By Jackie Pollack
The students are already in their third week of online classes, and most virtual classes look the same or similar to the ones in person. However, physical education teachers Ms. Devaney and Mr. Resendiz had to think outside the box with online gym classes.
Instead of doing group workouts over Google Hangout, the students are assigned to log three 30-minute exercises that they do during the week. Students can perform any exercise of their choosing, ranging from runs, online HIT (high intensity training) classes, to meditation. This way, the students can do what they truly like to do to get their exercise.
Ms. Devaney and Mr. Resendiz implemented this assignment because it gives students the opportunity to try new physical activities on their own. Ms. Devaney noted that physical activities are not “one-size fits all” and this open-ended assignment motivates the students to complete their gym logs based on what they like to do.
Ms. Devaney said, “It is obviously very difficult to replicate physical education virtually compared to what is done in the gym and on the field. But I think this time will still make an impact on our lifestyles by stressing the healthy habits we have, as well as developing new ones.”
During each gym Google Hangout, the students focus on different activities they can try at home. Last week, the students focused on cardio and recommended various cardiovascular exercises to one another. This week, the students are discussing strength exercises that they can potentially perform in the future.
With this flexible assignment, exercising does not feel like a homework assignment, rather something that the students genuinely want to do.
Here are some online resources Ms. Devaney has recommended for students to try out with parent permission:
- Peloton App – offers a 90 day free trial and contains yoga, running, cycling and strength workouts – https://www.onepeloton.com/app
- Down Dog App – offers free yoga classes until July 1st with a school email – https://www.downdogapp.com/
- Beachbody on Demand – offers over a thousand different classes with a one month free trial – https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/
