February 19th, Ultimate

Today I chose to do Ultimate again for choice. This time, because a baseball game was also going on on the upper field, we took the game to the farther end of the upper field and set it up along the width of the field, with the portables and the walls on the other end as the end zones.

I helped to line out the field with cones we took from the outside storage.

Today's game started off pretty much the same as last time, but since we had so much people playing Mr. Neufeld suggested we use another frisbee in the game. Things got much more interesting after that. We mostly ended up with one frisbee on one end and another frisbee on the other end, and both end had more attackers than defenders. For my part I mostly stay around our team's end zone and the mid-field part, defending and making long passes to the girls that were literally "fighting" at the other end =). Having another frisbee was definitely more fun and interesting, and I'm hoping we can add even more twists to the game next time.

February 17th, Ultimate

Today for choice I went with most of our class outside to play Ultimate. This time we played it more seriously than the time in September, because Caleb Brown is in the Ultimate team and had us playing by the rules. To sum it up, we can't take any step after receiving the frisbee - pivot is allowed - and one has to pass the frisbee inside 10 counts after catching it.

Our team's main attackers were the group of girls - Yulia, Gabby, etc. - Joel, and me. Joel really liked to do crazy long passes that most of the time ended up on the ground, but I prefer to make short and safer passes. The girls always scream when they are trying to pass or catch the frisbee, especially when either team's about score. It definitely made the game even more interesting =).

I think that like any team sports, communication and teamwork is really important in Ultimate. The best strategy is to have teammates spaced out a few metres apart down the field, and just make short passes to each other. It's also really important to get the attention of the people you are passing to, otherwise there's almost no chance anyone can catch the frisbee. Of course, the most important things is still to have fun.

February 13th, Weight Room

I chose the same workout routine as last time for weight room today. The video is here below:

Today I have completed 2 sets each of the following workouts:

Basic push-ups (12 reps)
Seated Cable row (60 pounds, 12 reps)
Standing shoulder press (10 pounds each hand, 12 reps)
Lat pull downs (70 pounds, 12 reps)
Abdominal crunches (12 reps)
Lying leg raises (12 reps)

I alternated between doing a set of arm workout - such as push-ups, seated cable row, etc. - and a set of core work out. This let me rest my arms while doing a set of core workout, and vice versa. This way I was able to better maintain a steady pace, pushing myself but not getting overly exhausted from the workouts.

I think right now I need to improve my upper body strength - especially my arm and core muscles - the most, and this is why I have chosen this workout routine. I will also be setting up a regular workout plan soon to help me better achieve my goal.

February 11th, Insanity

Here is the video of me during today's Insanity fitness:

Today's Insanity is very focused on working out the lower body and core muscles, and half way through the workout my legs were already trembling. They felt shaky and weak, as if the moment I bend my knees my legs will just give way and collapse. I was also feeling a bit sick from my lunch, but I tried my best to shake it off and keep working. I had to go for water twice to keep my stomach settled, but overall I believe I have put in a good effort.

Through today's workout I realized my lower body and core muscles can still use a lot of exercise, and I will be looking for ways to workout and strengthen these muscles in the future.

February 4th, Fitness Test

Because it's the beginning of second semester, today we did the fitness test again. My results for the tests are:

Beep test: 12.0
T-test: 12.00 secs
Push-ups: 27
Body bridge: 1 min 45 secs
Vertical jump: 50 cm
Sit-and-reach: level 5
Balancing board: 14 touches

 

 

 

 

Overall, my fitness test results are consistent with last time. My number of push-ups and body bridge time have improved a bit, but my T-test time is worse, and although my beep test has gone up to 12, it's still lower than the 13 I ran last year. This is partly because today I wasn't feeling the greatest, but the lack of exercise I had for the last two weeks definitely have more to do with it.

 

In the new semester I will try to make sure I exercise at least every other day, and participate in more extracurricular activities. I will be trying to join the badminton team this semester, and I aim to run 13 on the beep test again by the end of the year.



January 31st, Community Run

Today's fitness is community run. This time the route we took was different from last semester, going out the back parking lot and going in the opposite direction as before, running a loop to the left of the school.

