January 29, 2014-Push ups!

Semester one has ended but we have gym all year long, so we have to continue the physical exercise and use the rest of the year to continue and improve our efforts. On January 29, 2014 I did some push ups because this is an exercise I want to improve on. I want to improve my structure of the push ups and I think I improved my formation a little bit from last time when we did the beep test. I tried to keep a good structure, but as we get to June I have confidence in myself that my structure will be very good, with practice. I did 3 sets of 5, so in total I did 15 push ups and I think that is a good amount of push ups that I should be doing based on my fitness levels. I took approximately 5 second breaks in between the sets. This really got my heart beating faster. Push ups mainly work out your arm muscles (triceps) and your pectoral muscles. My arms were tired by the end but I was proud that I tried doing them without my knees. Next time I will go on my knees and see if there is a change in the structure or the quantity of push ups that I am able to do.

January 27, 2014-Hand Grips

On January 27, 2014, I used hand grips and I tried to squeeze them with my hand, which assists you in building muscle in the wrist and forearm area. Grip strength is very important because it's revolved around what you do on a regular basis,such as playing baseball or doing something as simple as opening a bottle. Having a stronger grip will definitely help you in your daily life. You may not think about your grip, but it plays a huge factor in your everyday life. By using hand grips, your hand strength will become stronger which allows you to swing a bat with more force and power. When I was using the hand grips, it was a little difficult because I had to apply a lot of force. I was able to squeeze it almost all the way. This movement was fun to do but at the same time it was a challenge too. I thought that this was cool so I wanted to share it with you!

January 21, 2013-Fitness Tuesday (Loco Motion)

Today for fitness we did the Loco Motion and I was really happy we got the chance to do it because this is one of my favourite fitness exercises.This activity gives me a good work out and is also fun because it enables you to do a variety of fun exercise movements, rather than just running back and forth as you do in the Beep Test. Mr. Neufeld gave us a choice of using the gym block as a study block for exams or participating in today's fitness activity. I chose to participate in fitness because I really wanted to do the Loco Motion and I felt that I have already managed my study time well for my exam, so I didn't want to miss out on this fitness day in particular. Since we have reached the middle of the course, I really wanted to show Mr. Neufeld and my peers how I have improved both mentally and physically. When doing the loco motion, I always tried to keep on doing the exercise movement until the buzzer beeped. I noticed that some people stopped doing the exercise because they were afraid that the buzzer was going to beep and so they didn't want to get caught in the middle. However, I continued doing the movement and even if I thought I wasn't going to make it to the other side before the buzzer, I still went because I wanted to maximize my participation in the gym block. When I didn't reach the wall by the time the buzzer beeped, I just ran back to the closest side which allowed me to get more exercise, rather than just wasting time waiting at one of the walls. I gave my friends positive comments and by telling her that she was doing a good job. By the end of the block, I was so tired but proud of my efforts in class!

January 17, 2014-Beep Test

Today we did the beep test and I improved from last time so I'm really happy and proud of myself. I've been improving a little bit each time I've done the beep test. For example, in September I got 6.5, in November I got 7.2 and now I got 8.4. If you refer back to my other blog post from November's Beep Test, I set a goal for myself to get an 8 on the beep test the next time I do it. I have achieved this goal, but I got even higher score than what I expected to get. The reason why I didn't do the push ups on my knees is because I wanted to challenge myself. Next time, I could modify the push ups and do them on my knees instead so it would improve my structure. I got better at my flexibility because before it was hard for me to reach level one but now I noticed it was a little bit easier. I've improved a little bit on almost all of the small exercises done after the beep test. By the end of the year I want to try to reach level three of the sit and reach.  Here are my results for the small exercises:
Beep Test Level: 8.4
Height: 170 cm
Body Press (Push Ups): 11
Body Bridge: 77 seconds
T-test: 13 seconds
Sit and Reach: 1
Max Vertical Length: F: 215
                                 S: 245
                                 D: 30
Board Touches: 16

 

