September 26, 2014- Beep Test

I am ecstatic to be back in gym class for my grade ten year, and it is really nice to see all the gym teachers again. After having a successful year in gym in grade 9, I can't wait to face new challenges, create and achieve new goals, and continue to take more initiative this year in grade 10. I am excited to see which steps I will take in order to encounter obstacles that come in my way during the course of the semester.
With September 26 as being the first beep test of the semester, I was really proud of myself as I was able to take on a small leadership role, by helping three new students  (Jasneet, Karen and Meghan) on how the beep test works, and what to do with the six activities after completing the test. I could tell Jasneet, Meghan and Karen were a little nervous before starting the test, but I'm glad I was able to make them less anxious by telling them to stand beside me while doing it and to just try their best, because when you try your best, you can't become disappointed in yourself. I was able to get a 7.2 on the beep test, and when we do the beep test again this semester, I hope to improve my score and I have the confidence in myself that I will definitely be able to do so. My goals for the next beep test, is to reach level 8, and to try to do the T-test in a shorter amount of time. I believe in myself that I will be able to achieve these goals  as I have the perseverance in myself to do so, and as we continue to exercise in gym class, my fitness will slowly improve. I did notice that I improved in the flexibility category from last year, as it became easier for me to touch my toes this time. I still have the same sit and reach level from last year, but it wasn't as difficult for me to reach level one this time. I also had a better structure for my push ups, as I have been practising my push ups during the summer so I was glad to see an improvement in this area.  Here are all of my results:

Beep test Level: 7.2
Max vertical length:
                            F:215
                            S:245
                            D:30
Body Press (Push ups):10
Body Bridge: 65 seconds
T-Test: 13.28 seconds
Sit and Reach: Level 1
Board Touches (30 seconds): 14

Here is a picture shortly after doing the beep test:

Final Portfolio Assessment "Report Card" Post - Active Learning 2014

Going into my first gym class, I would never have expected gym to have this much of a positive impact on me. Active Learning this year provided me with a year full of determination and improvements. In September, I was always a little bit nervous of coming to gym class, but whenever I come to gym class now I am excited for whatever is planned as long as we are getting a good exercise. I actually look forward for third block to come because I know I will have an enjoyable time no matter what has happened earlier in the day.

Participation:  My attendance has been excellent and I am able to get changed into my gym strip before Mr. Neufeld enters one of the facilities and starts class, which also connects to my punctuality as I have never come late to gym. I have brought my gym strip along with appropriate shoes every single day of gym as this is something I have always been in the habit of doing since elementary school. During games on choice days, or just regular gym blocks with just our class, I've participated on a  higher level than I did in the beginning of the year. Even if we play an activity where I have to step outside of my comfort zone, I am ready to do it, thus I believe I have become successful in this area at this point in the year. Getting out of my comfort zone was a main aspect in the beginning of the year that I was afraid of doing. For instance, playing Capture the Flag for the first time in gym in November did not result in as much fun when playing Capture the Flag now. I was able to take little steps in Capture the Flag to reach the point of how I play it now. As you have been following my blog posts, I've made so many small improvements each time I played Capture the Flag this year and as a result, it made a huge difference at the end. The first time I played it I did not really run to the other side and instead stayed on my territory to tag people, however the last time I played in May, I was able to bring back two footballs, run way more, and take risks which resulted in so much fun! Without a doubt my intensity during fitness and in just regular gym classes has increased, as I motivate myself to not stop because I know my hard work will soon pay off. In the beginning of the year, I was not that skillful at volleyball. On June 5 it was just Karen, Simran and I in the small gym and we played volleyball. We didn't actually play a game, but instead practiced volleying the ball and improving our skills. Both Karen and Simran helped me with my volleyball skills by always telling me to volley the ball when it came to me instead of backing away. I actually think this gym block improved my volleyball skills because I just primarily focused on skill. On choice days I always pick an activity in which I know my participation will be maximized. I have also chosen activities that I wished to get better at, which allows me to try something new. (ex/volleyball) I try to have a variety of activities played during choice because it's not beneficial to play the same activity every time. For the participation category I think I deserve 24/25.

Hill Run From September:

Hill Run from May:            

Here are some more pictures:

Social Responsibility and Contribution to the Class - Whenever we are put into groups for an activity or during fitness, I love to encourage others because it feels good when you know someone is aware that you're trying hard and it also gains confidence in many people; including myself.  Things like hi fiving and saying words of encouragement is what keeps my peers to feel good about themselves inside. When Mr. Neuf or our T.A is organizing teams, I pay attention to how they deal with the situation and when we are given an opportunity to try this, I usually make little contributions which help the game to get started. When setting up to play Capture the Flag on May 14, I set up the cones for the safe. By just doing that little thing, I contributed to the organization of the game.  When dealing with thirty classmates its sometimes difficult to construct each individual student, so instead of using this as an excuse to not do anything, I found ways around it and contributed in different ways as described.  I've noticed that I helped out with equipment much more during semester two without anybody telling me to do it. For example, on May 21, when we played Capture the Flag my legs were aching but I still ran to the end of the field to gather the cones. Not only have I put cones away, but I have also put away pinnies, footballs, and badminton rackets. These little things that I do in gym classes is what makes myself proud at the end of the day. My positive attitude towards every activity we do in gym is part of the reason why I have been able to improve in so many ways since the midterm and the beginning of the year.  I'm always willing to do whatever activity in gym because I know I will learn something new about myself every single time. I am not as shy or quiet as I was in the beginning of the year and by being more outgoing it has positively affected my participation in gym. This semester I volunteered with my community more by being a part of the Adopt-A-Street Program, by cleaning our streets. For my Social Responsibility and Contribution to the Class, I think I deserve 23/25.

Healthy Living- Each of the the four times we did the beep test I was able to improve by a little bit on each one. I started off at a 7.2 and ended off with a 8.7 and I am so pleased with this result due to the fact that I was able to improve! These fitness scores taught me that I was able to become both physically and mentally stronger throughout the year. I'm sure you already know that I started off the year a little reserved, but ended off the year a lot more outgoing and this affected how hard I pushed myself too. As a result. I truly believe my fitness has increased and improved since September. For instance, giving my 100% in September was different than my 100% that I give now. In September I gave it my 100% but because I've improved in my fitness, I feel like my 100% now is much more than it was before. If there are any barriers in gym I try to ignore them and just focus on my exercising. I was able to remain healthy this year which helped me to stay persistent. I eat very many healthy foods because I know this leads to a good health. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables daily, such as apples, grapes, and strawberries. I'm able to eat a variety of foods from the four food groups. Especially in the summer, I get a lot of exercise as I play badminton in my backyard with my family, go for jogs around my neighbourhood, walks in the evenings, ride my bike and play basketball with my brother at the park. I love exercising outside and summer is the perfect month to do that! I regularly exercise as home and as you know, I have shared some of my home exercising with you on my blog. For Healthy Living I think I deserve 24/25.

