EXERCISES

 

 

Chicken Stretch

Group Size: Any

Equipment: None

Time: Total ~ 5-10 minutes.

Overview: This is a fun, physical, group warmup activity which works with all ages. Demonstrate 3 different stretches which, when put together, turns each person into a chicken (hen) and the group into a clucking and squawking chickenyard.

Objectives:

1. To explain how important warming is before the physical load;
2. To create a favorable atmosphere and an elevated mood in the participants;
3. Activate participants’ interest in increased physical activity

Preparation:

Do not reveal the name of this activity until afterwards! It relies on an element of surprise. In a circle, explain that it is important to warm up one’s body from head to toe before participating in physical games and activities.

Instructions:

Starting with legs, ask people to try to get their knee to touch their chin. Try each leg alternately. Ask for 10 knee to chin touches. It is not easy, some can do it, many can’t. Then move on to the arms. One side at a time, stick thumb under armpit and “flap” (don’t use this word) it up and do a side stretch. Three times on each side. Then explain that its important to warmup one’s vocal cords for group games. Grab the skin around your Adam’s apple (demonstrate) and waggle it side to side. Then ask for some gutteral noises, as much as possible, then ask for someone animal noises. Finally, put it all together – demonstrate and encourage – walking around raising knees in air, flapping both arms and making animal noises (at some point start encouraging the chicken noises) and you have a mob of warmed up, feeling silly, kind of outfoxed, intrigued students.

 

 

 

BIG FAT PONY

Group Size: Any

Overview: An activity that helps people understand the effects and consequences of poor health due to lack of physical activity.

Objectives:

1. To get people to understand the negative effects of obesity;
2. To provide people with the benefits of healthy eating and active lifestyles;
3. Explain ways to cause obesity and prevention against it.

Materials: Pillows, chairs, water bottles, backpack, stopwatch

Preparation: Inform participants to bring with them pillows and backpacks. They must also bring bottles of water (if they are empty, fill with water)

Instructions:

1. Energizer “Sunshine Game”: One person in the middle. Everyone has a chair in the circle. The person in the middle says “the sunshine is on somebody.. ex:that has a red shirt..everybody in the red shirt has to move and find a new seat, including the person in the middle

2. Entry into the activity: How about exercising with a little more weight?
3. Say everyone should put pillows under t-shirts and take the heavy backpacks inside with water bottles.

4. Make 9 exercises each 60 seconds with 30 seconds breaks. These exercises can be:

– Push-ups, Sit-ups, Squats, followed by question about health and if the answer is good for health, the person loses some weight;

– Jumping Jacks, Planks, Burpees, followed by question about health and if the answer is good forhealth, the person loses some weight;

– Jogging on the spot, Jump on one leg, Mountain Climber.

 

After the exercise, it is of the utmost importance to ask the following questions:

1. What did we do?
2. How did you feel?
3. What do you think was the purpose of the exercise?
4. What are the effects of poor health?
5. Where in life do you find these situations?
6. How could we prevent poor health?
7. Do you think that we can help fat people?

 

 

 

HOISTEES

Group Size: Any

Overview: An intense fitness exercise that would help people enjoy the fitness lessons by combining them with fun moments shared with new friends.

Objectives:

1. To show sportspeople that practicing certain exercises is not difficult but actually useful and fun.

2. To get acquainted with new fitness exercises that do not require specific equipment.
3. Experience the pleasure of fitness classes.

Materials: Does not require any specific fitness equipment other than comfortable sportswear.

Instructions:

A hoistee is a partner exercise where the movement of a squat jump is extended all the way down to a sitting position. Partners start by facing each other, holding hands, and touching toes. Then, both partners go down to a sitting position while their toes maintain contact. Once both partners’ butts touch the ground, they spring back up by pulling on each other’s hands and pushing against each other’s toes to propel themselves up into the jump. At the top of every jump they yell out, “HOISTEE!” The silliness of the exercise distracts the participants from the fact that each partner is completing a very hard and complex movement that involves a wide range of motion of the lower body, upper body, and core muscles.

Activity creator: Dan Graham

 

 

 

 

 

CIRCLE JUMPING

Group Size: 20-25

Overview: An exercise, which is fun, has a fitness character as well as a focus on developing listening and understanding skills.

Objectives:

1. To show the participants that fitness classes can be entertaining as long as the exercises are properly selected and well thought out.

2. To get acquainted with new fitness exercises that do not require specific equipment.
3. Prove that the practice of fitness exercises is important because the active lifestyle is accompanied by the mental processes in the human body (concentration, thought processes, etc.)

Materials: Does not require any specific fitness equipment other than comfortable sportswear.

Preparation: Form one large circle with everyone holding hands

Instructions:

Perform each of the following three drills three to four times. Issue one of four commands and instruct the group to follow, either by repeating the command and performing either exactly what you say, or by repeating the command and/or performing the opposite of what you say. Here are the commands: “Jump in;” “Jump out;” Jump right;” “Jump left.”

Variations:

Drill 1: Say What I Say, Do What I Say

Say “Jump in” and the group says “Jump in” and performs the move.

Drill 2: Say What I Say, Do the Opposite

Say “Jump in” and the group says “Jump in” but they jump out.

Drill 3: Say the Opposite, Do What I Say

Say “Jump right” and the group says “Jump left” but they jump right.