Mid Term Reflection

We've reached the half way point in the course and by now Mr. Neufeld knows what each student's strengths and weaknesses are, and has an idea of which aspect(s) of the course that each student needs improving on. Throughout the course, I have found out a little bit more about myself and which elements of the course where I think there is room for improvement for. No matter what the situation is, there is always something to improve on and to get better at.  Every single day of gym I have been prepared with appropriate gym strip, and I have never forgotten my gym strip once. I am always on time and have never been late once. I am changed in to my gym clothes before we start the activity and I pay attention and do not talk or interrupt Mr. Neufeld while he is talking. One sport that I really enjoy playing is badminton because my family and I used to always play badminton every evening during the summer in our backyard with our own net. I would like to take the initiative and make a suggestion to Mr. Neufeld if badminton can be played more often during choice days. I am really good at badminton and it is probably the sport that I am the most skillful at. The day when we did the fitness activity with a partner, when you hold a certain exercise while your partner runs around the gym/hub, you could probably tell that my face was bright red and based on the expression on my face, it was evident that I had put so much effort in to the activity. I have noticed an improvement from the beginning of the year to now and even an improvement from November (when we got an interim report) to now. After interim reports were given, I noticed that I started to demonstrate even better efforts than I did before.  For example, I took the initiative to get a heart rate monitor for one of the fitness days when we did the partner thirty seconds on and off activity. Even though there was a problem with my heart rate monitor, Mr. Neufeld could tell that I was working hard because my heart was beating really fast and my face was red!  Now that I am reflecting on this course, I have noticed that I made a difference to the overall success of the class. For example, I always try to make the class fun for everyone by following the rules, participating to the best of my ability and by not showing negativity when my team loses a game. In the beginning of the year in early September, I was still getting used to the people in the class, the teacher, and the idea of blogs, but now as I have become very familiar with the class, I have become more motivated to try my best every day. To add to this, later on in the course, definitely after interim reports went out, I have been standing out more too. I am proud of my improvement from the beginning of the course until now and so therefore there will be an even bigger improvement  from  this point on to the end of the year in June. I always try to encourage my friends by giving them smiles and hi fives. Now that I have gotten a gist of the class, I have gained even more courage to be a leader and to take initiative. Some goals I want to set myself is to volunteer more in class by helping out with both set up and clean up. For example I want to help out more with the set up of the volley ball and badminton nets.  I have a basic idea on how to set up the nets and I'm going to take that step and help to set them out in the future. I am aware of the areas in the course that I need improving on and I'm going to make that extra effort in order to achieve my future goals.  After getting a heart rate monitor from Mr. Neufeld, that was only the beginning of the initiative I will be taking in the class. I think by now it's apparent to Mr. Neufeld that I do try my hardest especially on fitness days.On January 17, 2014 we did the beep test and I am really proud of myself because I improved my beep test score from last time! Last time I got 7.2 but this time I got 8.4. As I already mentioned before in my other blog post, I would like to get 9.5 at the end of the year because I know I can do it. I know how to push myself, by always remembering that it pays off the end. The last time we did the beep test, I got 7.2 and by looking at that score I was proud of myself but I wanted to improve on it. Later when we just did the beep test, because I believed in myself I was able to improve my score. I eat very healthy and have fruits and vegetables every day. Once in a while it's okay to have junk food but for the most part, I eat a variety of healthy foods such as fish, chicken, milk, and spinach. During the summer months I always went to Bear Creek Park and ran around the track. During the winter months I exercised at home in the exercise room in my house, by going on the treadmill/Orbitrek and by doing some weights. As you can tell I update my blog on a daily basis and I wrote a write up for almost every single gym class we have had so far. I have many posts, and also digital evidence(pictures, videos). I take the time to write explanations of what activity I did at school or at home and sometimes I even do a little bit of research to see which muscles I am exercising in the specific activity I am doing. I like the idea of blogs because I am able to monitor my physical exercise and  reflect on my growth throughout the course. I'm really glad I have Mr. Neufeld as a teacher because he demonstrated how important physical education is and how blogging can track your fitness levels and help you to become a stronger student in the Active Learning Department. Reflecting is really important because it allows you to create goals for yourself and figure out where you need improvement in. In the beginning of the course, I was a little skeptical of how posting blogs was going to help me, but now that I've been posting many blog posts, I've realized that blogs are really beneficial as they helped me learn more about myself. I'm also enjoying gym class more now than I did in September because I met some new people and formed new friendships. Therefore I have been more social in the class compared to September and that lead me to have more fun in the class. I am proud to say that I have noticed so many little improvements in the course so far. As a result I think I deserve an A and a G for work habits. In conclusion, I am ready to have another successful half of gym full of improvements and fun!