Digital Portfolio and Reflective Skills: I'm really happy that I was able to have over 90 posts for just this year because at first I didn't know how I was going to develop a good blog, but because I worked at it, I overcame this obstacle. Not only did I post about in class activities, but I also wrote blog posts about exercising that I did at home and provided digital evidence as well. By having photos, it allowed me to look at my structure and see how I can improve upon it. After most gym classes, I took the time and effort to update my blog and reflect on what we did in class. It's apparent how I've put a lot of thought in to every single blog post I've written as I was able to tell you about how the class went, explain my improvements, tell you about my goals and how I felt during the gym block. I also reflected on how I felt prior to starting the activity, during the activity and at the end of the activity. The reason why I did this was because all three phases differ in how I felt. When I exercise at home, I do some research about which muscles I'm working out and include this research in my blog posts. I am always checking the blogs from other students in our class about once a week and I also read my other peer's blog posts regularly too because I like to see what kind of exercising other students are doing and to see how other students felt about a particular in-class activity. I enjoy commenting on my classmates' blogs so I can offer them some tips so I can see them improve. On the first day of school I was a little worried about how I would overcome various challenges presented in this class and how everything was going to play out in gym this year. After completing this year in gym, Active Learning has become way more important than I thought it was. When introduced to the concept of blogging, I was a little nervous because I was unsure as to how I was going to provide digital evidence and share my results on my blog. It was my first time creating my blogger profile, and I felt like this was going to be something I would have difficulties in because I didn't have a phone to take pictures with.  Since blogging came up as a challenge to me, I found ways to overcome this barrier and I ended up creating a good blog which shows my learning growth throughout the year. Rather than thinking of excuses,  I had the determination in myself to do well, and so I overcame this challenge and I am very proud about doing so. For my Digital Portfolio and Reflective Skills I think I deserve 25/25.

It makes me overjoyed how much I have opened up  by the end of the year compared to when I first started. Mr. Neuf was able to get me to move past my comfort zone, allow me to come even more out of my shell and show everyone what I can offer. Mr. Neuf has been a supportive teacher and my motivation behind fitness days. I know this year has ended, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop exercising.  My main goal for this year was to always improve, because to me it doesn't matter how good you are at a sport or activity; as long as you're able to improve, it shows how much you've grown in the course. I was able to improve in so many aspects of gym and being able to get better at things that  I was once were weak in, gained my confidence and it feels amazing.  I didn't just improve overnight but over the course of the year. For these reasons, I think I deserve an A and a G for work habits because of my hard work and dedication throughout the course. To conclude, I have accomplished so much this year in Active Learning and I can't wait to continue my Active Learning journey next year with Mr. Neuf along with the other supportive gym teachers as I will continue encounter new challenges and work hard to overcome them! 

Behaviour of Our Class With No Teacher

Throughout the year, Mr. Neufeld's goal was to train the class so that there was no need for a teacher to supervise us and so the class would be able to operate without a teacher telling us what to do. On May 12 when Mr. Neufeld was not teaching the class, we played Speed Ball on the lower field. This was the first day where we were expected to take the initiative to set up the game, organize teams and participate in the activity with no teacher help besides from our T.A. This class was not our best class as we were not used to the idea of having no teacher to motivate us along. As a result, people started to not participate in the activity which made the gym block less fun. When Mr. Neuf heard what happened in this block, I could tell he was disappointed in us because he knew we were much better than that. Mr. Neuf then told us that we should be able to operate the class even if Jassi is away and we end up having a substitute who doesn't really know whats going on. The next class when both Mr. Neuf and Jassi were away on May 16 (fitness Friday), our class changed in a positive way. Everyone put their maximum effort into the activity as usual like when Mr. Neufeld would be here. We had a bit of a shaky start during Speed Ball but were able to make up for it during the next class when we did the Hill Run. We were able to show all the other gym classes that our class is just as strong without Mr. Neuf. On the day where we had the incident while playing Speed Ball, I believed that our class had the ability to easily come together and be functional without Mr. Neuf and Jassi, and I hoped that we would be given another opportunity to prove this. Luckily, we were given a second chance to show this when both teachers were away during the hill run. After we did the Hill Run at City Hall even though Mr. Neuf wasn't their supervising us, everyone still demonstrated such great efforts which showed that we exercised for our own use. I don't really understand why certain individuals don't try as hard when there is no teacher watching us. Exercising in gym class is for your own benefit and so you're not exercising to show the teacher but you're doing it for yourself. It bothers me when some people only give it their all just for the teachers in order for them to get a good mark. I give my maximum effort in gym even when there is no teacher and I carry on this exercising outside of gym class at home, which shows that exercising is truly for my own benefit. By trying  hard everyday, the gym teachers should take note of that and give me a mark that I deserve. So instead of working hard solely for the mark, students need to understand the actual purpose of Active Learning. I feel like every student in our class tries hard everyday, and on top of that we all bring a positive attitude to the class whether Mr. Neuf is away or not.  If Mr. Neuf and the T.A were away in the beginning of the year, and we were expected to operate the class successfully, I don't think we would of been able to do it. With that said, because we already spent the majority of the year with Mr. Neuf, everyone built up the confidence in themselves to succeed without our teacher.

May 28, 2014- Atomic Volleyball

On Wednesday May 28, the gym block played Atomic Volleyball. When Mr. Pederson first told us that we were going to play Atomic Volleyball, the name was familiar to me because I remember a couple of people who have gym on the other day talking to me about it, and I also read a couple of blog posts on Atomic Volleyball from some of the students blogs from the other gym class. I had five people in my group and when we first started playing the game, Mr. Vaughan guided my team for the first couple of minutes until we got the hang of it. It was so nice to see shy students be so involved in the activity. Atomic Volleyball allowed me to forget about having skills and to primarily focus on having fun and getting a good workout. In my opinion, Atomic Volleyball is way better to play than regular volleyball because it allowed everyone to worry less on the skills. Thus, this allowed people to not panic when the ball came in their direction because all you had to do was catch it. I liked the idea of switching/rotating every time someone from your team threw the ball to the other side. Just by switching, it increased my heart rate and made my breathing faster. While switching, it was fun when I would sometimes bump into the other person switching with me. The easiest way to get someone out from the other team was because they forgot to rotate. Switching was such an important aspect of the game because it forced you to be alert, aware and to pay attention at all times. In the very beginning of the game my team members and I sometimes forgot to switch, however as the game progressed I immediately switched right after one of my team members threw the ball over. When one of my team members were out, they would yell out "switch" every time the ball was thrown over the net. I found this helpful and by doing this, we were able to work together as a team. As I looked across the gym, almost everyone had a smile on their face which was so nice to see. I actually thought this gym class had the most positive attitude compared to other gym classes. I was able to be the last person left on my team a few times. It was a little more challenging when you were the only person on your team when most of the team members from the other team were still there. One time, when I was the only person left on my team, the entire other team was still in, and so their strategy was to throw the ball in different directions so it would be more difficult for me to catch the ball. They made me run more, but I didn't mind it because it gave myself a challenge and made the game more interesting for me. In the beginning of the block when Mr. Pederson first told us we were going to play Atomic Volleyball, I was actually a bit nervous because at first I thought it was going to involve more skill and it was going to be a harder version of the regular volleyball. However, when we started playing I had a lot of fun and I didn't want the gym block to end. It felt like this gym block went by really fast! Before the year ends I hope we can play Atomic Volleyball one more time because it was a game that the majority of people liked. At the end of the block, the smiles on my team members faces instantly told me how they felt about this game. To conclude, this game generated a lot of enthusiasm and positivity which allowed everyone to get a good exercise in a very fun way!

