Period 2 Weight Training Macro Nutrients

Everything that you eat falls into one or more of three macro nutrients. They are Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins. All three are essential for maintaining health and focusing on both the quantity and quality of these macro nutrients will improve your overall health as well as your performance gains in this class.


The basic sources of carbohydrates are:

•Raw or lightly cooked vegetables
•Most whole fresh or frozen fruits
•Whole grains, breads, pasta, cereal and anything processed that comes in a box or bag and can sit in your pantry for months without going bad.(cheeze-its, lucky charms, chips, etc.)

The basic Sources of Fats in the diet are:

• Dairy - Milk, Cheese, yogurt
• Nuts, Seeds & Oils - Vegetable oils
• The basic sources of protein in the diet are:

Meats - Beef, fowl, fish, pork

• Dairy - Milk, Cheese, Yogurt
• Eggs
• Beans
• Nuts and Seeds

For this weeks blog, take a look at your current eating habits and see if you can see any trends in you current eating based on macro nutrients. For example, do you eat more carbs than anything else, do you eat more protein, do you eat any fat? We will discuss quantity and quality of macro nutrients in our next blog. For this post I just want you to examine your current eating.

Period 4 Weight Training Macro Nutrients

Everything that you eat falls into one or more of three macro nutrients. They are Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins. All three are essential for maintaining health and focusing on both the quantity and quality of these macro nutrients will improve your overall health as well as your performance gains in this class.



The basic sources of carbohydrates are:

•Raw or lightly cooked vegetables

•Most whole fresh or frozen fruits

•Whole grains, breads, pasta, cereal and anything processed that comes in a box or bag and can sit in your pantry for months without going bad.(cheeze-its, lucky charms, chips, etc.)


The basic Sources of Fats in the diet are:



Dairy - Milk, Cheese, yogurt

Nuts, Seeds & Oils - Vegetable oils

The basic sources of protein in the diet are:


Meats - Beef, fowl, fish, pork

Dairy - Milk, Cheese, Yogurt

Eggs

Beans

Nuts and Seeds



For this weeks blog, take a look at your current eating habits and see if you can see any trends in you current eating based on macro nutrients. For example, do you eat more carbs than anything else, do you eat more protein, do you eat any fat? We will discuss quantity and quality of macro nutrients in our next blog. For this post I just want you to examine your current eating.

Period 8 Weight Training - Macronutrients

Everything that you eat falls into one or more of three macro nutrients.  They are Carbohydrates, Fats, and Proteins.  All three are essential for maintaining health and focusing on both the quantity and quality of these macro nutrients will improve your overall health as well as your performance gains in this class.

The basic sources of carbohydrates are:


•Raw or lightly cooked vegetables

•Most whole fresh or frozen fruits


•Whole grains, breads, pasta, cereal and anything processed that comes in a box or bag and can sit in your pantry  for months without going bad.(cheeze-its, lucky charms, chips, etc.)

The basic Sources of Fats in the diet are:

• Dairy - Milk, Cheese, yogurt
• Nuts, Seeds & Oils - Vegetable oils

The basic sources of protein in the diet are:

• Meats - Beef, fowl, fish, pork
• Dairy - Milk, Cheese, Yogurt
• Eggs
• Beans
• Nuts and Seeds

For this weeks blog, take a look at your current eating habits and see if you can see any trends in you current eating based on macro nutrients.  For example, do you eat more carbs than anything else, do you eat more protein, do you eat any fat?  We will discuss quantity and quality of macro nutrients in our next blog.  For this post I just want you to examine your current eating.

Period 2 Weight Training Nutrition

You have been training hard this semester and I have seen some impressive gains in strength and in quality of movement. For the remainder of the semester our blogs will focus on what is probably the most important factor of all for lasting health. Your nutrition. It is a tough subject, because your body is a miraculous machine that can and will run on just about anything you give it for a while. The effects of poor nutrition often take years to reveal themselves in terms of chronic health problems, but recent research suggests that these problems are showing up earlier and earlier in peoples lives. Luckily, small changes to your eating now can make big differences , not only on your performance in workouts, but also in your overall health.
In order to look at our nutrition we need to know where we are right now. For this weeks blog I want you to think about the last three meals you have had to eat. They can be snacks, or real meals. Write down everything that you have put into your mouth for your past three eating sessions, be sure to include drinks, that pack of skittles, the piece of pizza after school, everything.

Period 4 Weight Training Nutrition

You have been training hard this semester and I have seen some impressive gains in strength and in quality of movement. For the remainder of the semester our blogs will focus on what is probably the most important factor of all for lasting health. Your nutrition. It is a tough subject, because your body is a miraculous machine that can and will run on just about anything you give it for a while. The effects of poor nutrition often take years to reveal themselves in terms of chronic health problems, but recent research suggests that these problems are showing up earlier and earlier in peoples lives. Luckily, small changes to your eating now can make big differences , not only on your performance in workouts, but also in your overall health.


In order to look at our nutrition we need to know where we are right now. For this weeks blog I want you to think about the last three meals you have had to eat. They can be snacks, or real meals. Write down everything that you have put into your mouth for your past three eating sessions, be sure to include drinks, that pack of skittles, the piece of pizza after school, everything.

Period 8 Weight Training Nutrition

You have been training hard this semester and I have seen some impressive gains in strength and in quality of movement. For the remainder of the semester our blogs will focus on what is probably the most important factor of all for lasting health. Your nutrition. It is a tough subject, because your body is a miraculous machine that can and will run on just about anything you give it for a while. The effects of poor nutrition often take years to reveal themselves in terms of chronic health problems, but recent research suggests that these problems are showing up earlier and earlier in peoples lives. Luckily, small changes to your eating now can make big differences , not only on your performance in workouts, but also in your overall health.


In order to look at our nutrition we need to know where we are right now. For this weeks blog I want you to think about the last three meals you have had to eat. They can be snacks, or real meals. Write down everything that you have put into your mouth for your past three eating sessions, be sure to include drinks, that pack of skittles, the piece of pizza after school, everything.

Period 2 Weight Training Grade Yourself

The first quarter is in the books and grades have been posted and your grade reflects how well you were able to follow the guidelines I put forth not necessarily how hard you have worked in the class. I have said before, one of the reasons I like fitness and weight training specifically so much is that what you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put into it. Many of you have worked very hard this past quarter and your results are showing that. Some of you have not worked quite as hard. We do not grade on effort in weight training but for this weeks blog I want you to take an honest look at you level of effort int he class for the past quarter and give yourself a grade. I will not post these comments. I just want you to take a moment to reflect on what you are putting into the class and in turn what you are getting out of the class.

The grade scale is as follows:

A - Works hard daily, ready to work out and puts full effort into all activities practices form on lifts and goes after weak areas.
B - Works hard consistently but not everyday, put full effort into what you do but will take days off here and there
C - Have to be reminded to get back to work, have a hard time getting to class on time does not follow class activities, does not practice form on lifts
D - Does not even change for class activities, not a part of the community of the class, does their own thing.
E - Luckily we do not have any of these. I would work hard to get you out of the class if we did.

Let me know what grade you would give yourself and back it up with examples, as well as ways you could improve heading into 2nd quarter.

