UNIT 5 : Weight Training and Body Shaping
GRADE LEVEL: 8-12
TIME RANGE: No less than 15 days
GRADING PERIOD: ANY
LESSON/UNIT PLANS
UNIT: 5
TOTAL LESSONS: 6 out of 15 LESSONS
OBJECTIVES:
1. Identify the factors that directly or indirectly affect muscular strength and
endurance;
2. Cite the advantages of acquiring and maintaining adequate muscular strength
and endurance throughout life;
3. Design a personalized strength-development program using weights that
applies sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives;
4. Design a personalized strength-development program without using weights
that applies sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives;
5. Complete a strength and endurance routine using one of the methods
described in this section;
6. Design a body-shaping program involving aerobic exercise, dietary
restriction, and weight training that will reduce body fat, add muscle mass
and definition, and change the way you look.
Students can reach these objectives through the following methods:
1. Complete an awareness inventory that describes, defines and discusses the
above objectives.
2. Complete an assessment to determine if you need to start a strength-training
program.
3. Prepare a strategy plan to achieve your fitness goals that covers the below
areas:
a. Finding your student’s 6 RM for each exercise
b. Design a training log of exercises
c. Design proper warm-up and cool down exercises around weight
training
Service-Learning Activity for Principles of Exercise
Have students design an electronic portfolio that identifies and defines how to
perform each exercise with digital pictures/videos. Or, students can conduct a
workshop to the class on how to design and develop a weight training program
and/or weight loss program.
LESSON 1:
Identify the factors that directly or indirectly affect muscular strength and
endurance.
LESSON FOCUS:
Complete an awareness inventory that describes, defines and discusses the above
objectives.
LESSON PLAN:
1. As a warm-up conduct a 10-15 minute instant activity that gets the students
moving throughout the gym and prepares them for the main physical activity.
2. Have students complete an awareness inventory that describes, defines and
discusses the above objectives. See below Awareness Inventory
3. After students complete the wellness inventory share the answers with them and
discuss each question with the class.
4. Explain the below to the students the difference between muscular strength and
endurance.
Muscular Strength – the ability of a muscle to exert maximum force against
resistance; 1 RM (Repetition Maximum).
Muscular Endurance – the ability of a muscle to exert sub-maximal force
repeatedly over a period of time.
We all are familiar with the traditional definitions of Muscular Strength/
Endurance, but how do we answer the question: “is anything beyond the one
repetition max (1 RM) threshold working Muscular Endurance?”. Let’s take a look
at a 2, 3, or 4 sub-maximal repetition lift. Can one honestly say that an individual is
not gaining Muscular Strength when you perform this? Or that you are gaining
only Muscular Endurance because it is beyond the scope of the 1RM. I agree that a
1 RM test measures the individual’s ability to exert maximal force against
resistance; but does this lead us to believe that a sub-maximal 2, 3 or 4 repetition
lift against resistance is a test of Muscular Endurance? I would have to disagree
wholeheartedly to this statement and what it suggests. What it’s suggesting is that
there is an “absolute” answer when it comes to defining both Muscular Strength
and Muscular Endurance and although scientific research can help us, there is an
awful large “grey area” within the definition.
Muscular strength is the ability to generate force with a muscle or group of
muscles; whereas, muscular endurance is the ability to perform repeated
contractions with a muscle or group of muscles. The difference between muscular
strength and muscular endurance can be better understood by reviewing how each
is assessed. Muscular strength is assessed by determining the maximal amount of
force that an individual can apply against resistance-one time (1 RM), such as with
a bench press or possibly a push up. Muscular endurance is assessed by
determining how many times that an individual can apply sub-maximal force upon
a weight (or body weight), such as bench-pressing x pounds twenty five times, or
the total number of sit-ups, or push-ups one can perform.
Above all, it is important not to be confused by the assessments of muscular
strength and of muscular endurance. The 1 RM lift is an assessment of Muscular
Strength; however, Muscular Strength is developed by working with resistance that
is correlated to 80% or more of the individual’s 1RM. Muscular Endurance is
assessed by using 70% or less of an individual’s 1 RM and determining how many
repetitions can be performed.