May 26, 2014-Keeping Stretching Fun

I'm always trying to find new ways of warming up or stretching before going out for a run or bike ride. I found that stretching the same way everyday sometimes gets boring. So this weekend I discovered that stretch bands, are also good strength-training tools that provide resistance during exercises. The benefits of using stretch bands over dumbbells is that the bands allow for a greater range of motion. Stretch bands are also great to strengthen your biceps.

May 21, 2014-Capture the Flag

On Wednesday May 21, since our gym class was smaller this time, we had the option to join Mr. Pederson's and Mr. Vaughan's class to play a big Capture the Flag game. The weather was really nice so I was glad we were able to do an activity outdoors. Karen, Simran and I joined Mr. Vaughan's team in Capture the Flag. It was nice to join another class because this allowed me to meet new people and get a feel of how Mr. Vaughan's class is run. Mr. Vaughan's class is just as energetic and enthusiastic as our class, which is great because it allowed everyone to have a positive attitude for the whole gym block.  I've mentioned in other blog posts that I'm able to keep on improving every time we play an activity. While reflecting on today's gym block, I've made my biggest improvements in Capture the Flag  from the time I played it today. When we played Capture the Flag last week I was able to run to the other side and back without getting tagged, but I  unable to bring back a football. When we played Capture the Flag this time, I brought a football back and a frisbee back. So I ran there and back while bringing a football or frisbee to my team, two times! From all the times we have played Capture the Flag, I have never brought back a frisbee or football because I was always to shy to run to the other side so I played it safe and stayed on my side. However, by bringing the frisbee/football to my team, it gained my confidence and made myself very proud. When I brought the football back to my territory, I decided to go again because the worst that can happen is that I get tagged and I have to run around the safe. In the beginning of the gym block, Mr. Vaughan told us to take risks and so this is exactly why I decided to go to the other side again to try to bring back another football. I ended up coming back with a frisbee which was good news for me! Not only did I bring back two items to my team but I also ran four more times to the other side, but I got tagged while doing so. I don't think getting tagged was a very big deal because the "punishment" of running was considered to be a benefit to me as you are getting more exercise in this way.  At the end of the game, I took the initiative and ran to the end of the field to help out with cleanup. It didn't feel right for me to just leave without putting the equipment away. Even though my legs were already tired from the game, I still put in the extra effort and ran to pick up the cones. I don't think I would of done this leadership in September as I was not as outgoing then. The only thing that I disliked in the game was when people continued to run after they got tagged. For example, I tagged a person while he was running to my territory and he knew he got tagged but carried on running. Karen also noticed people were cheating too. Even though a few students were cheating it wasn't going to bring the game down for me. Out of all the Capture the Flag games that I have played this year, this one made me the most tired at the end which could be because I noticed that I ran even more this time. Going up the stairs to my fourth block class was hard because my legs were burning as I was going up, which tells me that my participation was definitely maximized in the block. My face was also very red and continued to be red after gym class. In brief, improving is such an important aspect of gym and I'm glad I am able to identify things I need to work on and then take the action to get better at them!

May 18, 2014-Strength Training with Weights

This weekend I was reading an article in the fitness magazine "Women's Health" titled "7 ways to Balance Strength Training and Cardio." It  made me think, and I knew I was lately getting more Cardio, so I decided to do some strength training. I learnt that strength training would benefit or give a boost to my running performance. Also, strong muscles help improve form and help you run with more stability and control. Having strong muscles will definitely help me with my structure of the plank and my structure of push ups.

May 16, 2014-Hill Run

On May 16, it was fitness Friday and for fitness we did the hill run at City Hall. The last time I remember doing the hill run at City Hall was in the beginning of the year. So reading the whiteboard saying that we were doing the City Hall hill run, made me excited because I knew there will be some kind of improvement from today's block, knowing that we haven't done this exercise in such a long time. While we were walking to the hill at City Hall, I knew this wasn't going to be easy and I set a goal for myself to sit out for only one of times we would run up. When we actually started the hill run, the first seven sets were not too hard. Doing the second set of seven, was the point where some people started to get tired. Obviously, the last set of seven was the hardest especially at the end. I did not sit out for any of the runs and I ran each time the whistle blew. I was very proud of myself because I remember last time when we did the hill run I sat out for a couple of them. Continuing to run up the hill near the end of the block was extremely difficult because my legs were aching and I could of had easily sat out for one of the runs near the end, but there was no way that I was going to do that because I knew my body was capable of doing it but only if I set my mind to it.  I was so close to needing to sit out for one of the runs near the end but luckily I was able to persevere my way to the top. After today's gym block I had a taste of what hard work was and it was evident that I had to push myself and demonstrate hard work in order to have accomplished what I did today. At the end of the gym block, I was more than happy with my efforts. Even if I did sit out for one of the runs up, I would have still been proud of myself, but by not sitting out any of the runs up made myself feel even more pleased with my effort. I didn't expect to overachieve my goal on the hill run and to do so, definitely feels great! Here is a video from the hill run:

