Iowa students learn Nordic Walking basics -- part of lifelong fitness opportunities.
A friend from northern Virginia, who teaches phys ed teachers on undergraduate and graduate levels at George Mason University, is visiting us right now. She is committed to introducing her students to simple, inexpensive options for lifelong fitness, so that they can do the same for their students. She came to Colorado for yesterday's Winter Trails Day in Rocky Mountain National Park. When I found "Marion Students Find Pole-Walking Levels Phys Ed" in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, I printed out a copy for her, because it fits right in with her thinking.
The Gazette story reported on Marion High School, IA, gym teacher Steve Fish's introduction of walking poles -- fitted with rubber paws, of course -- because the classes are held in the school gym. He starts his class with warm-up exercises, both with and without poles, then cranks up the sound system to rev up the energy and kick up the pace. Students start doing laps around the gym, first simply dragging the poles behind them, then jogging and skipping (photo by Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette). At the familiar sound of a gym teacher's whistle, the pace changes. Fish keeps things moving with a routine that "alternates between slow and fast, poles in front, poles in back. Occasionally, he has the kids drop to the ground for push-ups or crunches," according to the story.
A friend from northern Virginia, who teaches phys ed teachers on undergraduate and graduate levels at George Mason University, is visiting us right now. She is committed to introducing her students to simple, inexpensive options for lifelong fitness, so that they can do the same for their students. She came to Colorado for yesterday's Winter Trails Day in Rocky Mountain National Park. When I found "Marion Students Find Pole-Walking Levels Phys Ed" in the Cedar Rapids Gazette, I printed out a copy for her, because it fits right in with her thinking.
The Gazette story reported on Marion High School, IA, gym teacher Steve Fish's introduction of walking poles -- fitted with rubber paws, of course -- because the classes are held in the school gym. He starts his class with warm-up exercises, both with and without poles, then cranks up the sound system to rev up the energy and kick up the pace. Students start doing laps around the gym, first simply dragging the poles behind them, then jogging and skipping (photo by Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette). At the familiar sound of a gym teacher's whistle, the pace changes. Fish keeps things moving with a routine that "alternates between slow and fast, poles in front, poles in back. Occasionally, he has the kids drop to the ground for push-ups or crunches," according to the story.
The class started using poles in January, a month when outdoor P.E. is rarely possible in Iowa. The high-school gym is certainly big enough for this activity. In the YouTube video linked with the story, Fish promised the students that they will be able to take this program outside when the weather warms up. The story continues, "Fish says he tried a 'soft sell,' asking his students just to try the poles. The exercise, he says, is great for kids who are not 'P.E. enthusiasts.'" He called the youngsters "open-minded" about poles, which is saying a lot when it comes to teenagers.
Fish also noted, "What I find is a lot of kids want to have the poles now because it's such a novelty thing," Dorothy de Souza Guedes, who reported the story, interviewed several students and found some already willing to use poles outside of a class room situation, while others predictably didn't think they would. I would have asked the ones who were enthusiastic whether they would recommend poles to their parents or grandparents.
Twenty-five pairs of poles for Fish's class came from Foot Solutions at 1100 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids; 319-743-3668.
Twenty-five pairs of poles for Fish's class came from Foot Solutions at 1100 Blairs Ferry Road NE, Cedar Rapids; 319-743-3668.
1 comments:
This is inspirational. It looks like more fun than the things we had to do in PE when I was in high school.
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