If physical educators want to be able to properly define the relationship between
muscular strength and muscular endurance, they must look at the two in a way that
defines their association with each other, not their differences. The most beneficial
way that I have found to accomplish this is to use a Strength Training Continuum
which states: If a workload is less than 70% of an individual’s 1RM, then muscular
endurance is the primary outcome of the activity (however, muscular strength is
still being developed at a lower level); if a workload is greater than 80% of an
individual’s 1RM, then muscular strength is the primary outcome of the activity
(however, muscular endurance is still being developed at a lower level); if the
workload is between 70-80% of an individual’s 1 RM, then muscular strength and
muscular endurance are being developed somewhat equally. The use of the
Pathway to the Development of Muscular Strength and Endurance provides the
students with a visual and subjective measurement to increase their comprehension
of the concepts of muscular strength and muscular endurance as used in physical
education. From here, a physical educator must begin to expand on the topic of
strength training by applying the terms: overload, specificity and variation along
with reviewing the FITT principle, only then can a student fully comprehend how
strength training can effect their bodies and how to utilize strength training in their
short and long term health/fitness goals.
LESSON 2:
Cite the advantages of acquiring and maintaining adequate muscular strength and
endurance throughout life.
LESSON FOCUS:
Complete an assessment to determine if you need to start a strength-training
program.
LESSON PLAN:
1. Explain and conduct an instant activity or the pacer test/run as a warm-up to
the activity. This should take approximately 15-20 minutes.
2. Have students complete an Analyze Yourself/Do You Need to Start a
Strength-Training Program that describes, defines and discusses the above
objectives. See below Analyze Yourself.
3. After students complete the assessment share the answers with them and
discuss each question with the class.
4. Divide the students into groups of 2-4 and assign them a below benefit and
have them discuss this benefit. Explain to the students that they should be
prepared to share their findings with the entire class prior to the end of the
class period.
a. Management of body weight and fat.
b. Improved appearance, body image, and self-concept
c. Increased strength and endurance for work and daily activities
d. Increased bone-mineral content
e. Heart health.
f. Benefits for college men and women
g. Benefits for young boys and girls
h. Benefits for the elderly
i. Improved performance in sports and recreational activities
j. Decreased incidence of sports and work-related injuries
5. For additional information refer to the following website:
http://weighttraining.about.com/od/benefitsofweighttraining/a/benefits.htm
LESSON 3, 4, and 5:
1. Design a personalized strength-development program using weights that
applies sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives;
2. Design a personalized strength-development program without using weights
that applies sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives;
3. Complete a strength and endurance routine using one of the methods
described in this section;
LESSON FOCUS:
1. Prepare a strategy plan to achieve your fitness goals that covers the below
areas:
a. Finding your student’s 6 RM for each exercise
b. Design a training log of exercises
c. Design proper warm-up and cool down exercises around weight
training
LESSON PLAN:
1. Set-up 6-10 circuit training stations that will get students into their training
heart rate zone. Provide music that is a fast beat to motivate the students and
it is recommended that students can bring in their own music if it is clean
and free of inappropriate content. How to use the above PRE instead of the
usual duration at each station that you have done in the past (i.e., 20-30
seconds at each station) make the station longer for 30-40 seconds before
rotating to the next station.
2. The circuit training activity should last from 20-30 minutes that focuses on
muscular strength.
3. Next explain and discuss the below basic weight training principles:
4. There are many different ways to build muscle strength, but they all boil
down to some very basic principles. These four principles are the foundation
upon which to build an efficient and productive strength training routine.
5. Strength Exercise Selection
What exercises you choose to do are the starting point for creating an
optimal workout. You have to make wise selections that make the most of
each exercise. My advice is to choose strength exercises that are multi-joint
exercises rather than single joint movements. For example, choose a squat
over a leg extension and you get far more return on your exercise
investment. Additionally, this sort of exercises selection is much more likely
to simulate real life or real sports movements. In real life we use many
muscles and joints in very rapid succession to move. Working out this way
eliminates the need for isolated movements like bicep curls. Keep this in
mind when you select your exercises during training.
6. Keep the number of exercises manageable. Three to five high intensity
exercises is about right. Don't think you can do 15 strength exercises in one
session and still get a high intensity workout. With too many exercises, you
tend to fatigue before you finish or lower your overall output and get a lesser
quality workout. The optimal time for a full strength training workout at
high intensity is about 30 minutes.