May 14, 2014-Capture the Flag

On May 14, we started off the gym block by cleaning the litter off the school grounds. We got into groups of 8 and each group took out their own garbage bin. Picking up the garbage on the ground was disappointing because it's a shame how people couldn't just throw their garbage in the garbage can instead of on the ground. I know some people may think it's not a big deal to just throw a small wrapper on the ground, but if everyone does it, the garbage starts adding up and you end up with a big mess. While we were cleaning up the garbage on the lower field, Yulia found a dead bird in a slurpee cup, and so for the rest of the block their was a "Dead Bird Cooties" going around. While I was picking up garbage, someone asked me to hi five them and so I did and afterwards, the person said that I now had the dead bird cooties. Then, I rubbed my hands on Karen's shirt to give it to her, and right after Karen got the cooties she wanted to get them back on me. So I tried running away from her and when I did, I got so caught up in the moment that I tripped and fell on the grass. When I got up, my friends were laughing with me because it was actually really funny! I knew the "Cooties" thing was silly and just because someone touches you, doesn't mean you get the germs, however I played along with it just for the fun of it. Cleaning garbage from the ground is something I do quite often because I'm a part of the Adopt-A-Street program. After the clean up, everyone got a choice as to what they wanted to play for the remainder of the block. I chose to play Capture the Flag as I knew I'll have a good time every single time I play this game and I knew for sure my participation would be high in this game. Playing Capture the Flag this time was very beneficial to me because I made some of my own personal improvements from the last time I played. Usually when I play Capture the Flag, when someone comes to my side, I usually come really close to tagging them but I don't actually get to tag them. This time, I was able to sprint and actually tag more people. Also toward the end of the block, for the first time I ran to the other team's territory and back without getting tagged. When I was running to the other side from my territory, I was fast enough to not let the person chasing me tag me. When I got to the other side I realized that there were no more footballs left on that side and there were already a lot of people who were there before me waiting to get a football. Since there were only five minutes left of the game, there was no point of waiting in the circle for a football because I knew I would not be moving during that time which doesn't maximize my participation. Thus, I ran back without a football and still didn't get tagged. Even though I came back with no football, it didn't matter at all to me because it was the fact that I was able to go there and back without getting tagged that made me happy. I've noticed that every time I play a specific game, I keep on slowly improving every time we play it, and at the end of the year when you compare the way I first played the game, to the way I last played the game, you'll see a significant difference. I helped out with cleanup by collecting the cones together and by putting the footballs in the bag. In conclusion, this gym block made me feel really proud of my efforts and showed the improvements I've made throughout the year until now.

May 11, 2014-Orbitrek

On Mother's Day weekend my family and I went out for lunch. After having my big lunch I knew I had to burn off those calories. So in the late afternoon instead of taking a nap, like my Mom I decided to jump on the Orbitrek and do a solid continuous workout for 20 minutes straight. Although I was sweating like crazy, I was feeling good because I knew I burned off those extra calories that I gained at the restaurant. So I think it's okay to eat a little more on special occasions but only if you have the willpower and motivation to burn off those extra calories later in the day. Here is a video of me on the Orbitrek:

May 8, 2014-Ultimate

On May 8 because the Aim Games were going on, all of the classes spent the gym block outside and we had a choice to participate in three different activities. The option for this choice day were baseball, ultimate or soccer. I chose to do ultimate, primarily because I wanted to see how my participation has changed from the last time I played it. While playing ultimate this time I was able to pass and receive the frisbee more often and make more contributions to the team. Participating more in the game this time made ultimate more of an enjoyable sport and allowed me to have more fun. Whenever one of my team members had the frisbee I ran to an open space where they were able to pass it to me. My participation was definitely maximized during this choice day which increased my confidence and made myself very proud of my efforts. I noticed that I was more outgoing this time and I was way more willing to get the frisbee than last time. When you are playing a sport with other teenagers, not everything will turn out perfectly, and so there were some aspects of the game that didn't help it to become more fun. For instance, I didn't really like it when someone from one side of the playing field, threw the frisbee all the way to the other end. I didn't like this because less passing was happening, which didn't allow everyone to participate and so less teamwork was incorporated into the game. In addition, throwing the frisbee all the way to the other end didn't have a positive effect on the game because it didn't work. The frisbee would either fall on the ground, go out of bounds or the team member on the other side wouldn't be able to catch it. Thus, it didn't help the team to get more points and it didn't benefit the team as a whole.  One other thing that I really didn't like was when one of my team members or I passed the frisbee to one of the girls who didn't normally get the frisbee, and a guy from the other team would step right in front of them and hit the frisbee to the ground. This didn't just happen once, but it happened a couple of times and I thought it was kind of mean because some of the girls on my team didn't get very many chances to touch the frisbee, so the guys should had just let them get hold of the frisbee. I know the team members on the other team were helping out their team by blocking the frisbee from the girls, however in order to make the class fun for everyone, they should of just thought about the impact of their actions. Each time I got the frisbee, I passed it to one of the girls on my team who didn't normally get the frisbee very often and by doing this it made me feel good about myself, it also allowed everyone to make contributions to the team and allowed them to feel valued. In the beginning of the year when we played ultimate, I was not as outgoing so I didn't get the frisbee very many times, and so it felt good to have someone pass it to me. Therefore, I wanted to pass it to the shy students because I used to once be a shy student in the beginning of the year. In brief, not only did I make my own personal improvements but I took the effort to make some good contributions to the team and I accomplished my goal of making everyone feel like a part of the team.

May 6, 2014-Beep Test

On May 6 everyone participated in the beep test for fitness. Hearing that we were going to do the beep test for the gym block was good news for me because this was my opportunity to improve. One thing I disliked was when students negatively reacted when hearing from their friends that we were doing the beep test. You should be happy because you are getting a good workout for your body and exercising is healthy and  beneficial to your overall health. So by hearing some students sighing by the fact that we were doing the beep test, carried a negative vibe which can have an effect on your score and participation in the beep test. Leading up to the beep test, I was motivated to improve and get a higher score than last time which was 8.4. While I was running across the gym, I tried not to think about the discomfort and burning in my legs that I was feeling and instead I tried to think about other things. This helped me out a lot while running, by allowing me to not stop or quit. By 8.2, this is where my motivation really kicked in and I had to tell myself to not give up and to keep on going. By being motivated, I was able to run until 8.6. Motivation played a huge role in my success because if I did not tell myself to keep on going, I would of had stopped at 8.2. However because I was mentally strong I lasted for longer which made a difference in my score. Being able to improve is such a great feeling because it shows yourself how much you have grown from the last time. While I was doing the push ups, I noticed I went all the way down this time compared to last time. I was able to do around 17 push ups this time and my arms were burning when I stopped. My structure of push ups improved and I was really happy about this because I have been working on my push ups more often at home. When I was doing the plank, I was able to do it for around 60 seconds, however I felt like I could of held it for longer so I did it again. I got around 50 seconds the next time, but I still did it one last time and got around 40 seconds. By doing the plank three separate times, this just showed my motivation to improve. Marcia took two videos and pictures of these exercises but unfortunately she was unable to send them to me. Hopefully we will do the beep test one final time in June which will allow me to have one last chance to improve my score and be able to reach level nine. By slowly improving each time we do the beep test, you end up with a very big improvement by the end of the year.  Here are my other results:

Beep Test Level: 8.6
Max vertical Length:
                                F: 215
                                S: 245
                                D: 30
Body Press (Push Ups): 17
Body Bridge: 60 seconds
T-test: around 12 seconds
Sit and Reach: 1
Board Touches (1 minute): 28

