All Workouts Are Not Equal
A fascinating study about children's gym class proves that some workouts are better than others.
The researchers divided 55 overweight kids into two groups, with one participating in traditional gym class and the other in the new class. In the regular gym class, which included 35 to 40 students, Carrel and his team note, kids spent only about 25 minutes on the move.After nine months of the gym class, which students took five times every two weeks, the children in the revamped class showed a 4 percent reduction in body fat compared to a 2 percent drop for kids in the traditional class
These are two gym class - both 45 minutes long. In one of them, the kids dropped twice as much body fat as the other. That is an impressive achievement. It shows that the typical gym class has a lot of "messing around".
Makes me wonder how much time I spend messing around during my workout times.
Written By J. Foster
I know we always wasted tons of time in our gym classes in school. We had to sit for attendance, then get briefed on what we'd be doing, then we'd actually get moving and pretty soon, we had to go change. I think in high school it was a little better because we had longer class periods, but I don't think PE ever helped me lose any weight.
ReplyMost of the gym classes were spent doing stuff like basketball and volleyball when I was in school, and as the nerdy kid with the glasses and braces, I only played for 2m at the end to make the teacher feel like I'd done something. I'm terrible at all sports. I only did something in the 1 month of the year where we ran instead of doing any sort of ball-related activities...
ReplyI agree, alot of running around for no reason doing things alot of kids dont enjoy. It would be nice if gym clasc could actually instill a love of excercise in kids, sure would make it easier for them to keep it up as adults.
ReplyAny gym class where they made us pick teams was never good. I never got picked, either, so I never got to play much and therefore never got good at any sports. Oh, and don't forget dodgeball. We always played that and it was just an excuse for the boys to nail you good with a playground ball. I got so many bruises from that stupid game! I would have rather done something like ride my bike or play a game that didn't involve much coordination, like tag.
ReplyThis makes sense. Intensity of the workout is a key factor in weight loss. When I use a trainer that pushes me beyond my comfort zone, I get much better results than when I workout at my natural leisurely pace.
Replywww.antiagingatlanta.com
Hmmm, as a kid I did everything I could to avoid gym classes - I hated them. It was more of a social thing than a fitness thing - and the bigger stronger athletic guys always had the upper hand. Some kids naturally go for more sedentary activities - not because they are lazy but because they excel at those activities.
ReplyOh dodgeball. I took a basketball to the face when I was 6. Some kid picked that up, since it was just lying around, instead of the dodgeball ball. It literally broke my whole face. The school didn't call my mother and by the time I got medical attention it was too late to set the bones correctly. I had 2 surgeries on the nose and sinuses later, as a teenager, and I still have 8 calcifications on each sinus and 80% breathing capacity on one nostril, 60% on the other.
Jim, Phys Ed is also the perfect time for the kids who feel humiliated by the kids who do excel at the sedentary activities (like in grades) to "accidentaly" shove you or make you trip without getting in trouble for it. So that is another source of anxiety for the nerds.
ReplyI gave up on physical exertion long ago. By 10 years old, being active "wasn't my thing." Eventually, you start getting picked last, then not picked at all. Adolescent males aren't the most understanding people on the face of the earth, either. Thus began the spiral.
Today, I am changing that. (Finally!) I am doing something that gets my body moving (martial arts and running).
ReplyThe only time I ever found Gym class to be helpful was when did laps, twice a year (September and May/June) We would run laps and stretch every class and then do a 6-8 lap run in one class... I always lost a few pounds at this time.
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