4.1: Why Get Physical

What We Will Learn

Today we will talk about moving our bodies every day. We will also talk about ways to move less time sitting still.

Let's Talk About Our Goals

• How is your goal going?
• What can you do better? (These are called "grows.")
• What are you already doing well? (These are called "glows.")

Pick an Activity

1. Guideline Popcorn: Take turns calling out the 8 health guidelines as fast as you can, like popcorn popping!

1. Guideline Charades: Get into groups. Each group acts out a guideline without talking. Everyone else tries to guess it.

1. Two Truths and One Lie: Can you guess which one is NOT true?
2. Moving your body can make you feel less worried and stressed. (True)
3. Moving your body can help you feel good about yourself. (True)
4. Moving your body makes you more tired all day long. (This one is false!)

1. Talk or Write About It:
2. What physical activities do you like best?
3. Where do you usually do them?
4. What new activity do you want to try?
5. How do you feel after you move your body?

We will learn why moving our body is good — not just for our body, but for our brain too.

Words to Know

• Fitness: Being able to do things every day with energy, without getting too tired.
• Physical Activity: Any time you move your body and it uses energy.
• Exercise: Movement that is planned and done on purpose, again and again, to get stronger or healthier.
• Overload: When you push your body a little harder than usual.
• Sedentary: Sitting a lot and not moving much.
• Evaluate: To think about how good or important something is.
• Benefit: A good thing that happens.
• Barrier: Something that makes it hard to do something.

Do Now: What's Your Fitness Style?

Take the Fitness Personality Quiz. Then share your answer with a partner or the group.

There are many ways to move your body. We are all different, so we like different activities. You can use your fitness style to help pick activities and make goals.

• Mostly A's – Competitive: You love playing on a team! You like sports like soccer, softball, or volleyball. Try to play a few times a week. Remember to rest too — everyone needs quiet time to feel better.

• Mostly B's – Social: You do best with a group of friends around you. Try joining a class, like martial arts, dance, or aerobics. Most classes meet a few times a week for about 30 minutes. That's a great amount of exercise!

• Mostly C's – Solitary: You like to exercise by yourself. You might enjoy swimming, biking, or jogging in the park. Try to do this a few times a week for at least 30 minutes.

• Mostly D's – Relaxed: You like to take things slow. Yoga and Pilates are great for you. They mix stretching and breathing. You will still feel strong, but you won't be out of breath! Try to do this a few times a week.

Good to Know: Moving vs. Sitting Still

Physical activity means moving your body in a way that uses energy.

Moving your body helps your body on the outside. But it also helps your mind on the inside!

Physical activity isn't just about how your body looks. It changes how you think, how you feel, and what you can do.

Fitness means being able to do things every day with energy, without getting too tired.

Exercise is movement that is planned and done on purpose to help your body get stronger. Exercise is one kind of physical activity.

Your body uses energy all the time — even just to breathe, or to make your heart beat. But that doesn't mean you're always exercising!

Sometimes your body needs to work harder than usual. This is called overload. When this happens, three things happen to your body:

• Your heart beats faster.
• You breathe faster.
• Your skin might turn pink or get sweaty.

Sedentary means sitting a lot and not moving much.

How do you feel after sitting still all day? You might feel:

• Sore or achy
• Tired
• Weak
• Worried or sad
• Not able to focus

How do you feel after moving your body? You might feel:

• Full of energy
• Happy
• Clear-headed and focused

Which feeling is better?

When you sit too much, you may feel sore, tired, weak, or grumpy. That's because our bodies are made to move!

When you sit all day, your muscles get tired and weak over time.

Sitting too much also makes it harder for your blood to carry good things to parts of your body, like your brain! Sitting too much has also been linked to health problems, like diabetes and heart disease.

Sitting too much can also be linked to more worry and trouble paying attention. That is why it's so important to get moving!

Optional videos to watch:

• What happens inside your body when you exercise?
• Why Sitting is Bad For You

Real World: Why Should We Move?

Let's think about why moving every day is good for us, what makes it hard, and how we can fix that.

Let's also think about how moving makes us feel inside.

How much should you move each day? Kids should be active for 60 minutes every day. Grown-ups should exercise about 2½ to 5 hours every week.

We will think about the good things moving does for us, how much time we need, what makes it hard, and how to fix those problems. Evaluate means to think about how good or important something is.

What you like to do is somewhere between sitting on the couch and running a big race! Everyone is different. We can take small steps to reach our goals every day.

Hands-On: Brains and Bodies

Read a short piece of writing about exercise and feelings. Here is part of it:

"Many people feel sad or down sometimes. This can affect how someone feels about life and can even affect their health, especially their heart. There are different ways to help, like talking to someone or taking medicine. But these don't work for everyone. Many people are now finding that exercise — like running or walking fast — can also help people feel better."