April 29, 2014-Pond Run Relay

On April 29, we participated in the pond run relay with bean bags. In my group was Marcia, Karen and Simran. Whenever we do fitness in groups, I always want to be in a group with positive people who put all of their effort into the activity. For example, if you are in a group with people who slack off, it starts to rub off on you and then you end up not putting your full effort into the activity because you're surrounding yourself with these kinds of people. This explains why I always like to have Marcia in my group because she always puts all her effort into fitness days, just as I do.  Before starting Mr. Neufeld told us that the goal for this fitness was to run the whole entire lap, because after you run for the minute, you'll be able to get a resting break until its your turn to run again. Mr. Pederson also told us that if we run for the full lap around the pond and put our maximum effort into the lap, at the end we'll be out of breath and exhausted. Mr. Pederson was right because as I completed my laps without stopping to walk, my heart rate definitely increased and my breathing escalated. I'm glad that I was able to not stop once while I was running the lap because that was the main goal for this fitness day. While I was running I did notice that my pacing was pretty good  because I tried hard to make sure I didn't waste all of my energy in the very beginning of the lap. This was a little difficult to do because I wanted to run faster in the beginning since I had so much energy, however I knew this wouldn't be a good idea because then at the end I would be more tired and it would be much harder for me to complete the lap as I got closer to the finish. Near the end of the block when I was running my fifth lap, I was so tired  and I wanted to stop however it was the motivation in me that allowed me to persevere ten more seconds until I made it to the end. The expression on my team member's faces after they completed their lap showed me that they were working hard, and I also gained them more confidence by telling them what a fantastic job they were doing. Each person in my group did five laps but I think Marcia was able to do six laps as she was the first runner in our team.  If we do this pond run relay again I want to try to get six laps and I will achieve this by making sure my team does not slow down near the end and maybe even by increasing my speed while it is my turn to run. Here is a video of me running at the end of  my third lap:

April 26, 2014- Hockey

On Saturday I played street hockey outside since it was a really nice day out. I usually don't play street hockey, but since the playoffs started, I started watching some of the games on T.V. The excitement of the games got me in the spirit, so this weekend I even played street hockey outside with my brother and the other neighbours. Unfortunately, I didn't get a goal, but I did get one assist to a goal. Running back and forth on the street gave me a good workout, and at one point I was out of breath. I noticed that even running back and forth with a hockey stick at a slower pace still increased my heart rate. I can only imagine the workout the Canucks get in each game they play. Hopefully next year the Canucks will make it to the playoffs! 

April 25, 2014-Scottish Mile

On April 25, everyone participated in the Scottish Mile and a fun relay race for fitness Friday. In the beginning of the block Mr. Neufeld was asking a few other people and I if we knew what the Scottish Mile was, however I wasn't familiar with the name so I was curious as to what it was and how it worked. When the gym teachers were giving us a demonstration and explanation of what the Scottish Mile was,  I instantly knew what they were talking about. As I was listening to the gym teachers, the Scottish Mile at first seemed to be not that difficult, however my thoughts changed completely when we actually started doing it. The Scottish Mile was very tiring because we were jogging for 15 minutes straight. In my group was Mikayla, Brianna, Manzula, Amrit, Myranda, Shiho, Gaby, Pallvi and Marcia. It was nice to work with Shiho, Myranda, and Gaby because I have never worked with them before. A few people from the group were not able to keep up with the rest of the group's speed, and so then the remaining six people in the group including myself were able to jog for the whole entire time without stopping once. Near the end of the Scottish Mile I got a cramp and usually when I get a cramp, I stop to walk but I didn't want to let my team down and so I continued jogging at the same speed until I made it to the end. There were certain points during the run where I really wanted to stop when my legs were aching, however if I stopped I knew that not only would I be disappointing myself, but I would be disappointing the whole entire team. While my legs were burning and there was a cramp in my stomach, instead of using these as excuses to stop, I fought through them and it payed off at the end because I was able to not let the team down and make Mr. Neufeld proud of all of us. For the second part of the gym block, we did a relay run with batons. I first started as being the eighth person in my group and so I was the last person to be handed the baton to. When the first person started the run, I was paying attention at all times to see which one of my team members had the baton. Even though I was the last person to run, I was still observant because in gym class, you always have to be alert and ready to move. When I got handed the baton, I sprinted as fast as I could to the next person because I knew that after I sprinted for a short amount of time, I would have a large amount of time to rest. As a result, this fitness day was very beneficial to me as it allowed me to push myself harder and get the chance to get a good workout as a team.

April 21, 2014- Easter Egg Hunt

This Easter weekend I took the initiative and planned an Easter egg hunt at our local park with my smaller cousins. While our mom's sat on the benches, us kids stayed active. This was my chance to get a good workout while having fun at the same time. Instead of walking around and hiding the chocolate eggs, I instead ran around the park where there were trees. I ran a few times around the same area to confuse the smaller kids on where I was hiding the eggs, and this also allowed me to get a good workout. Also, I made my younger cousins run as well, and I told them there was a time limit of 15 minutes, and they definitely were out of breath after the hunt was over.

April 17, 2014-Choice: Volleyball

For the gym block on April 17, 2014, it was choice day and at first I was thinking of asking Mr. Neufeld if my friends and I could play badminton but as you know, I have already played badminton in past choice days and it was time to try something new and explore my interests .Even though volleyball isn't my favourite sport and I may not be as skillful in this sport, I still decided to play it. Some of the people playing on the same court as me were Marcia, Karen, Jason, a couple of grade tens from Mrs. Phillips class, and a few grade nines from Mr. Pederson's and Mr. Vaughan's class. When we started playing I was alert and focused on the ball. I was always in ready position too. There was one time when we first started playing when the ball came shooting at me and so I protected myself from getting hit in the head and therefore I didn't get the chance to hit it. However after that incident, I learned from it and always tried to hit the ball whenever I had the chance too. Even when I did hit the ball and it ended up going in a different direction, it was still better than just standing there and doing nothing because it showed I was trying. There were many funny times while we were playing that made my whole team and I laugh together. On this choice day I was able to get out of my comfort zone and try a sport I was a little scared of to begin with. At the end of the block my opinion on volleyball changed completely. I now find it to be a really fun engaging sport that I would like to practice more and get more skillful at by June. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy choice days because it allows you to discover new passions and try out different things.

