"Fitness Education Pyramid" by Lois Mauch

In recent years it has become increasingly clear that regular physical activity can be linked to enhanced health and to reduced risk for all cause death and the development of many chronic diseases in adults. Further, we also know that children and youth benefit to is play risk factors for cardiovascular diseases early in life.

The most recent recommendation advises people of all ages to accumulate a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most, if not all days of the week. Moderate physical activity has been defined as physical activity that uses 150 calories of energy per day or 1,000 calories per week. The Surgeon General's Report on Health and Fitness (SGR) looked at research, and applied it to health. The advent of "fitness education" has begun to be applied to physical education classes, and a combination of these two areas has lead to the development of the fitness education pyramid.

The Fitness Education Pyramid is a great educational tool to use. The students get the information they need about the zones of the fitness pyramid. The first zone is the Fat Burning Zone or the Weight Management Zone.. The frequency, intensity, and time (F.I.T.T..) are discussed for this zone. Students are able to see that they only needed to get off the couch and start moving to qualify for the zone. Students who are never motivated to move in their Aerobic zone three times a week for 15-30 minutes found another way to qualify their activity and feel good about it. The athletes are able to perfect their workouts and reach peak performances in the Power or Anaerobic and Red Zones. The less active students are able to identify with a zone and feel the positive effects of activity. The Elementary pyramid has graphics for children to easily understand. The Middle/Jr High pyramid was designed by Middle School aged students who loved what it taught them! The High School pyramid takes it one step further to include perceived exertions. We also have developed an Adult Fitness Education Pyramid, a small manual that explains the zones and give sample lesson plans and a Caloric Expenditure Chart. Check out the web site at www.corpcomm.net/~rmauch for more information on ordering this wonderful assume educational tool.

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