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Viva Fitness!

Four hundred 4th and 5th grade students at two schools in Harlandale ISD received a special Fiesta Fitness medal from San Antonio Sports, celebrating completion of a 12-week program designed to help them pass the state-mandated FITNESSGRAM.  The pilot program was implemented to help prepare students with the skills needed to pass the push-ups and sit-ups portion of the physical fitness test.  Twice a week during PE, students practiced their push-ups and sit-ups.  According to Collier Elementary PE Coach Cathy Stein, almost everyone improved.  “This gave them a challenge and it gave them a goal.”  She also found it helpful when students were put in pairs, there was an element of competition.

All students in grades 3-12 are required to be assessed once annually using the FITNESSGRAM. In San Antonio, 26% of fourth graders and 22% of fifth graders were in the healthy fitness zone on all six tests.  Fitness levels declined with each subsequent grade level, reaching a low at 12th grade.  The average is 19% for grades 3-12, ranging from 30% in third grade to 9% in 12th grade.  The students have undergone another round of testing this spring.

Coach Stein says that participating in San Antonio Sports’ Fitness Fiesta program has made her rethink how to teach the elements that comprise the FITNESSGRAM.  Susan Blackwood, executive director of San Antonio Sports, says that based on the results from Harlandale, practicing push-ups and sit-ups will be incorporated into the next Valero Go!Kids Challenge.  “We want our children to be successful and to be physically fit.  Incentives are an important way to motivate, and we want to do our part to improve San Antonio’s FITNESSGRAM scores.”