April 15, 2014-Community Run

On April 15, 2014, we participated in the Community Run. I was glad that we were able to do the Community Run because we haven't done this in a while. I wanted to take less walking breaks as possible in order to jog for the whole entire run. Running up the hill to start off the run was very tiring and after doing that, my heart rate escalated and I instantly knew that this wasn't going to be a walk in the park. In the beginning of the run, I ran mostly with Karen but toward the middle of the run I had to run alone because we were both going at different speeds, as I was a little bit ahead of her. I knew that it was going to be hard to run with a friend because everyone's pace will differ from others and even though it may be more fun to run with a friend, at the end of the day, you're creating your own active learning journey and in order to do this, you need to show everyone your ability, not the combined ability between you and your friends. If you're able to find a person who is just as fit as you, then that's great but if you're forcing yourself to stop during the run to wait for a friend when you know you are capable to keep on running, then that's a problem. The teachers were really supportive and were my motivators for this run. For instance, the very last part of the run Mr.Neuf encouraged me to keep on going as I was so close to the finish line. This told me that if I just bare 1 more minute, then I will make it to the end mentally stronger than I started. Based on Mr. Neuf's stopwatch my time was 27:37, which I am very proud of and next time if we do the same route again, I plan on getting 25 minutes as I know I have the strong foundation (teacher support) to take on this goal. Here is a picture with Pallvi shortly after I completed the run:

April 13, 2014-Surrey Lake Park

Today on April 13, 2014, because it was a really nice day out I went to the Surrey Lake Park with my family in the evening. At the Surrey Lake Park my family and I walked on the pathway for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, I jogged along the pathway for about 30 minutes. It was nice to get some fresh air and do a light jog as a form of exercise. I liked how I was able to run in a different atmosphere too because I think this is the first time I have done a jog here at the Surrey Lake Park in a while. Here is a video while I was jogging:

April 11, 2014-Hill Run

On April 11, 2014, the gym block took part in the new hill run. I have never done this hill run before and so I was eager and excited to participate in it. Before we started, Mr. Neufeld encouraged us to use a pedometer which recorded the number of steps you took. I took one because I really wanted to see how many steps I would be able to take throughout the gym block. The hill run was definitely one of the harder fitness activities I have took part in.  This hill run was more tiring and challenging then the other hill run by City Hall. I was able to do 7 laps by the end which I am very proud of because Mr. Neuf said we should do somewhere between 5-10 laps.  During the first five laps that I did, I did not stop once while running and I persevered my way to the top. When I got near the top of the hill my legs were burning but I managed to make it all the way up there through the motivation in me. During the sixth and seventh lap I was exhausted and I was breathing very heavily too. It took me some time to catch my breath and breathe normally after we did the run. After the whole entire gym block I took 5834 steps which is so close to 6000! The video was taken while I was running my seventh lap up the hill. 

 

 

 

April 9, 2014-Speed Ball

On April 9, 2014 our class played speed ball outside on the field. It was our first time playing speed ball and I thought it was very fun. Although I didn't get the ball that many times, it was apparent that I tried very hard by continuously running. At times I found it difficult to get the ball because other people would pass the ball to their friends and wouldn't pass the ball to new people. I think a goal for the next time we play speed ball, would be to try to include people who don't normally get the ball very often, more into the game which will definitely make the class fun for every student. I would want to play speed ball again because it was a mixture of two sports in to one game. I thought that it was really fun and next time I want to get the ball more times which will make it even more fun. On the whole I liked Mr. Neufeld's choice of activity for this gym block because we were able to get a really good exercise in a fun way outside in the sun!

April 7, 2014-Capture the Flag

On April 7, 2014 our class played capture the flag on the field. The class and our T.A had to work together to set up the game without receiving assistance from Mr. Neufeld. I noticed that compromising was needed to be made when working with other people because you can't get things to work out exactly in your favour. People had different representations of how they wanted to set up  the cones and so therefore others got frustrated when it didn't go their way. A few people in the class were able to get most people's attention, which told everyone else to quiet down and to just listen. When another one of my classmates was projecting their voice to get the rest of the class's attention I didn't interupt and listened to what they had to say. My leadership role from today's class was near the end when I helped to put the cones/frisbee away. While we were playing capture the flag I ran to the other side many times compared to the last time I played in January. Even if I knew I had a chance of being caught, I still went because I wanted to get the most out of the gym class and I wanted to take risks  instead of being afraid. At the end of the block I was happy because I made an improvement from last time. I noticed that I may have even participated more this time by running to the other territory more often. I thought capture the flag was even more fun this time because I made more contributions. Sometimes it can be a little difficult to get everyone in the class to listen to your instructions however there were definitely other ways in the gym block I was able to improve upon and be proud of as I described.

April 5, 2014-Leadership and Initiative Taking

I am taking a leadership role in our community by volunteering with the City of Surrey engineering department. The program I am involved in is called Adopt-A-Street, which is about keeping the streets clean. I volunteer my time once a week for a couple of hours, and as you can see in the picture below, I am cleaning up litter at a park. Sometimes my younger cousins assist me when I need help, and by doing this I act as a leader to them. This time I got the bag almost three quarters full. By taking part in this program it allows me to get some exercise too as I am always on my feet and ready to move from place to place. When I am not cleaning the litter at the park, I usually clean the streets in my neighbourhood. At the end of the day, I feel good about myself for taking the initiative to make our community a beautiful place.

April 1, 2014-Pond Run

On April 1, 2014 everyone participated in the pond run. Before we started, Mr. Neufeld told us that during the sixty seconds that we are running it will get harder and harder to maintain it as you keep on going. He also said that near the end of the 60 seconds is the point where your improvement comes in. I noticed that near the end of the 40 minutes of the run, people started to feel tired and took more walking breaks when we were supposed to be running.  Part of the reason why I was still able to run during the 60 seconds had to do with the motivation I was receiving from the teachers. For example, I saw Mrs. Phillips and Mr. Neufeld participating in the run which set me a good example about being fit and staying in shape. Some of the older senior students showed the younger students what hard work looks like by pushing themselves to keep on running for the full 60 seconds. My goal was to run the whole entire 60 seconds and to not stop once. At times when my legs were burning and I was feeling very tired while I was running, I started jogging at a slower pace but I did not stop to walk. Also,  I noticed an improvement from the time we did the pond run in September. I noticed that this time I didn't need to stop to walk and I also didn't get tired as fast as I did before. Here is a picture after the run:

March 21, 2014-Jogging

Starting from March 21 & every other day when it was sunny during Spring Break, I went jogging at a park near my old elementary school. I ran four laps around the field which is equivalent to 1500 meters and that is approximately a mile. My main goal for today was to keep a good pace, and I have been practicing my pacing in gym class when we do fitness. I was able to spread my energy throughout the whole jog instead of just wasting all my energy in the first 10 minutes. I took only a couple of breaks while my legs were burning after jogging uphill, but then I got right back into it after my 30 second speed walking breaks. By jogging outside of school, it will help me to increase my score on the beep test and by doing this it also increases my endurance. Here is the video of me jogging:

March 17, 2014- Riding My Bike!