Period 4 Weight Training Grade Yourself

The first quarter is in the books and grades have been posted and your grade reflects how well you were able to follow the guidelines I put forth not necessarily how hard you have worked in the class. I have said before, one of the reasons I like fitness and weight training specifically so much is that what you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put into it. Many of you have worked very hard this past quarter and your results are showing that. Some of you have not worked quite as hard. We do not grade on effort in weight training but for this weeks blog I want you to take an honest look at you level of effort int he class for the past quarter and give yourself a grade. I will not post these comments. I just want you to take a moment to reflect on what you are putting into the class and in turn what you are getting out of the class.


The grade scale is as follows
A - Works hard daily, ready to work out and puts full effort into all activities practices form on lifts and goes after weak areas.
B - Works hard consistently but not everyday, put full effort into what you do but will take days off here and there
C - Have to be reminded to get back to work, have a hard time getting to class on time does not follow class activities, does not practice form on lifts
D - Does not even change for class activities, not a part of the community of the class, does their own thing.
E - Luckily we do not have any of these. I would work hard to get you out of the class if we did.

Let me know what grade you would give yourself and back it up with examples, as well as ways you could improve heading into 2nd quarter.

Period 8 Weight Training Grade Yourself

The first quarter is in the books and grades have been posted and your grade reflects how well you were able to follow the guidelines I put forth not necessarily how hard you have worked in the class.  I have said before, one of the reasons I like fitness and weight training specifically so much is that what you get out of it is directly proportional to what you put into it.  Many of you have worked very hard this past quarter and your results are showing that.  Some of you have not worked quite as hard.  We do not grade on effort in weight training but for this weeks blog I want you to take an honest look at you level of effort int he class for the past quarter and give yourself a grade.  I will not post these comments.  I just want you to take a moment to reflect on what you are putting into the class and in turn what you are getting out of the class. 

The grade scale is as follows:
A - Works hard daily, ready to work out and puts full effort into all activities practices form on lifts and goes after weak areas.
B - Works hard consistently but not everyday, put full effort into what you do but will take days off here and there
C - Have to be reminded to get back to work, have a hard time getting to class on time does not follow class activities, does not practice form on lifts
D - Does not even change for class activities, not a part of the community of the class, does their own thing.
E - Luckily we do not have any of these.  I would work hard to get you out of the class if we did.

Let me know what grade you would give yourself and back it up with examples, as well as ways you could improve heading into 2nd quarter.

Period 2 Weight Training "You are the teacher"

We have spent the better part of the last two months learning how to move our bodies correctly in order to get stronger and prevent injury. We have focused on a few major lifts and have sprinkled in various auxiliary movements. Just about everyone is working hard and will make great improvements, however it is all for nothing if you don't learn something along the way. For this weeks blog I want you to be the teacher. If you can teach someone something you learn it on a deeper level.



Think about the lifts of the squat and the deadlift. I want you to come up with the most important cues for thoes two lifts and give me a five step process for teaching each. For example, if I were to do the same for the bench press it would look like this:

Bench Press
Even grip, have spotter

Shoulders packed back and down

Feet planted

Inhale, elbows out, lower bar to chest

Exhale, press to lockout

Your five step process should show me how to do the lift correctly and should include any safety concerns. I will not post these responses untill Friday.

Period 4 Weight Training "You are the teacher"

We have spent the better part of the last two months learning how to move our bodies correctly in order to get stronger and prevent injury. We have focused on a few major lifts and have sprinkled in various auxiliary movements. Just about everyone is working hard and will make great improvements, however it is all for nothing if you don't learn something along the way. For this weeks blog I want you to be the teacher. If you can teach someone something you learn it on a deeper level.


Think about the lifts of the squat and the deadlift. I want you to come up with the most important cues for thoes two lifts and give me a five step process for teaching each. For example, if I were to do the same for the bench press it would look like this:


Bench Press

Even grip, have spotter

Shoulders packed back and down

Feet planted

Inhale, elbows out, lower bar to chest

Exhale, press to lockout

Your five step process should show me how to do the lift correctly and should include any safety concerns. I will not post these responses untill Friday.

Period 8 Weight Training "You are the teacher"

We have spent the better part of the last two months learning how to move our bodies correctly in order to get stronger and prevent injury.  We have focused on a few major lifts and have sprinkled in various auxiliary movements.  Just about everyone is working hard and will make great improvements, however it is all for nothing if you don't learn something along the way.  For this weeks blog I want you to be the teacher.  If you can teach someone something you learn it on a deeper level. 

Think about the lifts of the squat and the deadlift.  I want you to come up with the most important cues for thoes two lifts and give me a five step process for teaching each.  For example, if I were to do the same for the bench press it would look like this:

Bench Press

1. Even grip, have spotter
2. Shoulders packed back and down
3. Feet planted
4. Inhale, elbows out, lower bar to chest
5. Exhale, press to lockout

Your five step process should show me how to do the lift correctly and should include any safety concerns.  I will not post these responses untill Friday.

Period 2 Weight Training: Goals

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."


Stephen A. Brennan
We are nearly finished with all of our assessments and are well into our regular workouts. It is time to take a look at our goals. We will pull our sheets out and set goals for each of our assessment areas, but it is impossible for us to focus on all of those goals at once. For this weeks blog, I want you to pick the three areas of assessment that are the most important to you. For example, the goals of a football player are going to be very different than those of an athlete on the cross country team. We can gear your training to focus on those areas that are important to you. This does not mean that you will not improve in the other areas, only that we can tweak your individual program to help you meet your indvidual goals. For this weeks blog, list your three most important goals for the semester.

Period 4 Weight Training: Goals

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."


Stephen A. Brennan

We are nearly finished with all of our assessments and are well into our regular workouts. It is time to take a look at our goals. We will pull our sheets out and set goals for each of our assessment areas, but it is impossible for us to focus on all of those goals at once. For this weeks blog, I want you to pick the three areas of assessment that are the most important to you. For example, the goals of a football player are going to be very different than those of an athlete on the cross country team. We can gear your training to focus on those areas that are important to you. This does not mean that you will not improve in the other areas, only that we can tweak your individual program to help you meet your indvidual goals. For this weeks blog, list your three most important goals for the semester.

Period 8 Weight Training: Goals

"Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."


Stephen A. Brennan

We are nearly finished with all of our assessments and are well into our regular workouts.  It is time to take a look at our goals.  We will pull our sheets out and set goals for each of our assessment areas, but it is impossible for us to focus on all of those goals at once.  For this weeks blog, I want you to pick the three areas of assessment that are the most important to you.  For example, the goals of a football player are going to be very different than those of an athlete on the cross country team.  We can gear your training to focus on those areas that are important to you.  This does not mean that you will not improve in the other areas, only that we can tweak your individual program to help you meet your indvidual goals.  For this weeks blog, list your three most important goals for the semester.

Period 2 Weight Training What is Fitness?

Last weeks blog was a bit technical, but I want you to get an idea of how complex the muscle cell is. In an upcoming post, we will compare the muscle cell to the fat cell and see which is more beneficial for you.


For this weeks post I want to get more philosophical. Read the essay below, it was written by a guy named Blair Morrison and touches on the question of; are you pushing yourself or just getting by? You can find more of his essays here.

For this weeks blog. You have to leave two separate comments. First, tell me what the essay means to you. Do you agree or disagree? You can include where you think you fall in his 90% to 10% example and/or examples of what you do that place you in that category. Then you have to leave another comment about someone else's comment. You can agree with someone, disagree, ask a a clarifying question etc.

You will have two weeks to complete this blog assignment and I will post comments at the end of each day so that you can comment on them. I will also go over the directions in class, but if you have any questions let me know.

Fitness Is...

Potential.

Everybody has it. Few reach it.

