Alternatives to a gym based workout The goal of this proposal is to be able to provide students with effective strategies to be able develop effective workouts outside of a gym setting. These workouts will help students stay healthy and active by utilizing creative ways to stay fit. Creative workouts at home can be as effective as workouts in a gym!

Why is this an issue?  Top 10 health problems associated with obesity and inactivity.  Diabetes  High blood pressure  Cholesterol  Heart disease  Stroke  Cancer  Infertility  Joint problems  Depression  Back pain Obesity is becoming an alarming problem in our society. We need to develop effective strategies to keep our youth physically active which will help lower the obesity rate. Obesity is the major cause of many health related problems that can prove to really be detrimental to the health of our youth as they grow older.

Jump rope Jumping rope is a great form of cardio. It gets your heart rate up and really helps lead to becoming healthier. A jump rope is very inexpensive and can be done in any setting. Jump roping can be done at an intense pace or a very easy pace but the results are excellent.

Agilities Performing agilities are a great way to stay healthy and fit. They are a great alternative to distance running. The equipment needed for agilities is very simple and very affordable. All you need are cones, agility ladders, and hurdles. There are an endless amount of agility drills that can be performed with cones, hurdles, and agility ladders. Creativity is crucial when performing home exercise programs outside of the gym. Alternative ways to move are essential to teach the students. They will help keep them active beside just “running distance” which can be monotonous and boring.

Resistance bands Muscular strength is a very important aspect of being physically fit. The traditional way to work muscles is through weight training but it does not have to be the only way. There are an endless amount of ways in which resistance bands can be utilized to work every muscle in the body. The trick is being able to effectively teach the students ways in which they will be able to utilize when they are done school. Resistance bands are inexpensive and very effective when training for muscular strength and endurance.

Yoga mats Body weight and flexibility exercises are essential in any workout plan. The gym floors surface is very hard and can be uncomfortable when performing many of the exercises and stretches that will be taught during the lessons. The students will be taught how to stretch properly and also many body weight exercises and movements that they will be able to utilize in their exercise plans.

Bioex Software Bioex has created a software with over 3200 fitness exercises. This program allows for the teacher to provide handouts on how to perform every exercise properly and effectively. This software also allows the teacher to make exercise plans for each day of the lesson which helps keep the exercise plans diverse.

Educate  If we as educator hope to inspire our students to become healthy and fit, we need to educate them on how to do so.  We simply can not preach exercise and list the numerous benefits of exercise, we must be able to provide plans and strategies that the students can utilize throughout their lives.

Inform As educators we are constantly thinking of ways to reach our students and help them make a positive change in their lives. This is a perfect way to make that happen. We can fight the trend of obesity and lack of physical activity by providing this program to students.

Decision I hope to put this lesson into our curriculum. I don’t feel like we as teachers can expect our students to stay active unless we teach them ways to do so. The equipment is relatively inexpensive when compared to traditional gym equipment and it lasts a very long time.