Hawks Athletics and PE (Coach Roden)

BRAIN RULE RUNDOWN

Rule #1: Exercise boosts brain power.

The human brain evolved under conditions of almost constant motion. From this, one might predict that the optimal environment for processing information would include motion. That is exactly what one finds. Indeed, the best business meeting would have everyone walking at about 1.8 miles per hour.

Researchers studied two elderly populations that had led different lifestyles, one sedentary and one active. Cognitive scores were profoundly influenced. Exercise positively affected executive function, spatial tasks, reaction times and quantitative skills.

So researchers asked: If the sedentary populations become active, will their cognitive scores go up? Yes, it turns out, if the exercise is aerobic. In four months, executive functions vastly improve; longer, and memory scores improve as well.

Exercise improves cognition for two reasons:

• Exercise increases oxygen flow into the brain, which reduces brain-bound free radicals. One of the most interesting findings of the past few decades is that an increase in oxygen is always accompanied by an uptick in mental sharpness.
• Exercise acts directly on the molecular machinery of the brain itself. It increases neurons’ creation, survival, and resistance to damage and stress.

FITNESSGRAM assesses three areas of health-related fitness listed previously. Many test items offer multiple options, so you can choose the method you prefer. Each score is evaluated against criterion-referenced standards that have been established to indicate levels of fitness corresponding with health. Standards have been set for boys and for girls based on age. The use of health-related criteria helps to minimize comparisons between children and to emphasize personal fitness for health rather than goals based solely on performance. Since only modest amounts of exercise are needed for obtaining health benefits, most students who participate in physical activity almost every day will be able to achieve a score that will place them in the Healthy Fitness Zone.

The assessment items are as follows:

Aerobic Capacity

Body Composition (may select one option)

• Percent body fat (calculated from triceps and calf skinfolds)
• Body mass index (calculated from height and weight)

Muscular Strength, Endurance, and Flexibility

• Abdominal strength and endurance (curl-up)
• Trunk extensor strength and endurance (trunk lift)
• Upper body strength and endurance (choose from push-up, modified pull-up, and flexed arm hang)
• Flexibility (choose from back-saver sit-and-reach and shoulder stretch)