It’s easy to assume that people despise mediocrity because the world is littered with evidence of humanity’s desire to excel—our obsession with talent, our reverence for heroes, even our love of money. It’s easy to assume that everyone wants to be his or her physical best because everywhere there are those wishing for a better body type or a better lifestyle. They fill our virgin ears with a symphony of sincerity and aspiration, but listen closer. They clamor with empty voices.

The truth is that 90% of people just want to get by. We pretend our ultimate goal is to be the best version of ourselves, reading the right literature, quoting the right sources, joining the right gyms; but the reality is far less compelling. If we are truly honest we will admit that the level to which we might possibly rise is rarely our chief concern. More important is reaching the level where we can merely survive or, at the very least, mock survival. Getting there is much easier. Getting there requires less time, less pain, and less effort. Getting there is too often there enough.

I was speaking with my father the other day about a friend of ours whose son wanted to be a college football player. He had good size and natural talent, but he was a little slow and lacked the explosive quality most big programs look for in an athlete. One evening while having dinner with this family my dad suggested that the kid hang a bell at the top of the hill abutting their property and ring it every morning before going to school. Not only would sprinting up the hill begin to build the explosive power needed for speed and acceleration but the sound of the bell would become a symbol of his dedication to the goal. I wish I could say the kid went out and rang that bell every day, or committed himself to some other program in its place, but this isn’t that kind of story. He, like many others like him, chose instead to remain a card-carrying member of that mediocre 90%.

Why? Because greatness is HARD. Our bodies don’t care about potential. They were built to survive, not to excel, and survival has gotten pretty easy as of late. Our bodies don’t know that by being stronger and faster and leaner the likelihood of illness, disease, and injury drop dramatically. Our bodies only know that it hurts like hell getting there. It takes supreme physical and mental fortitude and an unflinching, genuine ambition to overcome these hurdles. Most of us lack this and it shows.

In this story his ability wasn’t being measured against theirs or any others, only against his own potential as an individual. He claimed that he wanted to be the best that he could be, to give himself the best chance to be a college football player. But when faced with the reality of what it would take to reach that goal he balked, exposing his ambitions as half-hearted and insincere, and his athletic future to be one ridden along the tired road to the middle. This is an all too common tragedy.

After hearing this story, I sat for a minute and observed my father. He was visibly disappointed by the kid’s inability to commit himself to his goal. Yet I knew for a fact that my dad had wanted to lose weight for years and failed to commit himself to doing so in much the same way. This struck me as a prevailing irony, not just in this conversation but in our culture in general, so I decided to ask him when was the last time he “rang the bell.” He was lost for a second, then smiled wryly as he got my meaning. “Too long,” he replied.

Sadly, it seems that our praise of greatness and our distaste for mediocrity is an appreciation and expectation reserved for others. We expect Jordan or Tiger or Ronaldo to reach their potential every time they compete and we shake our heads when they fall short. But we shrug off our love handles and that occasional chocolate cake as acceptable losses. We cry for the children growing up without physical opportunities, yet lie on the couch and amicably waste ours away. We claim we’re too old, too fat, too injured, or too tired. The truth is we’re too obsessed with getting by.

The good news is that physical potential does not expire. It has no shelf life. Whatever state you’re in at whatever moment, you can always be better. SO BE BETTER. Too often people try to do this by setting a number to hit, a person to beat, or a mirror to impress, implicitly attaching a finite quality to the process. This focus is flawed. As you change and improve, so too should your potential grow and your ambition swell. Remember that fitness is a goal inadvertently attained through the systematic overestimation of yourself in all fields. It’s a byproduct of setting the bar too high, of striving for perfection and falling just short. It’s knowing that you’ll never get there but trying your damndest nonetheless. It’s constantly pushing your limits in every direction regardless of your skill. It’s finding a way to keep ringing the bell.

Period 4 Weight Training What is Fitness?

Last weeks blog was a bit technical, but I want you to get an idea of how complex the muscle cell is. In an upcoming post, we will compare the muscle cell to the fat cell and see which is more beneficial for you.


For this weeks post I want to get more philosophical. Read the essay below, it was written by a guy named Blair Morrison and touches on the question of; are you pushing yourself or just getting by? You can find more of his essays here.

For this weeks blog. You have to leave two separate comments. First, tell me what the essay means to you. Do you agree or disagree? You can include where you think you fall in his 90% to 10% example and/or examples of what you do that place you in that category. Then you have to leave another comment about someone else's comment. You can agree with someone, disagree, ask a a clarifying question etc.

You will have two weeks to complete this blog assignment and I will post comments at the end of each day so that you can comment on them. I will also go over the directions in class, but if you have any questions let me know.

Fitness Is...
Potential.

Everybody has it. Few reach it.

It’s easy to assume that people despise mediocrity because the world is littered with evidence of humanity’s desire to excel—our obsession with talent, our reverence for heroes, even our love of money. It’s easy to assume that everyone wants to be his or her physical best because everywhere there are those wishing for a better body type or a better lifestyle. They fill our virgin ears with a symphony of sincerity and aspiration, but listen closer. They clamor with empty voices.

The truth is that 90% of people just want to get by. We pretend our ultimate goal is to be the best version of ourselves, reading the right literature, quoting the right sources, joining the right gyms; but the reality is far less compelling. If we are truly honest we will admit that the level to which we might possibly rise is rarely our chief concern. More important is reaching the level where we can merely survive or, at the very least, mock survival. Getting there is much easier. Getting there requires less time, less pain, and less effort. Getting there is too often there enough.

I was speaking with my father the other day about a friend of ours whose son wanted to be a college football player. He had good size and natural talent, but he was a little slow and lacked the explosive quality most big programs look for in an athlete. One evening while having dinner with this family my dad suggested that the kid hang a bell at the top of the hill abutting their property and ring it every morning before going to school. Not only would sprinting up the hill begin to build the explosive power needed for speed and acceleration but the sound of the bell would become a symbol of his dedication to the goal. I wish I could say the kid went out and rang that bell every day, or committed himself to some other program in its place, but this isn’t that kind of story. He, like many others like him, chose instead to remain a card-carrying member of that mediocre 90%.

Why? Because greatness is HARD. Our bodies don’t care about potential. They were built to survive, not to excel, and survival has gotten pretty easy as of late. Our bodies don’t know that by being stronger and faster and leaner the likelihood of illness, disease, and injury drop dramatically. Our bodies only know that it hurts like hell getting there. It takes supreme physical and mental fortitude and an unflinching, genuine ambition to overcome these hurdles. Most of us lack this and it shows.

In this story his ability wasn’t being measured against theirs or any others, only against his own potential as an individual. He claimed that he wanted to be the best that he could be, to give himself the best chance to be a college football player. But when faced with the reality of what it would take to reach that goal he balked, exposing his ambitions as half-hearted and insincere, and his athletic future to be one ridden along the tired road to the middle. This is an all too common tragedy.

After hearing this story, I sat for a minute and observed my father. He was visibly disappointed by the kid’s inability to commit himself to his goal. Yet I knew for a fact that my dad had wanted to lose weight for years and failed to commit himself to doing so in much the same way. This struck me as a prevailing irony, not just in this conversation but in our culture in general, so I decided to ask him when was the last time he “rang the bell.” He was lost for a second, then smiled wryly as he got my meaning. “Too long,” he replied.