Spring break is two weeks long and during these two weeks I want to continue regularly exercising rather than slacking off. Starting on March 17 & other days throughout Spring Break when it was not raining I decided to go outside and get some fresh air by riding my bike. I usually ride my bike for 45 minutes around my neighbourhood and by doing this, I was able to become more energetic and boost my energy levels. Riding a bike is very beneficial as it burns calories, increases stamina, and strengthens your muscles. The hard part when riding a bike is when you have to ride uphill. While I was riding uphill, my leg muscles were burning and it took a little more effort than riding on flat land. While I was riding uphill, I noticed that there is an increase in coordination, as you need to stay balanced on your bike or else you can tip over. Bike riding is not only a good way to get exercise but it can also be fun too. I enjoyed riding against the wind while I was riding downhill, which is one of the fun aspects while cycling.  The main muscles that I used  while I was riding my bike, was my quadriceps and my hamstrings. Even though bike riding exercises more of your lower body; your upper body is also involved too.  Overall,  I had a great time as I was able to stay fit in an enjoyable way.

March 9, 2014-Punching Exercise

Today I thought I do a different type of exercise by punching, which would strengthen my arms. I used to watch my brother punch a punching bag, and when I tried it I found that it was a good form of workout. I found that moving around and punching a hand pad worked wonders for my arms and shoulders. I'm not pretending to be a boxer, but I find doing these punches for at least 15 minutes makes me sweat and increases my heart rate as I punch quicker and with more strength. Also, by doing this exercise, it builds that level of confidence so if I ever need to defend myself, I would be able to fight back. Maybe in the future I will join martial arts so I can improve my techniques.

March 4, 2014- Fitness Tuesday!

On March 4, 2014 it was fitness Tuesday and everyone took part in Pyramid. We've only done Pyramid once before in the school year so I was glad the gym teachers decided to do this activity for Tuesday's fitness. While I was jogging to the middle of the gym and then back, my thighs were burning but I needed to pay close attention to the voice in my head that was motivating me to keep on going. I needed to block everything else around me and just focus on my exercising. As we progressed more into the activity I noticed that my intensity increased. For example, in the beginning I wasn't as into the activity as I was near the end. I got more and more into the activity as the time passed, which means I pushed myself harder and harder as the minutes went by. I was glad that push ups were on the list of the exercise movements to do because as you know, this is an exercise that I wish to improve on by June. So by doing push ups in Pyramid it allowed me to have some practice with the structure. When we first started Pyramid, the first exercise was push ups and so when I did my first push up, I found it hard to do and I knew that the easiest way to do this would be to give up, but that's definitely not the way I wanted to deal with the situation. So then I kept trying by doing another push up, and then after that I did two more and so on, and this is how I overcame this obstacle. Having hope and confidence in yourself is so important when working with your weaknesses. Overall, I think this fitness day helped me to continue achieving my goal and showed me how to keep on going even in the rough spots. Here is some digital evidence:

February 28, 2014- Fitness Friday!

On February 28, 2014 it was fitness Friday and we did an activity similar to a relay in groups of three. In my group was Brianna (from Mr. Pederson's class) and Manzula (from Mr. Vaughan's class). I thought this fitness activity was cool because we haven't done this before this year and so everyone got a change. I liked the idea of how we were able to take turns while running, because this way you run for around a minute and then you get a break while your other partners get their turn to run. After I came back from running, even though I  was tried I didn't sit down on the benches; instead I remained standing and walked a bit in the area I was standing. While I was running, I didn't stop once and didn't take a walking break. Usually when we do the pond run, there is at least one point in the run where I have to stop and take a walking break, even if it's only for a short amount of time (5 seconds).  However this time I'm so proud of myself because I didn't stop jogging. If I was tired, I jogged slower but I didn't give up on myself and start walking. After my partners were done doing their lap, I encouraged them and told them that they did a very good job because by looking at them it was pretty obvious that they were giving it their all. I really liked my group because they didn't slack off and both of my partners pulled their weight in. I payed close attention to my pacing and made sure I wasn't wasting all my energy in the first 20 seconds. When it was time to do my first lap, I noticed that I went faster in the beginning and then near the end of the lap, I got tired. So the second time I went, I paced myself better and made sure I didn't run in the first 20 seconds; instead I jogged so my energy could be distributed evenly throughout the whole run. Marcia and I were both partner C's but in different groups so we were able to jog together. I was glad Marcia and I were able to jog together because we have about the same speed. As I mentioned, the first lap I did, it was harder to continue jogging at the same speed near the end because I did not pace myself well. However when I did the second lap, while I was jogging I noticed that it was a bit easier to continue at the same speed  near the end because I paced myself well. Also, I needed to make sure I didn't jog too fast in the beginning because at the end it would be hard to do a lap.I was able to focus on my pacing for this fitness activity and that was my main objective. Overall, I am happy of my efforts demonstrated in class and I think that I made it clear to my peers that I worked hard due to my heavy breathing and the expression on my face.

Here is a picture after we finished:

February 26, 2014- Choice

On February 26, 2014, it was choice but before we started our choice activity everyone participated in Mr. Vaughan's exercise warm up, and I was happy that we were able to do a warm up because they are really fun and they also get your heart rate up too. For the warm up, we were skipping and I really like to skip because when I was little I remember that I used to skip for an hour everyday afterschool, and I still do this now in the summer time. When I was skipping I tried different ways to skip..for example, with two feet, with one foot and I even tried to get better at my criss cross skipping which was really fun. At the end of the warm up, I was more excited to play badminton. The warm up made me become more energetic than I was before we did the warm up. Some people don't bother to do warm ups before they exercise, but it's always good to do one because it allows you to stretch out your muscles and to get more motivated and pumped up to start your main exercise. When playing badminton, my friends and I didn't actually play a game but instead we tried to keep the birdie in the air as long as possible. The main purpose was to have fun and to get a good exercise and I was able to achieve this goal by the end of the block!! I tried to help with clean up by putting away birdies that were left behind and by making sure no equipment was lying around. There was also a birdie stuck at the bottom of the equipment room door and so I didn't just look at it and walk away; I tried to take the birdie out but it was really stuck. However, I didn't just leave it because I felt that it was partially my responsibility to get it out since I was one of the people playing badminton, so I tried moving the door and my other friend was  helping too and then I tugged on the birdie and finally got it out! I only left to the change rooms once everything was put away. In brief, I made the gym block a happy environment for everyone by participating to my best ability, helping out with clean up and sharing laughter with the people around me.

Here is a video of me skipping: 

                                      

February 25, 2014-Shovelling the Snow!

