into two sessions. I finished the first session before school and the second session after school. Whether it’s walking or something else, I think my plan will work OK down the road.

1. Keeping Workouts Interesting

Sometimes people get bored with the same exercise routine. Repetitive exercises can become uninteresting, which can tempt you to skip a workout. However, skipping just once can lead to continuously skipping your workout. Think about how you will combat boredom with a routine. Just because exercise fits into your schedule at a certain time each day does not mean you have to do the same exercise every day.

Use your scheduled exercise time to take a one-hourwalk. But this time, change something about the walk to keep it interesting. Try a different route, walk on a treadmill while reading a magazine, or start a walking group.

In addition to walking, research a different activity that interests you. Be prepared to explain what the activity is, where it takes place, and why you find it interesting. There are many activities to choose from. Swimming laps and water aerobics are alternatives to walking and are low-impact activities for anyone with knee or joint problems. Some people join exercise classes, such as dance or yoga,once or twice a week. Try to choose an activity that is completely new to you. Then answer these questions.

1. How did you change your walking routine to make it more interesting? Explain.

Sample answer:

I took my friend Randall along on mywalk to keep me company. We talked about a lot of things along the way: school, baseball practice, and Randall’s car that he’s fixing up. I walked onroads that I’ve walked before, but it didn’t get boring because Randall was with me. We talked the whole time, so there wasn’t much time to think about the exercise that we were getting. We actually had a pretty good time.

1. Which alternate physical activity did you choose to research? Where does the activity take place? Why do you find it interesting?

Sample answer:

Instead of walking, I could join a karate class. Karate is taught at an academy that is about two miles away from where I live. The class is for beginners, and it meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 p.m.The instructor has been teaching karate for over 10 years. I think it’s interesting because you can get a good workout and learn a skill at the same time. Karate can be used for self-defense, which can build self-confidence. One bad thing about the class is that 6:00 is usually my dinner time. If I want to join,I would probably have to eat dinner early, before the class starts.

1. Trying a New Workout

Use your scheduled exercise time to exercise for one hour. Use this time to perform a physical activity of your choice. You might even join a class if you wish. Then answer these questions.

1. Which physical activity did you choose? Why did the activity appeal to you? What are some of the pros and cons of your choice?

Sample answer:

This weekend, I played touch football with my friends for over an hour at the park. I like all kinds of sports. When I’m playing sports, it doesn’t feel like I’m exercising because I’m not thinking about exercising. Instead, I’m thinking about the rules of the game and how I’m going beat the other team. To me, sports never get boring because there is so much going on. Three bad things about playing touch football are finding enough players, bad weather, and getting hurt. We need at least four players per team to make it fun. Sometimes we get rained out or it’s too cold to play outside. Some of the players go home with bruises and scratches, but usually it’s not a big deal.

1. How have your eating habits changed as your physical activity has increased? Are you choosing or preparing foods any differently?

Sample answer:

My eating habits haven’t changed much. I think I’m eating more for breakfast than I used to. I used to have a bowl of cereal, a banana, and some juice. Now, I eat a cup of yogurt too. I eat the lunches that they sell at school. I used to eat only the main dish, but now I try to grab a cup of fruit as a side. It makes my meal more balanced. My family is not fixing foods any differently. If we go out to eat, I try to avoid eating too many foods that are deep fried, like French fries and breaded fish.

1. What is your present attitude toward exercising? What concerns do you have about maintaining a scheduled time for exercise?

Sample answer:

I like exercising, but I don’t love it. I like exercising more when I don’t know that I’m exercising. For example,when I get home from shopping at the mall, I notice that my legs are sore. I know that my legs got a good workout, but I didn’t even realize it. That seems easier than planning time to exercise. I look for ways like these to stay fit just using my daily schedule. But these kinds of activities don’t get my heart going all that much. So, I guess it’s important to make time for harder workouts to improve my health overall.

1. Revising Your Schedule

Having a routine will help you incorporate exercise into your daily life. Flexibility in your schedule is one of the keys to success in an exercise program. Do not be afraid to change the schedule when necessary, but try to be consistent with workout times so that exercise becomes a habit.

In this activity, you will revise your daily exercise schedule, if needed. Then you will answer questions about the schedule.

1. Reflect on your exercise schedule. If needed, revise your schedule to accommodate any problems you encountered keeping your exercise times. Consider copying and pasting your original data to save time.

Sample answer:

1. What successes and challenges did you face with your original schedule? How are your scheduling changes going to help you overcome those challenges?

Sample answer:

The exercise schedule that I madewasn’t easy to follow. During the week, I exercised first thing in the morning at 6:00 a.m.after a small breakfast. The time workedwell because I walked for 20 minutes with my mom before she headed off to work. Then I finished the rest of my exercise on my own. But, after doingfour early-morning workouts, I knew that my body couldn’t keep up. I was tired by 10:00a.m.Maybe I could havegiven my body more time to adjust. Instead, I switched my workout to happen after school so I wouldn’t have to change my sleep routine. I lost my mom as a support system, but I plan on picking a new support system—maybe my friend Sean.

1. Do you think that you’ll be able to maintain this schedule as you continue to study physical education? Will regular exercise become part of your lifestyle? Why or why not?

Sample answer:

I think that I’ll be able to keep up the schedule, but the schedule might change. I have a lot of responsibilities like school, homework, chores, and sports. As those schedules change, so will my exercise schedule. I’ve played ice hockey since I was a kid, so exercise has always been a big part of my life. I’ll probably exercise on the days that I don’t have hockey practice or games. I don’t want to pack too many activities into one day.

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