Sadly, it seems that our praise of greatness and our distaste for mediocrity is an appreciation and expectation reserved for others. We expect Jordan or Tiger or Ronaldo to reach their potential every time they compete and we shake our heads when they fall short. But we shrug off our love handles and that occasional chocolate cake as acceptable losses. We cry for the children growing up without physical opportunities, yet lie on the couch and amicably waste ours away. We claim we’re too old, too fat, too injured, or too tired. The truth is we’re too obsessed with getting by.
The good news is that physical potential does not expire. It has no shelf life. Whatever state you’re in at whatever moment, you can always be better. SO BE BETTER. Too often people try to do this by setting a number to hit, a person to beat, or a mirror to impress, implicitly attaching a finite quality to the process. This focus is flawed. As you change and improve, so too should your potential grow and your ambition swell. Remember that fitness is a goal inadvertently attained through the systematic overestimation of yourself in all fields. It’s a byproduct of setting the bar too high, of striving for perfection and falling just short. It’s knowing that you’ll never get there but trying your damndest nonetheless. It’s constantly pushing your limits in every direction regardless of your skill. It’s finding a way to keep ringing the bell.

Period 8 Weight Training What is Fitness?

Last weeks blog was a bit technical, but I want you to get an idea of how complex the muscle cell is.  In an upcoming post, we will compare the muscle cell to the fat cell and see which is more beneficial for you.

For this weeks post I want to get more philosophical.  Read the essay below, it was written by a guy named Blair Morrison and touches on the question of;  are you pushing yourself or just getting by? You can find more of his essays here. 

For this weeks blog.  You have to leave two separate comments.  First, tell me what the essay means to you.  Do you agree or disagree?  You can include where you think you fall in his 90% to 10% example and/or examples of what you do that place you in that category.  Then you have to leave another comment about someone else's comment.  You can agree with someone, disagree, ask a a clarifying question etc.

You will have two weeks to complete this blog assignment and I will post comments at the end of each day so that you can comment on them.  I will also go over the directions in class, but if you have any questions let me know.

Fitness Is...


Potential.

Everybody has it. Few reach it.

It’s easy to assume that people despise mediocrity because the world is littered with evidence of humanity’s desire to excel—our obsession with talent, our reverence for heroes, even our love of money. It’s easy to assume that everyone wants to be his or her physical best because everywhere there are those wishing for a better body type or a better lifestyle. They fill our virgin ears with a symphony of sincerity and aspiration, but listen closer. They clamor with empty voices.

The truth is that 90% of people just want to get by. We pretend our ultimate goal is to be the best version of ourselves, reading the right literature, quoting the right sources, joining the right gyms; but the reality is far less compelling. If we are truly honest we will admit that the level to which we might possibly rise is rarely our chief concern. More important is reaching the level where we can merely survive or, at the very least, mock survival. Getting there is much easier. Getting there requires less time, less pain, and less effort. Getting there is too often there enough.

I was speaking with my father the other day about a friend of ours whose son wanted to be a college football player. He had good size and natural talent, but he was a little slow and lacked the explosive quality most big programs look for in an athlete. One evening while having dinner with this family my dad suggested that the kid hang a bell at the top of the hill abutting their property and ring it every morning before going to school. Not only would sprinting up the hill begin to build the explosive power needed for speed and acceleration but the sound of the bell would become a symbol of his dedication to the goal. I wish I could say the kid went out and rang that bell every day, or committed himself to some other program in its place, but this isn’t that kind of story. He, like many others like him, chose instead to remain a card-carrying member of that mediocre 90%.

Why? Because greatness is HARD. Our bodies don’t care about potential. They were built to survive, not to excel, and survival has gotten pretty easy as of late. Our bodies don’t know that by being stronger and faster and leaner the likelihood of illness, disease, and injury drop dramatically. Our bodies only know that it hurts like hell getting there. It takes supreme physical and mental fortitude and an unflinching, genuine ambition to overcome these hurdles. Most of us lack this and it shows.

In this story his ability wasn’t being measured against theirs or any others, only against his own potential as an individual. He claimed that he wanted to be the best that he could be, to give himself the best chance to be a college football player. But when faced with the reality of what it would take to reach that goal he balked, exposing his ambitions as half-hearted and insincere, and his athletic future to be one ridden along the tired road to the middle. This is an all too common tragedy.

After hearing this story, I sat for a minute and observed my father. He was visibly disappointed by the kid’s inability to commit himself to his goal. Yet I knew for a fact that my dad had wanted to lose weight for years and failed to commit himself to doing so in much the same way. This struck me as a prevailing irony, not just in this conversation but in our culture in general, so I decided to ask him when was the last time he “rang the bell.” He was lost for a second, then smiled wryly as he got my meaning. “Too long,” he replied.

Sadly, it seems that our praise of greatness and our distaste for mediocrity is an appreciation and expectation reserved for others. We expect Jordan or Tiger or Ronaldo to reach their potential every time they compete and we shake our heads when they fall short. But we shrug off our love handles and that occasional chocolate cake as acceptable losses. We cry for the children growing up without physical opportunities, yet lie on the couch and amicably waste ours away. We claim we’re too old, too fat, too injured, or too tired. The truth is we’re too obsessed with getting by.

The good news is that physical potential does not expire. It has no shelf life. Whatever state you’re in at whatever moment, you can always be better. SO BE BETTER. Too often people try to do this by setting a number to hit, a person to beat, or a mirror to impress, implicitly attaching a finite quality to the process. This focus is flawed. As you change and improve, so too should your potential grow and your ambition swell. Remember that fitness is a goal inadvertently attained through the systematic overestimation of yourself in all fields. It’s a byproduct of setting the bar too high, of striving for perfection and falling just short. It’s knowing that you’ll never get there but trying your damndest nonetheless. It’s constantly pushing your limits in every direction regardless of your skill. It’s finding a way to keep ringing the bell.

Period 2 Weight Training Muscle Function

It is important to have at least a basic understanding of how your muscles work. Take a look at this video. It does a good job of explaining the complicated process that takes place every time you want to move. We are focused only on your skeletal muscles so you can stop watching the video at 4:40 unless you are so intrigued that you want to watch it all.

Based on the video, answer the following questions.


1. What are the 4 special properties of all muscle tissue?

2. Why are skeletal muscle fibers unusual?

We will look into how we make these muscles stronger next week.

Period 4 Weight Training Muscle Function

It is important to have at least a basic understanding of how your muscles work. Take a look at this video. It does a good job of explaining the complicated process that takes place every time you want to move. We are focused only on your skeletal muscles so you can stop watching the video at 4:40 unless you are so intrigued that you want to watch it all.

Based on the video, answer the following questions.


1. What are the 4 special properties of all muscle tissue?


2. Why are skeletal muscle fibers unusual?

We will look into how we make these muscles stronger next week.

Period 8 Weight Training Muscle Function

It is important to have at least a basic understanding of how your muscles work. Take a look at this video. It does a good job of explaining the complicated process that takes place every time you want to move. We are focused only on your skeletal muscles so you can stop watching the video at 4:40 unless you are so intrigued that you want to watch it all.

Based on the video, answer the following questions.

1. What are the 4 special properties of all muscle tissue?


2. Why are skeletal muscle fibers unusual?
We will look into how we make these muscles stronger next week.  In an effort to get everyone to actually watch the video, I will not post your answers until next Monday.

Period 8 Weight Training

Welcome Back!
Hope you had a great summer and are looking forward to working hard to reach your health and fitness goals through your physical education class. I am looking forward to meeting those of you I have not met and reconnecting with those who have been in class before. We have continued to work hard to improve the weight training classes and hope you will enjoy the semester.

