With the school year starting up again, it’s time for many parents to be thinking ahead to their child’s activity calendar, as well as how to set their child up for success in the classroom. But, what can a parent do to help ensure their child is ready for optimal learning? The answer is… get them active in a program like CrossFit Kids!
Those familiar with CrossFit Kids know that it is a strength and conditioning program for many young athletes and the primary PE program for many home schools and charter schools. It is used by athletic teams, martial arts schools and many parents that want their kids to grow up healthy, strong, and with a life-long love of working out, thus avoiding the common problems associated with childhood inactivity and obesity. The program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general and inclusive. By participating in this program, students are required to take part in different workouts that incorporate a variety of activities such as running, push-ups, pull-ups, box jumps, thrusters, sit-ups squats and much more, all with the goal of maintaining an elevated heart rate for an extended period of time. The CrossFit Kids program is designed for universal scalability, making it the perfect application for any child, regardless of experience.
But, how does physical exercise affect my child’s learning ability, you ask? It’s quite exciting, actually.
A CrossFit journal article was published detailing some findings pertinent to this idea. Recent research was conducted in San Diego, CA with twenty second-grade students from King Chavez Primary Academy (KCPA). The study inluded 13 boys and 7 girls. 90% of the participants in the treatment group were English Language Learners, and 5% of those same participants had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), meaning they fell under the umbrella of special education. 100% of the students were living below the poverty line. The research project implemented the CrossFit Kids fitness program, and these students participated in a variety of workouts for at least 30 minutes every day of the week, while other classes received their standard 50 minutes of PE every six weeks.
Recently released California state standardized test results showed that 100% of the students in the treatment group scored proficient or advanced in mathematics! This was an achievement that, to date, had never been accomplished in mathematics at that school. This score was up 15% from the previous year. In English Language Arts, 36% of the students scored proficient or advanced, a 12% rise from the previous year. This enormous increase in achievement in the core subjects was accomplished despite the fact that students were out of the classroom and away from direct instruction for 30 minutes a day in order to take part in the CrossFit Kids workout. The fact that the treatment group was able to out-perform every other group of students in the school in the area of mathematics may even provide indirect evidence of a causal relationship between exercise and cognition!
Additionally, at the end of the program, students were given attitude surveys regarding their experience in the program, as well as their feelings towards exercising at school. These surveys demonstrated a strong desire for the program to continue, and revealed how the students believed CrossFit Kids impacted not only their health, but their academics as well. Most importantly, not one participant indicated that they exercised simply because they were made to do so.
It became evident that the research participants had not only increased their awareness of their own health, but that their overall confidence in themselves in both fitness and academics has changed as well. Researchers observed the participants’ desire to push themselves harder and harder each week, both physically and mentally. A change was witnessed in their social interactions as well. The participants had a sense of teamwork that initiated in the fitness program but later extended into the academic setting of the classroom. They were supportive and encouraging of one another and this led to a decrease in the aggressive behavior that was observed at the start of the school year. Overall, the program had a tremendously positive effect on the entire classroom dynamic.
With undeniable results like that, it’s easy to see how exercise for your child is not just important; it’s essential!
For CrossFit Kids program information, you can contact Shannon by phone at 250.380.9392, or via email at shannon@crossfitzone.ca
Today’s Workout
Buy-in: 10 min warm-up of floor to overhead up to wod weight
- if unfamiliar with snatch and/or clean and jerk, work with your coach on technique
WOD: Damrap!
This is our second go at this one gang, last time was early August 2010.
This wod consists of two separate 7 minute AMRAPS with a 5 minute rest in between.
To get your score, you’ll combine the reps achieved in both AMRAPS
AMRAP 1 – as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of: 200m run, 10 floor to overhead (95/135).
- Total reps of floor to overhead is your score.
- scale the FTO so that you are able to do 10 continuous reps on the first round (i.e. don’t go too heavy!)
Zone 4 – scale bar weight to 75/115
Zone 3 – scale bar weight to 65/95
Zone 2 – scale bar weight to 55/75
Zone 1 – scale as needed
AMRAP 2 – as many rounds as possible in 7 minutes of: 200m run, 10 pullups, 10 pushups
- Total reps of pullups and pushups is your score.
Zone 2 – scale to assisted pullups and pushups from knees
Zone 1 – scale wod as needed
Cash-Out: Stretch, recover, rehydrate!