I ran with Will for the whole way; we maintained a quick jogging pace throughout the run.  My lungs started burning after about 4 minutes, and I was panting hard in the entire run. This shows that I was exercising vigorously; however I know I can improve my fitness to make the run with less effort.

I think it helps to do the community run with a partner with a similar fitness level, because you can encourage each other to keep running, both verbally and with your actions. Twice in the run I wanted to slow down and take a break, but because Will was running beside me I managed to fight through it.

 

It was a bit challenging trying to take a good video while running, because it's hard to keep the camera still when my body is rocking up and down while running, and the effort of running also makes it more difficult to control my hand to stay steady.

Here is our time from when we left the back parking lot and when we returned back to the parking lot.

Semester End Report

Throughout the course of this semester, I have done very well on my participation and involvement in class activities. I have showed up on time every class and changed into gym strip, which I changed back to my regular clothing after class. During both regular classes and fitness days I have put a lot of effort into the activities, and worked hard to raise my heart rate and make the class a good exercise experience. During fitness days such as the pond run, locomotion, etc. I always pushed myself to do the exercises at the limit of my abilities, and fought through the exhaustion to actually do the exercise for the full 40 minutes. In choice days I would choose an activity that I was really interested in, then participate in it with the best of my skills and efforts and have fun at the same time.

In this semester I have learned to work better with my peers, especially in organizing activities on our own, without a teacher to direct us. For example, when we were doing ultimate and football in September 25th, it was the first time we had to organize ourselves as a class, and it took a while for us to actually organize the game. However, we did get the experience that would allow us to do it better next time, knowing that we should get everyone's attention and have one idea that we can improve on. Other than that, I have tried to take the initiative when class activities are being organized, like helping set up games, clean up the equipment used afterwards, etc. I also try my best to play as a team in sports and on choice days, passing to my teammates and encouraging them to be more involved. I have found that doing this really helps to keep everyone interested and maintain a positive atmosphere, and most of the time our team also play better as a result. In terms of community service and volunteering I have not done much, but I am looking for opportunities in and out of school and hopefully I will be able to make more contributions next semester.

I pride myself in having a balanced diet, and try to eat foods from all four food groups for every meal; also I avoid missing meals and try to have a fixed time for each meal (breakfast at around 8 to 9, lunch around 12 to 1, and dinner around 6 to 7).

As for my fitness, my score on the beep test this semester had started lower compared to last year - 12, 11, and 12.3 for the most recent one. My fitness level had gone down over the summer due to lack of exercise, and did not improve much in the first two months of this semester also because I didn't do any extracurricular activities. However, I have started going to the YMCA on Fridays for basketball from December, and tried to do more exercises on my spare time, such as jogging, swimming, and just going outside for a walk or to run around. As a result, my fitness level have been improving by small margins, which is reflected by my fitness test results Friday compared to 2 months ago. Looking at my fitness scores, I would say my endurance level is the strongest, and I could really work to improve my balancing and core strength; I'm confident that with more exercise, my balance board, push-ups, and body bridge results can all improve by quite a bit.

For next semester, I plan to try and have a fixed exercise routine, doing at least 100 push-ups a day or jogging for half an hour to improve my fitness level. Other than that, I will attempt to participate in more sports activities, such as basketball during lunch and on Friday nights at YMCA. I will also be looking to join the badminton team in the spring. My goal is to reach 13 on the beep test and be able to do 35 push-ups without stopping by the end of this school year.

For my digital portfolio, I have not done very much this semester on blog posting and providing pictures and videos as evidence for my participation and learning. I will be looking to make more posts and really connect and relate my in and out of school activities to the blog, and provide more evidence to reflect my overall health and learning. Also I have not paid too much attention to my classmates' blogs, and I will be looking to comment on their blogs to help the whole class and myself further our understandings on all aspects of our healthy living.

In summary, I believe I have done well on my participation and contributions to the class, but can further improve my health living habits and put more efforts into the digital portfolio. For this semester, I will give myself a 80%.