For your first blog, I just want to be sure you know how to comment. Please leave me a comment with your name so that I know you are able to use the blog. The instructions are below.

1. Click on the word "Comment" below and a text box will appear
2. click in the text box and write your comment, in this case your name. Be sure to include your name in all comments
3. Under the text box is a place to decide how you want to comment. If you have a google account you can select that profile. If not select "anonymous" as your profile(remember to put your name in the comment or I will not know it is yours and will not give you credit)
4. Click "post comment" and you are done.

Period 4 Weight Training

Welcome Back!
Hope you had a great summer and are looking forward to working hard to reach your health and fitness goals through your physical education class. I am looking forward to meeting those of you I have not met and reconnecting with those who have been in class before. We have continued to work hard to improve the weight training classes and hope you will enjoy the semester.

For your first blog, I just want to be sure you know how to comment. Please leave me a comment with your name so that I know you are able to use the blog. The instructions are below.

1. Click on the word "Comment" below and a text box will appear
2. Click in the text box and write your comment, in this case your name. Be sure to include your name in all comments
3. Under the text box is a place to decide how you want to comment. If you have a google account you can select that profile. If not select "anonymous" as your profile(remember to put your name in the comment or I will not know it is yours and will not give you credit)
4. Click "post comment" and you are done.

Period 2 Advanced Weight Training

Welcome Back!

Hope you had a great summer and are looking forward to working hard to reach your health and fitness goals through your physical education class.  I am looking forward to meeting those of you I have not met and reconnecting with those who have been in class before.  We have continued to work hard to improve the weight training classes and hope you will enjoy the semester.

For your first blog, I just want to be sure you know how to comment.  Please leave me a comment with your name so that I know you are able to use the blog.  The instructions are below.

1. Click on the word "Comment" below and a text box will appear
2. click in the text box and write your comment, in this case your name.  Be sure to include your name in all comments
3. Under the text box is a place to decide how you want to comment.  If you have a google account you can select that profile.  If not select "anonymous" as your profile(remember to put your name in the comment or I will not know it is yours and will not give you credit) 
4. Click "post comment" and you are done.

Period 8 Nutrients

There are three Macronutrients that your body needs to get from food for energy and for survival. They are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Everything that you eat falls into one of these three categories. Your body needs all three. In order to optimize energy levels and health it is important to get all three in each meal that you eat.


They are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Below are some examples of foods for each macronutrient.

Common sources of carbohydrates - starchy foods (like grain, bread, bagels,cereals and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts. Fruit juice, energy drinks, sport drinks, and sodas.

Common Sources of proteins meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes(beans)

Common Sources of fat are meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters, oils, lard, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and coconut oil.

For this weeks blog I want you to think about everything you ate and drank throughout the day yesterday. Write it down if you have to and, using percentages, tell me what the macronutrient breakdown of your nutrition was for yesterday.

For example: Yesterday I had spinach(carb), eggs(protein) and ham(protein) with some almonds(fat) for breakfast. For lunch I had chili(Protein) with kale(carb) and guacamole(fat) and dinner I had two hamburgers(protein) on top of a spinach salad(carbs) with some more guac(fat). I only drink water and coffee so they do not count towards my macronutrients.

The breakdown looks like this:
Protein: 4
Carbs: 3
Fat: 3

Or as a percentage
Protein 40%
Carbs 30%
Fat 30%

Period 7 Nutrition

There are three Macronutrients that your body needs to get from food for energy and for survival. They are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Everything that you eat falls into one of these three categories. Your body needs all three. In order to optimize energy levels and health it is important to get all three in each meal that you eat.

They are carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Below are some examples of foods for each macronutrient.

Common sources of carbohydrates - starchy foods (like grain, bread, bagels,cereals and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts. Fruit juice, energy drinks, sport drinks, and sodas.

Common Sources of proteins meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes(beans)

Common Sources of fat meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters, oils, lard, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and coconut oil.

For this weeks blog I want you to think about everything you ate and drank throughout the day yesterday. Write it down if you have to and, using percentages, tell me what the macronutrient breakdown of your nutrition was for yesterday.

For example: Yesterday I had spinach(carb), eggs(protein) and ham(protein) with some almonds(fat) for breakfast. For lunch I had chili(Protein) with kale(carb) and guacamole(fat) and dinner I had two hamburgers(protein) on top of a spinach salad(carbs) with some more guac(fat). I only drink water and coffee so they do not count towards my macronutrients.

The breakdown looks like this:
Protein: 4
Carbs: 3
Fat: 3

Or as a percentage
Protein 40%
Carbs 30%
Fat 30%

Period 5 Nutrition

There are three Macronutrients that your body needs to get from food for energy and for survival. They are carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Everything that you eat falls into one of these three categories. Your body needs all three. In order to optimize energy levels and health it is important to get all three in each meal that you eat.

They are carbohydrates, proteins and fats.  Below are some examples of foods for each macronutrient.
Common sources of carbohydrates - starchy foods (like grain, bread, bagels,cereals and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt. Other foods like vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and cottage cheese contain carbohydrates, but in lesser amounts. Fruit juice, energy drinks, sport drinks, and sodas.
Common Sources of proteins meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes(beans)

Common Sources of fat meat, poultry, nuts, milk products, butters, oils, lard, olive oil, avocados, nuts, and coconut oil.

For this weeks blog I want you to think about everything you ate and drank throughout the day yesterday.  Write it down if you have to and, using percentages, tell me what the macronutrient breakdown of your nutrition was for yesterday.

For example: Yesterday I had spinach(carb), eggs(protein) and ham(protein) with some almonds(fat) for breakfast.  For lunch I had chili(Protein) with kale(carb) and guacamole(fat) and dinner I had two hamburgers(protein) on top of a spinach salad(carbs) with some more guac(fat).  I only drink water and coffee so they do not count towards my macronutrients.

The breakdown looks like this:

Protein: 4
Carbs:  3
Fat:  3

Or as a percentage
Protein 40%
Carbs 30%
Fat 30%

Period 5 Stress

How You Can Deal With High School Stress

High school can be a pretty tough time for many students: classes become harder, you have more responsibility, you feel the need to fit in with your peers, and perhaps you even have to work. This article provides several tips on managing your stress level.
The following are six tips, adapted from about.com, that can help reduce your stress:
- Have a healthy escape from school
- Lighten up and laugh a little
- Give yourself a little reward for doing well
- Keep things in perspective
- Be positive

- Stay away from drugs and alcohol

A healthy escape from school means breaking your daily routine a little. Give yourself a little bit of 'me' time each day. A good idea is to use this 'me' time to do something physical: physical activity reduces stress. For example, take a walk or hike, play with your dog outside, shoot some hoops, jump rope, etc. However, don't just be creative with your physical activity, be creative about hobbies you may want to pursue. If you like the sound of a saxophone, you could try taking lessons. Even underwater basket weaving has its place if it helps you relax and have fun.

Even when you do your day-to-day activities, don't take things too seriously-laugh a little. Laughter can get rid of stress as well as exercise can, and it's another healthy escape. There are things you can do to promote a light-hearted nature: spice up movie night with a comedy, buy some funny books/magazines, and most importantly, be able to laugh at yourself even when things don't go your way.

You should reward yourself for doing well in school, on a sports team, or for doing all your chores and homework and other commitments without any complaints. This doesn't mean you should go buy yourself a new computer. Nor does it mean you should reward yourself for every little thing like just getting up in the morning. What this means is when you know you have performed well on a given task, don't be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back.

