How to Help Kids Who Hate Gym Work
Physical education classes were a tough time for Michelle’s high school. There was a day when I was chosen the last in some team – I forgot which one. As the last flood of names sounded, I argued louder and louder in my head. (“What! Come on, I’m at least better than her . “ ) And then there was the dodgeball game where I successfully hid from the ball for a good 15 minutes. I was very proud of my dodging skills until I realized that I was the last child by my side, my only goal. Do you know how scary it is to be trapped inside a rectangle with dozens of pairs of eyes staring at you? A couple of throws later, I’m sitting in the nurse’s office with bloody knees and wiping away my tears. I hated exercise and did everything I could to avoid it. I complained of “cramps”, begged my mother to write excuses, and considered joining the marching band because that was the only way out. (Unfortunately, I didn’t know how to play an instrument.)
It was just one lesson of the school day. I excelled in other subjects and nothing happened. But is it really so? An article in the New York Times makes me question this. The story “How You Feel About Gym Might Affect Your Exercise Habits Today” highlights a study by a group of scientists at the University of Iowa at Ames who wondered if our feelings about physical activity in adulthood could be rooted in exercise. where many of us were first introduced to formal exercises. They asked people to rate their memories of exercise and how they now feel about exercise. As I read the results published in the Journal of Translation of the American College of Sports Medicine, my entire fitness history flashed before my eyes. From the Times :
The researchers found that the strongest associations were between unpleasant memories of exercising and prolonged resistance to exercise over the years. People who did not enjoy exercise as a child tended to report that they did not expect to enjoy exercise now, and do not plan to do it in the coming days.
On the other hand, people who enjoyed exercising were more likely to report that they expected exercise to be enjoyable and that they were active on weekends.
The Times commenters shared their vivid memories of physical education – locker room embarrassment (“I’m 64 and still have nightmares about dressing up in high school uniforms,” one person wrote), terrible presidential gym. Test, excessive emphasis on competition. While many of those who hated the experience noted that they eventually found the types of physical activity they enjoyed, their attitudes and exercise habits were forever impacted. I can link. These days, I’m happy to get out and move – I walk a little, swim a little, and do Pilates because otherwise I would be sick – but I long ago declared athleticism “not my business.”
I am beginning to doubt this point now as I am raising a five-year-old daughter who is just discovering all the amazing things her body is capable of. It is important for parents and educators to understand how messages children receive about exercise can have lasting effects and change our structures and words accordingly. Exercise has improved over the years, as I’ve learned. First, many schools have gotten rid of the bouncer – The Health and Physical Education Society says this is not an appropriate activity for the K-12 school environment as it gives students a “license to engage in violent behavior” (no kidding). And teachers now keep kids moving with games and activities that seem fun everywhere. (You didn’t live to see fourth-graders at Lowell Elementary School in Indianapolis play extreme rock-paper-scissors games.) However, many of the old traditions of physical education remain. Here are a few things we can do to get kids to exercise:
- Get rid of standard team sports. Don’t get me wrong, team sports are great for those who love team sports. But there must be other fitness options as well. Yoga, jogging, frisbees, interpretive dancing, even gardening – remember, the goal is to help kids develop lifelong interest in exercise, not win a college scholarship.
- Teach them that different people can do different things. Explain that they can have either slow-twitch muscle fibers or fast-twitch muscle fibers , making their bodies better suited for certain activities.
- Let them compose the games themselves. A study by Billy Streen, a professor at the University of Alberta, found that children enjoy more minimally organized games like street hockey compared to more organized activities. Stryn suggests that adults allow children to learn classes on their own, with minimal rules and no scoring.
I wonder if it would be different for us gym haters if we knew what we know now – fitness doesn’t have to be competitive. What if those 50 minutes a day were used to make us feel more comfortable in our own body? What messages would we say to ourselves and convey?