7. Frequency of Strength Training Session
The two factors the determine your strength gains are the intensity of the
exercise performed and allowing an appropriate rest and recovery period
after the workout. For this reason, most strength workouts are build around
the concept of short, high intensity weight workouts followed by one to two
days of rest to let the muscles rebuild and become stronger. Research shows
that muscles continue to build fibers and become stronger for up to a week
after a workout that is performed to muscle failure. This underscores the
importance of alternating a high training intensity with adequate rest periods
in order to build muscle.
8. Number of Sets Performed
There is a lot of discussion about how many sets of an exercise to do. The
bottom line is if you can do one set to exhaustion, that is probably enough.
The reason many people need to do multiple sets is that they didn't perform
the first one at maximum intensity. There are other reasons to perform
multiple sets and the biggest one is safety. Performing one set of maximum
effort can increase your risk of injury f you haven't thoroughly warmed up or
if you don't use perfect lifting technique. Sometimes it's smart to use a set to
make sure you don't over-lift (lift more than you are capable of lifting in a
safe manner). If you are experienced and skilled at weight lifting, go ahead
and perform the first set at max effort and work to failure. Research backs up
the idea that one set training produces the same strength gains as multiple
sets and it does this in less time.
9. Number of Repetitions Performed per Set
There are a lot of different recommendations regarding how many reps to
perform during weight training. How many you should do depend on your
training goals and current level of fitness. Keep in mind that strength
training promotes increases in both functional strength (how much you can
lift) and muscle hypertrophy (how big your muscles grow). Higher repetition
during weight lifting sessions stimulate the slow twitch muscle fibers and
promote muscle endurance. Lower repetitions during weight training (at a
higher intensity) activate the fast twitch muscle fibers and increase strength
and muscle size. One simple way to get the best of both of these training
methods is to vary your training repetitions. Because both are important for
overall athletic conditioning, and many strength training experts will
recommend varying the number of repetitions through a 8-10 week training
cycle. Keep in mind that performing high intensity lifts is still necessary
even if you are performing 50 repetitions. The weight must be heavy enough
that you reach fatigue at the last repetition in order to promote functional
muscle growth.
10. Distribute the below Discovery Activity 7.1/Finding Your 6RM for Each
Exercise. The teacher should first demonstrate each exercise prior to the
students starting.
11. This activity can be divided up into stations so each group can rotate through
all stations to complete each exercise.
12. Based on the above weight training principles have the students design a
personalized strength-development program using weights that applies
sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives. This can be
completed by dividing the students into groups of 2-4 students.
13. After the students develop a plan they will then demonstrate with the class
how to perform this plan.
14. Based on the above weight training principles have the students design a
personalized strength-development program without using weights that
applies sound training principles and meets your fitness objectives. This can
be completed by dividing the students into groups of 2-4 students.
15. After the students develop a plan they will then demonstrate with the class
how to perform this plan.
16. The teacher can divide this lesson into 3 separate lessons: 1
st
lesson is
explaining the principles of weight training and Activity 7.1, the 2
nd
lesson
can be the designing of the weight training session with weights, and the 3
rd
lesson can be designing the session without using weights.
17. See below handouts to design workouts and/or the following website:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightTraining/WorkoutLogs.html
LESSON 6:
Design a body-shaping program involving aerobic exercise, dietary restriction, and
weight training that will reduce body fat, add muscle mass and definition, and
change the way you look.
LESSON FOCUS:
Service-Learning Activity for Principles of Exercise
Have students design an electronic portfolio that identifies and defines how to
perform each exercise with digital pictures/videos. Or, students can conduct a
workshop to the class on how to design and develop a weight training program
and/or weight loss program.
LESSON PLAN:
1. Set-up 6-10 circuit training stations that will get students into their training
heart rate zone. Provide music that is a fast beat to motivate the students and
it is recommended that students can bring in their own music if it is clean
and free of inappropriate content. How to use the above PRE instead of the
usual duration at each station that you have done in the past (i.e., 20-30
seconds at each station) make the station longer for 30-40 seconds before
rotating to the next station.
2. The circuit training activity should last from 20-30 minutes that focuses on
muscular strength.
3. Have students design a body-shaping program involving aerobic exercise,
dietary restriction, and weight training that will reduce body fat, add muscle
mass and definition, and change the way you look. This program should be
presented by students designing an electronic portfolio that identifies with
digital pictures/videos that identifies and defines each part of the
program/exercises.
4. Have students complete the Discovery Activity 7.3/Service-Learning for
Weight Training. Students should complete the activity as if they were
presenting to an actual group. The presentation should be conducted to the
entire class for a grade.