An important skill to have throughout your life is to keep things in perspective. A proper perspective actually reduces stress. For any situation that is stressful, take a second to look at it from a different point of view. Try to visualize how unimportant this stressful moment is in the whole scheme of life. This exercise is designed to help you 'let go' of the little stress triggers that everyone experiences.

Often associated with proper perspective is positive thinking. The next time a stressful situation happens, instead of focusing on how it can ruin your life, focus on the benefits of overcoming this little hurdle. If a big test is coming up, don't look at it with the attitude, 'If I fail, I'll do bad in the class.' Instead, look at it with the attitude, 'When I pass this test, I'll be closer to my class goal of an 'A'!'

You've heard before and you'll hear it again-stay away from drugs and alcohol! Imagine this situation: You have a really nice car, I mean, REALLY nice. The color, make, model, everything you want in a car. The car needs work done on it, so you take it to the mechanic. He spends a lot of time on it and you spend a lot of money on it. Finally you get it back. What's the first thing you do with it? You take out your dad's sledgehammer and beat the bearings out of it? Why would you do that? The same is true with your body and drugs and alcohol. You are given a truly remarkable body. You spend time improving it inside and out. So, why would you destroy all the work and money you've spent on your body? Good answer-you shouldn't.

What do you do to handle stress? For this weeks blog, let me know what you have used in the past to help you relieve stress. If you do not have any current strategies which ones listed above do you think would work for you?

Period 7 Stress

How You Can Deal With High School Stress

High school can be a pretty tough time for many students: classes become harder, you have more responsibility, you feel the need to fit in with your peers, and perhaps you even have to work. This article provides several tips on managing your stress level.
The following are six tips, adapted from about.com, that can help reduce your stress:
- Have a healthy escape from school
- Lighten up and laugh a little
- Give yourself a little reward for doing well
- Keep things in perspective
- Be positive

- Stay away from drugs and alcohol

A healthy escape from school means breaking your daily routine a little. Give yourself a little bit of 'me' time each day. A good idea is to use this 'me' time to do something physical: physical activity reduces stress. For example, take a walk or hike, play with your dog outside, shoot some hoops, jump rope, etc. However, don't just be creative with your physical activity, be creative about hobbies you may want to pursue. If you like the sound of a saxophone, you could try taking lessons. Even underwater basket weaving has its place if it helps you relax and have fun.

Even when you do your day-to-day activities, don't take things too seriously-laugh a little. Laughter can get rid of stress as well as exercise can, and it's another healthy escape. There are things you can do to promote a light-hearted nature: spice up movie night with a comedy, buy some funny books/magazines, and most importantly, be able to laugh at yourself even when things don't go your way.

You should reward yourself for doing well in school, on a sports team, or for doing all your chores and homework and other commitments without any complaints. This doesn't mean you should go buy yourself a new computer. Nor does it mean you should reward yourself for every little thing like just getting up in the morning. What this means is when you know you have performed well on a given task, don't be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back.

An important skill to have throughout your life is to keep things in perspective. A proper perspective actually reduces stress. For any situation that is stressful, take a second to look at it from a different point of view. Try to visualize how unimportant this stressful moment is in the whole scheme of life. This exercise is designed to help you 'let go' of the little stress triggers that everyone experiences.

Often associated with proper perspective is positive thinking. The next time a stressful situation happens, instead of focusing on how it can ruin your life, focus on the benefits of overcoming this little hurdle. If a big test is coming up, don't look at it with the attitude, 'If I fail, I'll do bad in the class.' Instead, look at it with the attitude, 'When I pass this test, I'll be closer to my class goal of an 'A'!'

You've heard before and you'll hear it again-stay away from drugs and alcohol! Imagine this situation: You have a really nice car, I mean, REALLY nice. The color, make, model, everything you want in a car. The car needs work done on it, so you take it to the mechanic. He spends a lot of time on it and you spend a lot of money on it. Finally you get it back. What's the first thing you do with it? You take out your dad's sledgehammer and beat the bearings out of it? Why would you do that? The same is true with your body and drugs and alcohol. You are given a truly remarkable body. You spend time improving it inside and out. So, why would you destroy all the work and money you've spent on your body? Good answer-you shouldn't.

What do you do to handle stress? For this weeks blog, let me know what you have used in the past to help you relieve stress. If you do not have any current strategies which ones listed above do you think would work for you?

Period 8 Stress

How You Can Deal With High School Stress


High school can be a pretty tough time for many students: classes become harder, you have more responsibility, you feel the need to fit in with your peers, and perhaps you even have to work. This article provides several tips on managing your stress level.
The following are six tips, adapted from about.com, that can help reduce your stress:
- Have a healthy escape from school
- Lighten up and laugh a little

- Give yourself a little reward for doing well
- Keep things in perspective
- Be positive
- Stay away from drugs and alcohol
A healthy escape from school means breaking your daily routine a little. Give yourself a little bit of 'me' time each day. A good idea is to use this 'me' time to do something physical: physical activity reduces stress. For example, take a walk or hike, play with your dog outside, shoot some hoops, jump rope, etc. However, don't just be creative with your physical activity, be creative about hobbies you may want to pursue. If you like the sound of a saxophone, you could try taking lessons. Even underwater basket weaving has its place if it helps you relax and have fun.
Even when you do your day-to-day activities, don't take things too seriously-laugh a little. Laughter can get rid of stress as well as exercise can, and it's another healthy escape. There are things you can do to promote a light-hearted nature: spice up movie night with a comedy, buy some funny books/magazines, and most importantly, be able to laugh at yourself even when things don't go your way.
You should reward yourself for doing well in school, on a sports team, or for doing all your chores and homework and other commitments without any complaints. This doesn't mean you should go buy yourself a new computer. Nor does it mean you should reward yourself for every little thing like just getting up in the morning. What this means is when you know you have performed well on a given task, don't be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back.
An important skill to have throughout your life is to keep things in perspective. A proper perspective actually reduces stress. For any situation that is stressful, take a second to look at it from a different point of view. Try to visualize how unimportant this stressful moment is in the whole scheme of life. This exercise is designed to help you 'let go' of the little stress triggers that everyone experiences.
Often associated with proper perspective is positive thinking. The next time a stressful situation happens, instead of focusing on how it can ruin your life, focus on the benefits of overcoming this little hurdle. If a big test is coming up, don't look at it with the attitude, 'If I fail, I'll do bad in the class.' Instead, look at it with the attitude, 'When I pass this test, I'll be closer to my class goal of an 'A'!'

You've heard before and you'll hear it again-stay away from drugs and alcohol! Imagine this situation: You have a really nice car, I mean, REALLY nice. The color, make, model, everything you want in a car. The car needs work done on it, so you take it to the mechanic. He spends a lot of time on it and you spend a lot of money on it. Finally you get it back. What's the first thing you do with it? You take out your dad's sledgehammer and beat the bearings out of it? Why would you do that? The same is true with your body and drugs and alcohol. You are given a truly remarkable body. You spend time improving it inside and out. So, why would you destroy all the work and money you've spent on your body? Good answer-you shouldn't.

What do you do to handle stress?  For this weeks blog, let me know what you have used in the past to help you relieve stress.  If you do not have any current strategies which ones listed above do you think would work for you?

