Last week’s blog (http://tinyurl.com/bnl6h85) focused on
Tarleton State University’s emphasis on physically active Kinesiology majors. Tarleton
Kinesiology majors must meet the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
health-related fitness standards at the 40th percentile or above for
age and gender in order to graduate. But what happens when a student has
difficulty passing one of the required tests? To address this issue, Tarleton’s
Clinical Exercise Research Facility (CERF) has come up with a solution. Phit
or Phail (Fit or Fail) is a learning series taught by senior-level
Kinesiology majors during their internship in CERF. These interns are focused
on assisting Kinesiology students who are struggling to achieve the appropriate
fitness standards on the health-related tests that include a 1.5 mile run,
bench press, leg press, sit-ups, and flexibility. Each semester four sessions are provided to
help meet the fitness needs of students below the 40th percentile.
- Phirm or Phlab --- focuses on developing muscular strength.
- Phast or Phail --- emphasizes boosts in cardiovascular health.
- Phit or Phlab --- concentrates on improving muscular endurance and reducing body fat percentage.
- Phloat or Phlop --- aims to help students to improve their swimming skills.
Students
who attend these meetings will learn helpful tips on how to advance their
current fitness levels. One of the main focuses of these sessions is the
creation of a workout calendar. The calendar
allows the students to make a commitment to exercise on certain days each
week. After the students choose the
dates and times they will exercise, CERF interns will
help create a customized exercise plan.
With these Phun informative sessions, students can hopefully pass the
minimum health-related fitness standards required for graduation. But most importantly, they can learn to how
to live a physically active life!
I think that the idea of “fit or fail” great! As an undergrad at Tarleton, I personally enjoyed being tested over the health related fitness standards. The portion of testing that I most struggled with was the bench press/ muscular strength. I feel that if I would have been offered the “Phirm or Phlab” course while preparing to take the test, I would have felt more confident on the day that we tested out. Many students in my class struggled tremendously with the swimming portion of the test. If senior level kinesiology majors would have been there for one on one lessons, focusing on the students weaknesses, the student preparing for the test would have a greater chance of passing the first time around, unlike my classmates who attempted to pass 2-3 times.
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