Max Rogers exercises with other sixthgraders at Woodmont Academy. Students use canned goods they brought to school for a food drive in strength-training exercises in gym class. (Baltimore Sun photo by Amy Davis / October 6, 2009) |
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About 25 third-graders at Woodmont Academy in Cooksville eagerly raced to get their weight of choice at the beginning of class and immediately began their 10-lap warm-up run inside the school's gym. The students ran around the gym - many pumping their arms with the added resistance to increase the level of difficulty for their workout.
At first glance, a passer-by might not realize that the weights the students were using were canned goods brought by them to eventually be donated to the needy. The activity is part of the Get Fit to Feed program, which is an effort by the school's physical-education teachers - Pam Geier and Regina Smutz - to combine fitness and giving.
"The school is very strong on doing good things for people," said Smutz, who thought of the concept after she read an article about using canned goods for weight training at home. "And we're always looking for ways to freshen up exercise. This is the perfect marriage."
John Farrell, principal of the 258-student independent Catholic school, enthusiastically supports the effort.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Farrell said. "It's not just a one-track type of thing. This is an individual effort for spirit and body. It doesn't get much better than that."
Each student was asked to donate two canned goods during the monthlong activity. Before the cans are given to Our Daily Bread, a pantry based in Baltimore, the students are using them to add weight resistance in a variety of exercises.
"Two cans alone isn't much," said Smutz, who has taught at the school in Howard County since it opened in 1995. "But when everyone brings in two cans, then you make a difference. It's the power of numbers."
The students have brought in close to 300 cans so far. The teachers expect to donate the cans later this month.
Smutz and Geier allow the students to invent their own exercises incorporating the cans as weights. After the students complete their run, they form lines and the teachers call on students to go to the front of the class and lead the other students in an exercise of choice. In Geier's third-grade class, one student decided to do jumping jacks with a can in each hand; another student did push-ups off the cans; a third student placed two cans on his stomach and did crunches.
"It has been awesome," Smutz said. "The exercises show creativity. They are more than happy to do it. Our purpose is to have them do more than they thought they could do."
Geier agreed.
"They are very responsive to it," she said. "They don't mind paying their dues. They know they need to do warm-ups and exercise before they can play."
The students say they love the dual benefits of the activity.
"It is good exercise," Bradley Martin, 11, a sixth-grader from Sykesville. "It's fun to do. You can always think of new exercises."
Jacob Hansen, 11, prefers to use the 30- to 40-ounce cans for exercise. He likes to use the cans to perform a butterfly exercise where he lies on his back and raises his extended arms together until the cans touch at the top.
"My classmates think it is going really well," he said. "It's important because others might not be as fortunate. We can use the cans here and then donate them."
Michael Leipold, 11, brought in Chef Boyardee and green beans. "I thought they would be good weights, and they taste good," the sixth-grader said.
"It can help kids think of ideas while they are at home so they don't play video games," he said.
The teachers plan to make the activity an annual event.
"We hope that other schools will do the same so that the spirit grows and grows," Smutz said.
At first glance, a passer-by might not realize that the weights the students were using were canned goods brought by them to eventually be donated to the needy. The activity is part of the Get Fit to Feed program, which is an effort by the school's physical-education teachers - Pam Geier and Regina Smutz - to combine fitness and giving.
"The school is very strong on doing good things for people," said Smutz, who thought of the concept after she read an article about using canned goods for weight training at home. "And we're always looking for ways to freshen up exercise. This is the perfect marriage."
John Farrell, principal of the 258-student independent Catholic school, enthusiastically supports the effort.
"I think it's a wonderful idea," Farrell said. "It's not just a one-track type of thing. This is an individual effort for spirit and body. It doesn't get much better than that."
Each student was asked to donate two canned goods during the monthlong activity. Before the cans are given to Our Daily Bread, a pantry based in Baltimore, the students are using them to add weight resistance in a variety of exercises.
"Two cans alone isn't much," said Smutz, who has taught at the school in Howard County since it opened in 1995. "But when everyone brings in two cans, then you make a difference. It's the power of numbers."
The students have brought in close to 300 cans so far. The teachers expect to donate the cans later this month.
Smutz and Geier allow the students to invent their own exercises incorporating the cans as weights. After the students complete their run, they form lines and the teachers call on students to go to the front of the class and lead the other students in an exercise of choice. In Geier's third-grade class, one student decided to do jumping jacks with a can in each hand; another student did push-ups off the cans; a third student placed two cans on his stomach and did crunches.
"It has been awesome," Smutz said. "The exercises show creativity. They are more than happy to do it. Our purpose is to have them do more than they thought they could do."
Geier agreed.
"They are very responsive to it," she said. "They don't mind paying their dues. They know they need to do warm-ups and exercise before they can play."
The students say they love the dual benefits of the activity.
"It is good exercise," Bradley Martin, 11, a sixth-grader from Sykesville. "It's fun to do. You can always think of new exercises."
Jacob Hansen, 11, prefers to use the 30- to 40-ounce cans for exercise. He likes to use the cans to perform a butterfly exercise where he lies on his back and raises his extended arms together until the cans touch at the top.
"My classmates think it is going really well," he said. "It's important because others might not be as fortunate. We can use the cans here and then donate them."
Michael Leipold, 11, brought in Chef Boyardee and green beans. "I thought they would be good weights, and they taste good," the sixth-grader said.
"It can help kids think of ideas while they are at home so they don't play video games," he said.
The teachers plan to make the activity an annual event.
"We hope that other schools will do the same so that the spirit grows and grows," Smutz said.
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