Period 8 Sleep

Hope you enjoyed your break.  We will finish out the semester using our blog to focus on lifestyle factors that influence our health. These lifestyle factors may seem minor but can have a huge impact on our well being. These posts will be a bit longer and will require you to do some reading.

Our first topic is sleep. Please read the following information on teens and sleep from The National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful — even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field. Remember: A brain that is hungry for sleep will get it, even when you don’t expect it. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness.

FACTS:

•Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen.

•Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm.

•Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8 1/2 hours is enough). Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.

•Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.

•Many teens suffer from treatable sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.

CONSEQUENCES:

Not getting enough sleep or having sleep difficulties can:

•Limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. You may even forget important information like names, numbers, your homework or a date with a special person in your life;

•Make you more prone to pimples. Lack of sleep can contribute to acne and other skin problems;

•Lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior such as yelling at your friends or being impatient with your teachers or family members;

•Cause you to eat too much or eat unhealthy foods like sweets and fried foods that lead to weight gain;

•Heighten the effects of alcohol and possibly increase use of caffeine and nicotine; and

•Contribute to illness, not using equipment safely or driving drowsy.

SOLUTIONS:
•Make sleep a priority. Review Teen Time in this toolkit and keep the Teen Sleep Diary. Decide what you need to change to get enough sleep to stay healthy, happy, and smart!

•Naps can help pick you up and make you work more efficiently, if you plan them right. Naps that are too long or too close to bedtime can interfere with your regular sleep.

•Make your room a sleep haven. Keep it cool, quiet and dark. If you need to, get eyeshades or blackout curtains. Let in bright light in the morning to signal your body to wake up.

•No pills, vitamins or drinks can replace good sleep. Consuming caffeine close to bedtime can hurt your sleep, so avoid coffee, tea, soda/pop and chocolate late in the day so you can get to sleep at night. Nicotine and alcohol will also interfere with your sleep.

•When you are sleep deprived, you are as impaired as driving with a blood alcohol content of .08%, which is illegal for drivers in many states. Drowsy driving causes over 100,000 crashes each year. Recognize sleep deprivation and call someone else for a ride. Only sleep can save you!

•Establish a bed and wake-time and stick to it, coming as close as you can on the weekends. A consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns. You will find that it’s easier to fall asleep at bedtime with this type of routine.

•Don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of your bedtime. Don’t leave your homework for the last minute. Try to avoid the TV, computer and telephone in the hour before you go to bed. Stick to quiet, calm activities, and you’ll fall asleep much more easily!

•If you do the same things every night before you go to sleep, you teach your body the signals that it’s time for bed. Try taking a bath or shower (this will leave you extra time in the morning), or reading a book.

•Try keeping a diary or to-do lists. If you jot notes down before you go to sleep, you’ll be less likely to stay awake worrying or stressing.

•When you hear your friends talking about their all-nighters, tell them how good you feel after getting enough sleep.

•Most teens experience changes in their sleep schedules. Their internal body clocks can cause them to fall asleep and wake up later. You can’t change this, but you can participate in interactive activities and classes to help counteract your sleepiness. Make sure your activities at night are calming to counteract your already heightened alertness.

For this weeks blog, answer the following questions:

How much sleep on average do you get each night and how does that compare to the recommended amounts in the information above?

What are some of the consequences of not getting enough sleep?

Which strategies listed above would help you to get more sleep

Period 7 Sleep

Hope you enjoyed your break.  We will finish out the semester using our blog to focus on lifestyle factors that influence our health. These lifestyle factors may seem minor but can have a huge impact on our well being. These posts will be a bit longer and will require you to do some reading.

Our first topic is sleep. Please read the following information on teens and sleep from The National Sleep Foundation.

Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful — even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field. Remember: A brain that is hungry for sleep will get it, even when you don’t expect it. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness.

FACTS:

•Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen.

•Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm.

•Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8 1/2 hours is enough). Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.

•Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.

•Many teens suffer from treatable sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.

CONSEQUENCES:

Not getting enough sleep or having sleep difficulties can:

•Limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. You may even forget important information like names, numbers, your homework or a date with a special person in your life;

•Make you more prone to pimples. Lack of sleep can contribute to acne and other skin problems;

•Lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior such as yelling at your friends or being impatient with your teachers or family members;

•Cause you to eat too much or eat unhealthy foods like sweets and fried foods that lead to weight gain;

•Heighten the effects of alcohol and possibly increase use of caffeine and nicotine; and

•Contribute to illness, not using equipment safely or driving drowsy.

SOLUTIONS:
•Make sleep a priority. Review Teen Time in this toolkit and keep the Teen Sleep Diary. Decide what you need to change to get enough sleep to stay healthy, happy, and smart!

•Naps can help pick you up and make you work more efficiently, if you plan them right. Naps that are too long or too close to bedtime can interfere with your regular sleep.

•Make your room a sleep haven. Keep it cool, quiet and dark. If you need to, get eyeshades or blackout curtains. Let in bright light in the morning to signal your body to wake up.

•No pills, vitamins or drinks can replace good sleep. Consuming caffeine close to bedtime can hurt your sleep, so avoid coffee, tea, soda/pop and chocolate late in the day so you can get to sleep at night. Nicotine and alcohol will also interfere with your sleep.

•When you are sleep deprived, you are as impaired as driving with a blood alcohol content of .08%, which is illegal for drivers in many states. Drowsy driving causes over 100,000 crashes each year. Recognize sleep deprivation and call someone else for a ride. Only sleep can save you!

•Establish a bed and wake-time and stick to it, coming as close as you can on the weekends. A consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns. You will find that it’s easier to fall asleep at bedtime with this type of routine.

•Don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of your bedtime. Don’t leave your homework for the last minute. Try to avoid the TV, computer and telephone in the hour before you go to bed. Stick to quiet, calm activities, and you’ll fall asleep much more easily!

•If you do the same things every night before you go to sleep, you teach your body the signals that it’s time for bed. Try taking a bath or shower (this will leave you extra time in the morning), or reading a book.

•Try keeping a diary or to-do lists. If you jot notes down before you go to sleep, you’ll be less likely to stay awake worrying or stressing.

•When you hear your friends talking about their all-nighters, tell them how good you feel after getting enough sleep.

•Most teens experience changes in their sleep schedules. Their internal body clocks can cause them to fall asleep and wake up later. You can’t change this, but you can participate in interactive activities and classes to help counteract your sleepiness. Make sure your activities at night are calming to counteract your already heightened alertness.

For this weeks blog, answer the following questions:

How much sleep on average do you get each night and how does that compare to the recommended amounts in the information above?

What are some of the consequences of not getting enough sleep?

Which strategies listed above would help you to get more sleep

Period 5 Sleep

Hope you enjoyed your spring break.  We will finish out the semester using our blog to focus on lifestyle factors that influence our health. These lifestyle factors may seem minor but can have a huge impact on our well being. These posts will be a bit longer and will require you to do some reading.
Our first topic is sleep. Please read the following information on teens and sleep from The National Sleep Foundation.

