Topic outline

  • Fitness for Life

    • This is a self-paced course.  Because of this, grading works a little differently. In this class, you will start at 0% and will work your way towards mastery and a passing grade.

      Any assignment that you have not yet completed will be calculated into your grade as 0 points. Each time you complete an assignment, you will earn points that raise your grade.  As you work through the course, you will watch your grade raise higher and higher. Because the course is self-paced, you are free to work ahead and complete the course as fast as you would wish.  Your grade at the end of the semester will be your final grade.

    • Fitness for Life v2015 File

  • Navigating the Course

    • READ: Welcome to Fitness for LIfe Page
    • READ: How to Navigate the Course Page
    • READ: How to Track Your Progress Page
    • READ: How to Complete Journals Page
    • READ: How to Complete Quizzes Page

  • Activity Logs

    • Keep on trackin'

      It will take 40 workouts to complete this course, so be sure to document them in your activity logs.  Return to these logs throughout the course to track your exercise.  

    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #1 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #2 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #3 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #4 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #5 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #6 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #7 Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Activity Log #8 Quiz

  • Getting Started with Fitness

    • To improve?  You've got to figure out where you are.

      Yesterday is too late, Yesterday is over. NOW is exactly the right moment.  So START.  Let's begin with the essentials and assess where you are in your fitness level so that we can start taking steps to improve.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Essential Physical Fitness What Every Teen Needs to Know Page
    • READ: Risks of Being Overweight URL
    • READ: Risk Factors of Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Diabetes, & More URL
    • READ: Assessing Your Risk Page
    • READ: Determining Your Target Heart Rate Page

    • Assignments

    • ASSIGNMENT: Cardiovascular Health Risk Profile Quiz

  • What is Physical Activity?

    • They call them the basics for a reason.

      It is hard to be motivated to improve if you don't see the bigger picture.  It is Fitness for LIFE, not fitness du jour.  Learn about the basic principles of exercise and how they apply to you.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: An Apple a Day is Not Enough Page
    • WATCH: What is Physical Activity URL
    • WATCH: BrainPop Fitness Page
    • WATCH: Physical Exercise Page
    • READ: Principles of Exercise Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: What is Physical Activity? Assignment
    • QUIZ: Physical Activity

  • Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type

    • You Fit? We Fit? How about FITT?  

      Learn about the FITT factors:  Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type and how it applies to your fitness.  These 4 factors are the backbone of an exercise program that is more than just fun and games, but actually brings measurable results.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: The FITT Principle Page
    • READ: FITT Factors Frequency Page
    • READ: FITT Factors Intensity Page
    • READ: FITT Factors Type Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: FITT Assignment
    • QUIZ: The FITT Principle

  • Benefits of Physical Exercise

    • Staying regular has its benefits.   

      In The Outliers, Malcom Gladwell proposes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to make you an expert in something.  That's a little intense when it comes to exercise, but he has a point.  If you're not regularly getting out there and sweating, you're not going to see much change in your fitness level.  So start counting those hours . . . .

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Physical Exercise Page
    • READ: Beneftis of Regular Exercise Page
    • LISTEN: Benefits of Exercise File
    • READ: Activity and Fitness File

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Benefits of Exercise Assignment
    • QUIZ: Benefits of Exercise

  • Creating Your Own Physical Fitness Plan

    • In order to succeed, you've got to have a plan.  

      You probably can build a house without a blueprint or bake some snickerdoodles without a recipe, but you may not be happy with the results.  It's the same with your fitness goals.  A good plan is always the best plan.

    • Lesson

    • READ: Creating Your Personal Fitness Plan Page
    • READ: STAR Page
    • READ: My Fitness Plan Getting Started URL
    • READ: Step Up 2 Live Poster File
    • READ: 8 To Live By Tracker File

    • Assignments

    • ASSIGNMENT: Personal Fitness Plan
    • QUIZ: Fitness Plan

  • Heart Rate and VO2 Max

    • We got the beat. 

      Where do you find the heart and soul of fitness?  Tucked inside your rib cage, of course!  When you exercise, your heart rate and V02 Max paint the picture of your current fitness level. Monitoring these vitals can be the key to making sure the beat goes on.

    • Lesson

    • READ: Heart Rate File
    • WATCH: Heart Rate Page
    • READ: Determining Your Target Heart Rate Page
    • READ: VO2 Max URL

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Heart Rate and VO2 Max Assignment
    • QUIZ: Heart Rate and VO2 Max

  • Cardiovascular Endurance

    • No zombies here. 

      The Walking Dead?  Not so much when it comes to improving your fitness level.  Cardiovascular exercise means you need to be moving at more than a slow shamble.  (And a beating heart obviously comes in handy when you're working to keep that heart rate in the optimal zone!)

    • Lesson

    • READ: Cardiorespiratory Endurance Basics Page
    • READ: FITT Factors of Cardiovascular Endurance Page
    • WATCH: Difference Between Cardio and Muscle Endurance Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Cardio Assignment
    • QUIZ: Cardio

  • Muscular Strength & Endurance

    • We're here to pump you up. 

