Andrew Rogers performs a medicine ball chest press as part of Anthiel School’s curcuit training exercise program. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Maurice Jones works out on the equalizer bars during curcuit training in the Antheil School gym. (Staff photo by Samantha Sciarrotta.)
Walking into the second grade physical education class at Antheil Elementary School at any point during April and May might have felt like “crazy town,” according to Dr. Anne Farrell, Department Chair of the School of Health and Exercise Science at The College of New Jersey. From the outside, it may have looked like students had free reign of the gym, laughing and playing as music blared from a boombox.
But there was a method to the madness.
Farrell, Antheil phys ed teacher Jason Zablow, and a group of TCNJ students in the Nursing and Health and Exercise Science programs led the second graders through FIT training, an eight-week circuit training program created by Dr. Avery Faigenbaum, a professor at the college. The program is designed to teach children foundational movements through kid-friendly circuit exercises, and it’s designed specifically to cater to kids while actually teaching them about fitness. The students also learned about health and nutrition during each session.
“It was done to make sure that [the exercises] were relatively age-appropriate and that we could progress according to what we still think would be appropriate for youth,” Farrell said.
The program, which was also tested at Columbus Elementary School in Trenton, was funded by a $50,000 Smart Nutrition and Conditioning for Kids (SNACK) Grant through Novo Nordisk. SNACK’s goals is to reduce obesity and type two diabetes, specifically in urban populations.
They are both issues that need to be caught early, said Farrell.
“If we don’t do it now, it’s almost impossible to get them,” she said. “An overweight or obese 12-year-old has a 75 percent chance of being an obese adult. Only one in four makes a change? We want to make sure we get them before they get to have these health problems.”
This year was the program’s first year at Antheil, and it also happened to fall during Zablow’s first few weeks as a teacher at the school.
Farrell, though, said you would have never known it.
“This poor guy, new to the school, still a relatively new teacher, was a rock star,” she said. “He stepped in, and I think he was excited, which was good for the students to see. He didn’t come in fearful or saying, ‘Oh, why do I have to do this?’ He made a wonderful presentation of what was going to be the next eight weeks of their lives. He was absolutely clutch.”
And he was immediately successful. If the program’s progression is any indication, changing children’s habits might be easier than Farrell and Zablow thought.
The students underwent fitness testing at the program’s conclusion, and Zablow said that five or six of them maxed out on sit-ups, while every child improved doing the sit-and-reach. Some even doubled or tripled their push-up total from the beginning of the program—others who couldn’t even muster one could do upwards of five during the final fitness testing.
“In the beginning, it was basic things.” Zablow said. “The first four or so classes, we were saying to them, ‘Okay, remember, this is how you do this. Then, by the end, it was, ‘Alright, you guys know the drill.’ We ended up adding in a station, and they got to create their own exercises. They got to promote their own creativity.”
At first, Zablow said the kids were hesistant to stray from their usual curriculum.
“It was a mixture of curiousity and excitement, and they were a little upset because they were missing out on their regular phys ed,” he said. “They didn’t want to miss the fun games that they were used to playing. But they were also curious about the new stuff.”
Stations included sliding around on sled-like scooters, using battling ropes, and tossing medicine balls. They also used equalizer bars for push-ups and balance balls for burpees. All of the equipment was colorful and easily accessible, which provided the “wow factor that kept them engaged,” said Farrell.
They were kid-friendly versions of adult exercise equipment, but it’s necessary, Farrell added, when children are facing adult-like problems such as diabetes and obesity.
Once they got used to the activities, Zablow said the kids looked like pros.
“Certain things were tough, but there were days when they came in, and they looked like they’d been doing it for three years,” he said. “They would do a ton of push-ups and burpees and wall squats. There were parts where you were like, ‘This is amazing,’ but then you still had the second graders in them so you still had to get that happy balance between creativity while still getting the workout in.”
As the program went on, striking that balance became easier and easier. While kids stuck to and perfected the assigned task at each station, many came up with their own workouts, like modifying sit-ups, bench pressing a medicine ball, and crab walking with a balloon.
They made effective adjustments without the help of an adult, Zablow said, which proved that they were thinking about the actual exercises rather than just “messing around.”
“The kids come up with new things that we would have never thought about as adults,” Farrell said. “For us, it’s like, ‘Add that to the bank.’ We can share it at other schools, and this is what we want to present to other professionals. Don’t be afraid to let them be creative. The reality is that they know their bodies pretty well, so they know what their limitations are. That part is quite fun and interesting for us as professionals.”
By the end of the program, they were even engaged with the health and nutrition lessons put together by TCNJ students.
“They had recently been out doing student teaching, so they had a really good idea of what was interesting for the young ones,” Farrell said. “The activities they put together were just spot-on. The kids really liked it.”
The goal was to teach the students the basic principles of what basic nutrition was. Zablow said many students didn’t know what a grain was, or weren’t sure where to classify chicken, but after eight weeks, they were acing quizzes.
The next step is determining how they can make sure the kids hang onto their newfound knowledge into the summer and beyond, and determining how they can get similar results without all the equipment used during the classes.
“Does knowledge equate to behavior change? No, not so much,” Farrell said. “We’re hoping that’s something we can expand on. We can do a true nutrition project with them, comparing tastes and things like that. That’s another big project. It’s really just about going back to addressing health needs at the youngest level possible so that it doesn’t escalate to bigger problems when they get older.”
She also hopes to be able to eventually reach out to parents and find out what kind of limitations they face as far as nutrition and exercise go.
“It’s really a learning process for us, but until we get all those pieces, we can’t give as much as we want to the community,” she said. “We hope to continue these relationships and maybe partner in different, bigger ways in the future.”
Overall, Farrell added, the first year of “crazy town” was a success.
“With second graders, could we keep their attention span? Did it lose appeal after week three or four? This is a spirited group at Antheil,” she said. “If they didn’t like it, they would have told us. As an educator, it was ideal. The best of all worlds. We’re honestly thrilled with the way it all took place.”
,