Teens and Sleep

Sleep Topics

Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful — even deadly, particularly if you are behind the wheel. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. Sleepiness can make it hard to get along with your family and friends and hurt your scores on school exams, on the court or on the field. Remember: A brain that is hungry for sleep will get it, even when you don’t expect it. For example, drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness.
FACTS:

•Sleep is vital to your well-being, as important as the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat. It can even help you to eat better and manage the stress of being a teen.
•Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm.
•Teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best (for some, 8 1/2 hours is enough). Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights.
•Teens tend to have irregular sleep patterns across the week — they typically stay up late and sleep in late on the weekends, which can affect their biological clocks and hurt the quality of their sleep.
•Many teens suffer from treatable sleep disorders, such as narcolepsy, insomnia, restless legs syndrome or sleep apnea.
CONSEQUENCES:
Not getting enough sleep or having sleep difficulties can:
•Limit your ability to learn, listen, concentrate and solve problems. You may even forget important information like names, numbers, your homework or a date with a special person in your life;
•Make you more prone to pimples. Lack of sleep can contribute to acne and other skin problems;
•Lead to aggressive or inappropriate behavior such as yelling at your friends or being impatient with your teachers or family members;

•Cause you to eat too much or eat unhealthy foods like sweets and fried foods that lead to weight gain;

•Heighten the effects of alcohol and possibly increase use of caffeine and nicotine; and

•Contribute to illness, not using equipment safely or driving drowsy.

SOLUTIONS:

•Make sleep a priority. Review Teen Time in this toolkit and keep the Teen Sleep Diary. Decide what you need to change to get enough sleep to stay healthy, happy, and smart!

•Naps can help pick you up and make you work more efficiently, if you plan them right. Naps that are too long or too close to bedtime can interfere with your regular sleep.

•Make your room a sleep haven. Keep it cool, quiet and dark. If you need to, get eyeshades or blackout curtains. Let in bright light in the morning to signal your body to wake up.

•No pills, vitamins or drinks can replace good sleep. Consuming caffeine close to bedtime can hurt your sleep, so avoid coffee, tea, soda/pop and chocolate late in the day so you can get to sleep at night. Nicotine and alcohol will also interfere with your sleep.

•When you are sleep deprived, you are as impaired as driving with a blood alcohol content of .08%, which is illegal for drivers in many states. Drowsy driving causes over 100,000 crashes each year. Recognize sleep deprivation and call someone else for a ride. Only sleep can save you!

•Establish a bed and wake-time and stick to it, coming as close as you can on the weekends. A consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns. You will find that it’s easier to fall asleep at bedtime with this type of routine.

•Don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of your bedtime. Don’t leave your homework for the last minute. Try to avoid the TV, computer and telephone in the hour before you go to bed. Stick to quiet, calm activities, and you’ll fall asleep much more easily!

•If you do the same things every night before you go to sleep, you teach your body the signals that it’s time for bed. Try taking a bath or shower (this will leave you extra time in the morning), or reading a book.

•Try keeping a diary or to-do lists. If you jot notes down before you go to sleep, you’ll be less likely to stay awake worrying or stressing.

•When you hear your friends talking about their all-nighters, tell them how good you feel after getting enough sleep.

•Most teens experience changes in their sleep schedules. Their internal body clocks can cause them to fall asleep and wake up later. You can’t change this, but you can participate in interactive activities and classes to help counteract your sleepiness. Make sure your activities at night are calming to counteract your already heightened alertness.

For this weeks blog, answer the following questions:


How much sleep on average do you get each night and how does that compare to the recommended amounts in the information above?

What are some of the consequences of not getting enough sleep?

Which strategies listed above would help you to get more sleep

Period 5 Weight Training Importance of Mobility

We are spending a considerable amount of time trying to get strong and learning proper form for exercises that will help us get stronger.  It is important that we not lose focus on the importance of mobility.  Mobility refers to the body's ability to move a joint through a full range of motion. 

We work on our mobility as we lift, by taking our muscles through a full range of motion but sometimes that is not enough, or we have issues that prevent us from reaching full range and we need to do other exercises.

This weeks blog is a test of your knowledge and my teaching.  We have been performing mobility exercises all semester and I am interested to see if you can match the exercises with the joints they are intended to mobilize.  Use the below matching activity to test your knowledge on mobility.  Match the exercise on the left with the joint or area it mobilizes on the right.  When answering the blog just put the number of the exercise with he letter for the joint.

1. Leg Swings                                                             A. Ankles
2. Pass Throughs/Dislocates                                    B. Hips
3. Bottom of Squat Holds                                         C. Knees
4. Feel Goods                                                            D. Shoulders
5. Quad Stretch                                                          E. Lower Back
6. Hamstring Stretch                                                 F. Groin

Period 7 Team Handball

We are well into our team handball season and I am very impressed with the participation of everyone in the class.  I have seen some epic goals and some amazing saves.  For this weeks blog let me know what strategies your team has developed to help you score in the games.

Period 8 Weight Training Mobility

We are spending a considerable amount of time trying to get strong and learning proper form for exercises that will help us get stronger.  It is important that we not lose focus on the importance of mobility.  Mobility refers to the body's ability to move a joint through a full range of motion. 

We work on our mobility as we lift, by taking our muscles through a full range of motion but sometimes that is not enough, or we have issues that prevent us from reaching full range and we need to do other exercises.

This weeks blog is a test of your knowledge and my teaching.  We have been performing mobility exercises all semester and I am interested to see if you can match the exercises with the joints they are intended to mobilize.  Use the below matching activity to test your knowledge on mobility.  Match the exercise on the left with the joint or area it mobilizes on the right.  When answering the blog just put the number of the exercise with he letter for the joint.

1. Leg Swings                                                             A. Ankles
2. Pass Throughs/Dislocates                                    B. Hips
3. Bottom of Squat Holds                                         C. Knees
4. Feel Goods                                                            D. Shoulders
5. Quad Stretch                                                          E. Lower Back
6. Hamstring Stretch                                                 F. Groin

March Madness All periods Read and Complete this post

It is that time of the year, arguably the most exciting time in all of sports.  The NCAA basketball tournament has become a large part of our society and as such we are going to learn how to fill out a bracket and track your progress all the way to the national championship game.

There are a couple of ways to do this.  First if you have a CBS sports line account or are comfortable with signing up for one use this link http://wootton.mayhem.cbssports.com/   to get to our class bracket.  Once you are logged in, you can fill out your bracket and then submit it.  The web site will keep track of everything and you just need to sign in for updates. 

The second way to fill out a bracket is to go here http://d.yimg.com/j/r/ncaab/tourneybracket print off a copy of the bracket and fill it out yourself and hand it in to me.  I will put it into the system and we will track your progress through class.

A couple of things to keep in mind when filling out your brackets.  The numbers next to the team names represent the teams seeding.  A team is seeded based on their performance during the season, so theoretically the higher the seed the better the team.  However, what makes the tournament so exciting is that any team can win at any time and upsets happen every year.  Your strategy for picking is up to you.  Some use seeds, some use team colors or mascots.  Some seek Divine intervention.  Whatever method you use, just make sure your picks are in by Thursday.

Good luck and there are fabulous prizes for the winner.

Let me know in class if you have any questions.

Period 8 Weight Training - Knowing your numbers

We are on a strength program that follows a linear progression. This means we started with a weight we could easily handle(hopefully) and will add 5 lbs to that weight each week until we can no longer do 5 sets of 5 repetitions. In order for this program to work it is important for you to keep track of your weights for the lifts we do. For this weeks blog, I want you to list the weights you started with for each lift. The lifts are listed below.


Bench Press -
Front Squat -
Dead lift -
Push Press -

Period 7 Basketball - Know your team

We are well into basketball and we have made some trades to even out the teams.  In order for teams to perform their best, it is important to know each other and your strengths.  For this weeks blog list your team members by name and one strength they have that can help your team in basketball.  The dude with the glasses is not an acceptable response.  If you do not know someones name ask them and introduce yourself.