Students get fit at roadshow

jim miller/VIEWCourtney Boldin, right, works out to a dance routine with instructor Jimmy Brimmer during a fitness roadshow held at Findlay Middle School. Advertisement

Ah, physical education class -- the hour-long break from studying that's often spent chatting with friends, playing group sports or working out.

In today's society, kids have multiple distractions luring them away from sports or other physical activities, which makes P.E. teachers' jobs all the more challenging.

"Typically kids, their only physical activity throughout the day is their physical education classes," said Hayden Ross, secondary physical education facilitator for the Clark County School District. "We've had to transform the way P.E. is being taught."

Ross said that P.E. is now a fitness-based class, and kids aren't just learning team sports and line dancing anymore. Instead, they are being taught about muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and things like how many calories are in a Big Mac and how long it takes to burn those calories off.

"They're learning why they need to exercise outside of their P.E. classes," Ross said.

To help spread the word about the changing environment in physical education classes, Findlay Middle School was treated to a special fitness event on Nov. 28, a roadshow that showcased techniques physical education teachers can use to promote better health tips to their students. Representatives from 24 Hour Fitness and Niketown Las Vegas helped staff the five fitness stations for students.

"It's really healthy for us to do this," sixth-grader Destiny Gordon said. "In a regular P.E. class, we really don't do that much."

Set up in Findlay's gym, 333 W. Tropical Parkway, students were introduced to the fitness program by Ross, who talked about cardiovascular health before the kids were let loose to visit each of the workout areas.

One station featured stability balls, and students were encouraged to do crunches before learning how calorie intake affects their weight. Other stations had students jumping rope, running in place and working out with resistance bands.

"it's fun. It's a lot of exercise," seventh-grader Treyniqua Williams said.

Findlay Middle School students also learned about the food pyramid and the FITT Principle, which is an acronym for frequent, intensity, time and type.

"It teaches them to incorporate healthy eating habits," said Brenda Kelley, director of public relations and health for the Teachers' Health Trust Fund.

Kelley also said the roadshow is a way for kids to get their parents involved, by explaining what health tips they learned at school.

"It gives them an alternative to staying home and watching TV," Kelley said.

Ross recently was awarded a $10,000 Michael Jordan Inspiration Grant, which helped pay for the fitness roadshow and all the equipment used in the event. The school keeps all the equipment used in the roadshow, which includes the interactive video game Dance, Dance Revolution; exercise balls, jump ropes and resistance bands.

The event will be visiting Centennial High School, Gibson Middle School and two other schools in 2008. Like Findlay, those schools will keep all the equipment used.