January 15, 2014-Capture the Flag

Today in gym class it was choice and a few girls from our class wanted to play Capture the Flag. They started gathering people from the block to play with them. When they asked me, at first I was thinking about doing volley ball but I then agreed to play Capture the Flag because by just looking at the expressions on their faces, you could tell they really wanted to play it and so it didn't feel right to say no to them. I didn't want them to be in a situation where they wouldn't be able to play the activity of their choice just because there weren't enough people to play in it, so I thought about others before myself. During Capture the Flag in the beginning I was hesitant to run to the other team but later on I ran to the other team a few times. When  Pallvi, Nicole, Myranda, Shiho were organizing the teams, I didn't disrupt or bother them; instead I listened and cooperated with them. I followed the rules, had fun, and helped clean up at the end of the block. Overall, I'm glad I decided to play capture the flag!

January 13, 2014- Weight Room

On January 13, it was choice and so we got to decide over hockey, volleyball, soccer and the weight room. I decided to go to the weight room because our class has never gotten to go there yet. In the weight room, I did a variety of things. I went on the treadmill for 10 minutes, the bikes for around 20 minutes, the leg press machine where you extend your legs out, and I went on the machine next to it where you lift weights with your legs. For both the leg machines, I did two sets of ten. When I was on the bikes, I turned the knob more to the harder side to challenge myself and therefore I could feel the burn in my thighs as I rode. I also played a balancing game with my friends where you have to balance on one foot while carrying a heavy fitness ball. Then my friends and I did a little bit of yoga by watching the yoga video Mr. Vaughn had put on for us and finally, I did three sets of ten sit ups. To make the gym block fun, my friends and I had a competition to see who can hold the plank for the longest. I think I held the plank for around a minute before the muscles in my stomach started to really ache and that's when I was out of the competition and my friend won. I made the class fun by participating in the mini competitions my friends had. As you can tell, I did a little bit of everything!

January 7, 2014-Fitness Tuesday!

Today on January 7, 2014, I participated in a new fitness activity that I have not done before for fitness and in the beginning it was fun because I got the chance to do something different, but as I progressed through the activity, it was very challenging. I got to participate in the partner activity where one partner runs around the gym and part of the hub, while your other partner is executing an exercise(plank, push ups, crunches..ect).  I think I did very well because I didn't slack off at all and I put all my effort in to the activity. As you could see in class, my face was really red and I could feel a lot of heat coming from my face. Today was the hardest day I have ever worked and the most exhausting day I have ever felt. Today was probably the hardest fitness day of the school year so far. However, I am very proud of myself. My partner and I hi-fived each other when we were switching roles, which showed that I encouraged my friend. I didn't skip exercises or walk when I was supposed to be running. I followed all the rules. I think I demonstrated what maximum efforts look like and I definitely was not hiding away in the back some this fitness day! In my opinion, I think this was a very good fitness activity and it gives you a really good workout. Before we started Mr. Neufeld told us that today is about how hard you try and not the quantity of push ups you can do. I tried my hardest on every single exercise movement, and when we did the push ups, I only did around 12 but I tried hard. When it was time for me to run, once I started getting close to the end of the running path, I sprinted instead of just jogging.  Overall, I hope Mr. Neuf is proud of me because I tried really hard! This was the most exhausting fitness day I have participated in!

January 3, 2014-Yoga on Wii Fit

On January 3, 2014, I did some yoga on my Wii Fit board for around thirty minutes. I focused on my balance and I burned calories by just doing some simple stretching. Some yoga poses that I did were the tree pose, warrior pose, downward facing dog pose, the triangle pose and a few more. I did the cobra and child's pose on a yoga mat after I finished doing the other poses on the Wii Fit board. The warrior pose worked with my leg muscles. I really enjoy doing yoga and there are a lot of benefits that come with it too. It increases flexibility, increases muscle strength and reduces stress. Here is a photo while I was doing yoga. :)

December 29, 2013-Jumping Jacks

On December 29, 2013, I did four sets of twenty five jumping jacks, taking approximately 5 second breaks in between the sets. I wanted to do some type of exercise after Christmas because of all the desserts and baked treats I ate from before, so I decided to do endurance exercises. I didn't want to just sit around and watch t.v; I wanted to do some form of physical exercise. After I finished doing the jumping jacks, I was very tired. Here is a photo of me while I was doing the jumping jacks.