Lesson 18 - Physical Education for Body, Mind and Spirit

• Show students the Exercise Prescription activity sheet in their portfolios. (It may be
helpful to make an overhead transparency of this sheet to work along with students.)
Explain that their prescription is specific to them. Give an example of a prescription
a doctor might give (take 2 tablets 3 times per day for 6 weeks). This prescription
would be different for different people. Tell them they can use the list of physical
fitness examples to help them complete their exercise prescription.
• Make the point that this is a beginning exercise plan, unless they have already been
participating in an activity. For example, if they run for 30 minutes 3 times per week,
they are already on an exercise plan and they can look at increasing the time,
frequency or intensity. If they are just starting the exercise plan/prescription, they
will want to wait 4 to 6 weeks before they increase the workload. Too much too fast
leads to burn out!
• After they have been on the prescription for 4 to 6 weeks, they will increase each of
the FITT principles in increments, not all at the same time. For example, they may
first increase the intensity from 50% to 65% of their maximum heart rate for 1 week,
then depending on how their body feels they can increase the time or frequency the
following week. The point is to gradually build up to their goal for physical fitness.
Once they reach the goal, they can then create a new goal.
• Make sure students consult their physical activity goal so that they can relate the plan
to their stated goal as they create their exercise prescription. If they are unhappy with
their goal, invite them to change it to something more appealing or pertinent.
• Have students take out the Exercise Prescription activity sheet. Tell them to write
their name where it says, “Exercise prescription for….” Direct their attention to the
two boxes on the top of the worksheet labeled “Cardiorespiratory Fitness” and
“Muscular Strength and Endurance.”
• Explain that they are going to be filling in these two boxes for their own use. Using
the overhead transparency of the Exercise Prescription activity sheet, give an
example of what they might write in the Cardiorespiratory box. Check in with
students who are using the RPE scale to make sure they understand what to write
down for intensity.
• Once students have completed the Cardiorespiratory box, go on to the Muscular
Strength and Endurance box. Write an example for students to follow. Then walk
around helping students where needed.
• Read the section on Flexibility and have students write in some stretches that would
address the muscles they would be using in their exercise session.
• Direct students’ attention to the last paragraph and explain to them that an exercise
session includes three parts: a warm-up, the training period (which is doing the
activities listed in the boxes above) and cool-down activities.
Nutrition and Physical Activity for Lifelong Health Lesson Eighteen • 184
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