      You won't need to subscribe to Muscle Mag.  And we promise that we won't call you a girlie-man.  But it is important to understand how strength training can positively impact your body composition and fitness level. Because being 'soft, like marshmallow' is something we all want to leave behind.

    • Lesson

    • READ: Strength Training File
    • WATCH: Muscular Strength and Endurance URL
    • READ: Strength Training 101 URL

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Muscular Strength and Endurance Assignment
    • QUIZ: Muscular Strength and Endurance

  • Warm Up/Cool Down

    • Running hot and cold. 

      "Cause you're hot then you're cold.   You're yes then you're no.  You're in then you're out. You're up then you're down."  Katy Perry might as well have been writing an exercise jingle with that song.  She did manage, however, to emphasize an truth about exercise-- the importance of a proper warm up and cool down when it comes to safely working out.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Why You Should Warm Up and Cool Down Page
    • READ: Warm Up Page
    • READ: Cool Down Page
    • READ: Flexibility Page
    • READ: Flexible Benefits File
    • READ: Static and Dynamic Stretching URL

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Warm Up and Cool Down Assignment
    • QUIZ: Warm Up Cool Down

  • Technology and Fitness

    • There's an app for that. 

      Being a techno-nerd used to mean that you never left the house-- now it means that you leave the house just to track all your fitness stats.  Technology has made getting fit and staying fit an easy task to manage. The merge of digital and analog has never looked so good.  

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Using a Heart Rate Monitor Page
    • WATCH: Using a Pedometer Page
    • READ: Skin Fold Measurements URL
    • WATCH: Using Fitness & Nutrition Apps to Get In Shape Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Tools for Measurement Assignment
    • QUIZ: Tools for Success

  • Diet and Disease

    • Mirror, mirror, on the wall. 

      Most of us spend some time in front of a mirror, checking out our appearance.  How we feel about our appearance is part of our body image and self-image. It is disturbing, however that the Girl Scout Research Institute surveyed and found that 81% of 10 year old girls in the United States are afraid of being fat.  That is a scary statistic and one that highlights the growing issue of body image and eating disorders in our country.  

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: BrainPop Body Weight Page
    • WATCH: BrainPop Eating Disorder Page
    • READ: Body Image and Eating Disorders Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Healthy Body Image Assignment
    • QUIZ: Diet, Disease, and Body Image

  • Healthy Hydration

    • Water works.

      Your body is made up of about 60% water-- so staying hydrated is fundamentally important to any physical activity.  Proper hydration is essential before, during and after every workout. Drink up!

    • Lesson

    • READ: Hydration Matters Page
    • WATCH: How to Properly Hydrate for a Workout Page
    • WATCH: Are Energy Drinks Bad for You? Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Hydration Assignment
    • QUIZ: Hydration

  • Performance Nutrition

    • May the odds be ever in your favor. 

      Identifying what and when to eat for optimal nutritional performance is a bit of hunger game.  But energy intake and expenditure has big impacts upon your energy and fitness level-- and it is worth your time to figure out how to leverage nutrition to improve your workouts.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: The Top 5 Food Mistakes Most Teens Make Page
    • WATCH: BrainPop Body Nutrition Page

    • Assignments

    • ASSIGNMENT: Energy Intake and Expenditure Quiz
    • JOURNAL: Performance Nutrition Assignment
    • QUIZ: Performance Nutrition

  • Responsible Healthy Choices

    • YOLO. 

      You only live once-- so it is important to make responsible healthy choices.  We sometimes think there are shortcuts to getting healthy and in shape, but it is the smart, slow and steady that will reap the permanent benefits in fitness training.

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Best Time to Exercise Page
    • WATCH: Dangers of Overexercising Page

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Responsible Healthy Choices Assignment
    • QUIZ: Responsible Healthy Choices

  • Injury Prevention

    • Ain't nobody got time for that. 

      Injuries?  Sprains? There is nothing good about being sidelined due to a fitness-related injury.  Learn about common sports injuries and how you can help prevent them. 

    • Lesson

    • WATCH: Know Your Limitations When Exercising Page
    • WATCH: Injury Prevention Page
    • WATCH: Recognize and Treat Common Sports Injuries Page
    • READ: Common Exercise Injuries Book

    • Assignments

    • JOURNAL: Injury Prevention Assignment
    • QUIZ: Injury Prevention

  • Wrapping it Up

    • Everybody clap your hands. 

      Slide to the left.   Slide to the right.  Take it back now y'all.  You're almost done.  Just another short fitness assessment, a final exam and you can 'cha-cha slide' right out of this course. Clap clap clap clap your hands.  

    • Assignment

    • ASSIGNMENT: End-of-Course Cardiovascular Health Risk Profile Quiz
    • ASSIGNMENT: Update Your Fitness Plan Quiz
    • READ: How to Review for the Final Page
    • TEST: Final Exam Quiz