Warrior Wellness: An inside look at Willowbrook’s Individualized Fitness and Weight Training class

Willowbrook students are working hard every day to become more educated with their health and wellness, and we are thrilled to showcase those accomplishments through this monthly column.

In this month’s edition of Warrior Wellness, we are proud to highlight our Individualized Fitness and Weight Training classes! Our focus is on improving human performance through a variety of training methods designed to meet the needs of our students. The majority of our students are involved in multiple athletic and extracurricular activities, and we work with them to ensure they can perform optimally in their respective areas.

We are halfway through the semester and right on track with the curriculum. Participants in Individualized Fitness and Weight Training have successfully completed the first three units: Goal Setting, Nutrition Analysis and Designing Your Own Fitness Plan. We are now exploring unit four: Family Health. In this unit, pupils will develop an overview of their family’s health history through research and interviews, which will allow them to gain a deeper understanding of who they are and learn about any health-related issues for which they might have a predisposition. Furthermore, we want our students to make the connection between their family’s health history and the importance of living a healthy lifestyle.

The Physical Education Department also recently conducted its post-FitnessGram assessment for the 2018-19 school year. The FitnessGram is comprised of four tests: push-ups, curl-ups, sit and reach and the Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER). Pictured above, students enrolled in the Individualized Fitness and Weight Training class complete the push-up portion of the assessment.

This evaluation is a good indicator of muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and cardiovascular endurance. As students complete the aforementioned tests, we gain the ability to use that data to guide them in developing a fitness plan tailored to meet each student’s individual goals.

Fitness Tip
There are several health benefits associated with yoga such as increased flexibility, increased muscular strength and tone, improved respiration, energy and vitality and protection from injury. It’s an activity that can be performed almost anywhere. All components of physical fitness are important, but flexibility is often overlooked. Be sure to incorporate exercises that promote flexibility into your workout routine!