On February 25, 2014 since it had been snowing a lot and there was a lot of snow built up on the ground, I decided to go out and shovel the snow with my brother.  This may seem easy but it was not because the snow was really heavy and my driveway was really big so there was a a lot of snow to shovel. When I was lifting the snow and putting it away from the driveway onto the grass, after awhile I could feel the burn in my arms. Shovelling the snow may seem fun to do, which it is, but it does require strength. Since I was lifting, reaching and bending and tossing the snow this obviously helped me with my muscle development and got me to work out my arms.  While shovelling I tried  not to overload my shovel because if you put too much snow on the shovel and try to lift it, it's not good for your back. Instead of being lazy and letting the snow pile up and  melt itself with the rain, we decided to go out there ourselves because sometimes I just like to get my exercise the old fashioned way. It tool about 40 minutes and at the end of those 40 minutes, I got to develop arm muscle, get a good exercise and plus a clean driveway. :)

February 22, 2014- Healthy Dinner

On Saturday February 22, 2014, my mom and I prepared a healthy and delicious meal for our dinner. As you can see in the picture, the meal included fresh steamed carrots and broccoli. There was stuffed chicken breast with green peppers in it, and roasted potatoes. Also on the side, I had a whole wheat bun and a glass of milk. Chicken is really good for you as it is high in protein, and potatoes provide you with a good amount of vitamin C, calcium and potassium. Eating roasted potatoes is obviously better than eating potatoes in the form of french fries and potato chips. Drinking milk was the smart choice over pop (coke) because of the calcium it provides us, in order to build strong bones. On the whole, this homemade meal was very healthy and it tasted really good!

February 19, 2014- Leadership

On Wednesday February 19, 2014, my younger cousins had a soccer practice and so I wanted to go along with them. I was able to take initiative by organizing who was playing which roles and I even took part in a few of their warm up games too. Before my cousins and I left the house to their practice, I made sure their team uniforms were ready to go and that they were feeling motivated to practice in order to become better soccer players. I helped everyone to become focused by giving them mini pep talks. Most importantly, I needed to make sure that everyone was encouraging each other and not putting anyone down. I helped set up cones and tied some of the kid's shoes too. I gave them an applause at the end because it was obvious that the whole team was working hard. Overall, I'm proud of myself that I'm starting to take more initiative and that I'm improving my leadership skills!

February 17, 2014-Choice

On Monday February 17, 2014 it was choice and I decided to play badminton because I really enjoy playing it and badminton isn't always one of the choices on choice days. Before we played badminton, Mr. Vaughan guided us through some fun and simple activities as a warm up. For example, we had to slide on  sliders while our partner slid /dragged us across the gym. The main goal for these activities was to participate to your best ability and  to have a good time and to laugh and smile. I was laughing the whole time and I thought the activities were really fun. At the end, most people just left their sliders and didn't bother to put them away in the bin. So I took the leadership role and put not only my sliders away in the bin, but most of the other sliders that were lying around on the floor. After I put my sliders away, I was just going to leave but then the following question crossed my mind: "What can I do to take initiative?" At that point I took the extra effort to help clean up, and I felt good about it too later on in the block.  While we were playing badminton, we first played four on four but then played two on two. My partner and I did a really good job and we made sure the birdie was always high up in the air. We were able to continuously pass the birdie to each other for long amounts of time without one of us missing the birdie. I made a smart choice by partnering up with her because we were both good players in badminton, so therefore our skill level was about the same. At the end of the block, my neck was a little sore from keeping it up for so long and my arms were exhausted because my partner and I barely dropped the birdie while playing. Also, while we were playing I made the extra effort to try to hit the birdie even if it was far away from me, because that's the only way your going to make the game fun to play, or else the game will be boring if you only hit the birdie when it comes directly straight to you. When someone missed the birdie when it came to them, instead of sighing, I encouraged them and laughed with them; not at them. I didn't want gym to end because I was having so much fun and it felt like the time went by so fast! After all these contributions I made to the class, this allowed everyone to relax, have fun and to have a good time.

February 13, 2014-Weight Room

On February 13, 2014, our class was in the weight room for the first time. Mr. Neufeld told us to come up with our own goal and find a video on youtube that relates to the goal you wish to achieve. The purpose of doing this was to take action to achieve your goal by following along with a workout video on youtube. As you know from my other blog posts, I want to improve in push ups and also I want to improve on holding certain exercise positions, such as the plank and also the side plank for a longer amount of time. So Karen and I decided to set a goal for ourselves to build and strengthen our ab muscles. By building abdominal muscles it will help me to do better/more push ups and to be able to hold a plank and a sideways plank for longer. After achieving this goal my structures for these exercise movements will be improved too. To add on to this, this video will also help me to increase the intensity of my workouts as well.  Some of the moves in the video were, side to side planks, side planks with a hip drop which I thought was a cool and different movement. I did Around the World Plank, Bridge Plank, straight plank, mountain climbers, straight plank with hip drop, spiderman planks and a side plank with reach. The spiderman planks were probably the hardest for me because I had to hold a plank and bring my legs in near my stomach area and hold it there for a couple of seconds. While I was doing the Bridge Plank I made sure my head was kept high and my stomach was up as much as possible. These exercises were all different variations of the regular plank and the thing I liked about this video was that it made the workout exciting by including unique exercises that were not boring. During the block, Karen and I replayed the video around four times and after the fourth time, my arms were aching. After gym as I was sitting in my fourth block class, I could feel a little pain in my arms. While I was doing the side to side planks my arm/body started to shake after 10 seconds. I researched about this and I realized that it is normal and the shaking means that my muscles are working hard and they are getting a good work out. However at the same time the shaking means that my muscles want to stop, but you have to gain the motivation in yourself to persevere through it. When I am having thoughts of giving up I always try to think of something else and try not to think about the pain I am feeling. This way I am distracting myself and it helps me to hold an exercise position for a longer amount of time or to keep on going by reaching a higher level on the beep test. Overall, the gym block in the weight room was beneficial to me as I am taking action to achieve my goal, and I have high feelings that I will be able to reach this goal by the end of the year!


Here is the video:

Here are a couple of pictures of me doing the side plank and the bridge plank:

Febraury 11, 2014-Insanity

On February 11, 2014 we took part in Insanity. I was glad we were doing insanity because we haven't done this particular fitness activity in a while now.  This was one of the hardest fitness days for me and it was challenging to keep up with the video, especially near the end. When we were doing some of the endurance exercises my legs were burning, but I had to tell myself to keep on going because just like Mr. Neufeld said "Nobody said this was going to be easy." As I mentioned my legs felt a burning sensation, but it's a good thing because that tells me that I am working my legs to their maximum. When taking part in fitness activities, you need to know how it feels to work hard and I definitely felt that feeling. When doing insanity this time, I noticed that I worked harder and felt more exhausted after the workout than I did the last time we did insanity, which was in mid October. I think the reason why I felt more tired and felt that I pushed myself harder this time, may be because my fitness levels have improved since then. I am very proud of my efforts because there was an improvement from last time we did insanity to this time. At the end of the block, I felt exhausted but at the same time very pleased on how I encountered  the obstacles I faced while working out. For example, one of the obstacles was during the end of the video when we were doing push ups. At one point during the end, I stopped doing the push ups for around 5 seconds, and with that 5 seconds I needed to regroup and refocus myself by listening to the voice in my head that was saying "you're almost done, don't give up now". After that, I went back into the workout feeling even stronger and tried my best not to stop again while doing the push ups. Overall I got an even better understanding of what maximum efforts look like and more importantly, what they feel like.