Middle School PE

Physical Activity

If you’re just getting started with exercise, you should be encouraged to know that even small improvements in exercise levels create a response in your brain that makes exercise become more rewarding! So keep going!

It’s Friday! Let’s kick off the weekend with an epic cardio boxing workout from PopSugar. This 45-minute workout mixes high-intensity conditioning, boxing, kickboxing, and bodyweight strength training moves.
• https://youtu.be/lujcE3FGL_U (Time: 45:35)
Get someone in your family moving with you! Ask a parent or sibling to join you for your workout today, or go for a walk or bike ride. No one at home to exercise with? Challenge a friend online!
Try this quick core workout to stretch and strengthen your abdominal muscles. A strong core is essential for balance, posture, and stability.
• https://youtu.be/DFSgdqEbT2Q

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Vitamin C Booster Smoothie
Yesterday, we learned that Vitamin C provides many benefits like preventing sickness! Try this Vitamin C Booster smoothie that not only tastes delicious but it’s chocked full of the good stuff to keep you healthy.
Ingredients:
• 1 orange peeled and de-segmented
• 1 chopped banana fresh or frozen
• 1 cup low fat milk
• 1 cup ice
• Optional Vitamin C-rich additions (½ cup strawberries, ½ cup pineapple; 1 carrot)
Directions:
Mix in a blender and pulse until smooth. Serve immediately while cold. Share your smoothie creations by posting it online, using #healthykidsquarantined!

Physical Activity
Today’s workout involves yoga and dance, which use resistance to improve coordination, balance, and flexibility. These are important physical traits to build your endurance and strength!

Today’s KWIO yoga sequence is a “Cardio Yoga Flow.” This fast-paced yoga flow will get your heart beating and strengthen your muscles!

• https://youtu.be/G4yYtHTeQa0 (Time: 7:03)
• Handout: Cardio yoga flow

It’s throwback Thursday! Learn a short dance routine and work up a sweat to a mix of the best 80’s tracks.
• https://youtu.be/jhTRaXg5pSo (Time: 11:10)

Today, combine the yoga flow and practice the dance video until you’ve got the moves down! Work up a sweat and keep your body strong and healthy!

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Has anyone ever told you to take Vitamin C when you’re getting a cold? It’s for good reason! Vitamin C is very helpful in boosting your immune system and resisting infection, so it helps your body fight off germs that make you sick. Vitamin C does more than just boost your immunity, it also helps your body heal wounds, keeps your tissue like your gums and blood vessels healthy, and makes your cartilage, bones, and teeth strong.
Try one of these foods to get your daily dose of Vitamin C:

• citrus fruits, like oranges

• cantaloupe

• strawberries

• tomatoes

• broccoli

• cabbage

• kiwi fruit

• sweet red peppers

Physical Activity
Today is International Dance Day! Let’s celebrate by dancing with Hip Hop Public Health. Start out with learning some fun moves and then join us in the #20secondsormore challenge on TikTok!

1. Start with the basic moves in “Dribble Bounce” by Hip Hop Public Health
   • https://hhph.org/resources/dribble-bounce/ (Time: 2:28)
2. Now, try your skills by trying the Bounce moves
   • https://hhph.org/resources/bounce/ (Time: 7:24)
3. If you really want to challenge your skills, check out this extended Bounce dance
   • https://hhph.org/resources/bounce-extended-mix/ (12:27)
   We challenge you to join some Hip Hop greats in the #20SecondsOrMore challenge!
   • First watch: https://hhph.org/resources/20-seconds-or-more-video/ (Time 3:29)
   • Now use some of your new moves and make your own video about washing your hands! Participate in the #20secondsormore Challenge on TikTok! Tag #healthykidsquarantined #20secondsormore and #hiphoppublichealth
   • Check out other #20SecondsOrMore videos on TikTok and Facebook!

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Healthy Snack Hack: Banana ‘Nice’ Cream
Desserts mostly fall under the category of a “Whoa” food, or something that we only eat every once in a while. When you find yourself looking for something sweet like dessert, a good substitute is fruit. But fruit doesn’t have to be boring – this banana ‘nice’ cream is a healthy twist on an ice cream dessert!
Ingredients:
• 2-3 ripe bananas (make sure they are ripe!)
• ¼ cup of milk (any type you like, our favorite is almond!)
• Pinch of salt
• Mix-ins of your choosing
Directions:
When your bananas are ripe, peel them and cut them into big chunks. Put them in an airtight container or bag and freeze them. Once frozen, put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until you get a soft-serve texture (adding more or less milk as needed). Serve immediately, or pop back into the freezer for 30 minutes to firm it up. There are so many options to customize this like your favorite ice cream flavor – see this site for lots of ideas!

Physical Activity
Executive functioning includes mental skills that allow us to plan and organize, focus, remember things, and make decisions. One of the few ways to improve our executive functioning is through physical activity. Research tells us that young adults who exercise have faster reaction time and better working memory. All the more reason to get moving!movement-based mindfulness, which improves executive functions like memory, flexible thinking, and self-control.
• https://youtu.be/WezQOr3PfHY (Time: 7:50)
• Handout: Slow Flow
This low impact cardio workout will get your heart pumping, build your cardiovascular endurance, and improve your muscle and bone strength. Today, try this HIIT workout that will challenge every muscle group!
• https://youtu.be/Lhkm4dNCK9Y (Time: 38:59)
Today’s “red” activity involves combining the yoga activity with the HIIT workout. Are you up for the challenge?

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Fizzy Water!
You likely know how important water is for your body to function – we literally can’t live without it! But, sometimes you probably still have a craving for sweet and fizzy pop. Drinking pop can pack sugar into your diet, add hundreds of unnecessary calories to your daily intake, and causes cavities! For a great, fizzy treat, try this pop alternative:
Start with your favorite kind of juice – make sure it’s 100% juice with no added sugar. (Try apple, cranberry, or grape.

Add ¼ cup of juice into 1 cup of sparkling water.

Stir it well and drink it over ice.

This adds flavor and bubbles without the added sugar, while still giving you plenty of hydration.
Share your creations and recipes by posting online, using #healthykidsquarantined! Remember to stay hydrated!

Today’s forecast is sunny & 67 degrees! The weather is finally breaking, take this opportunity to get outside. Fresh air and sun are two things that naturally make us feel better. Add physical activity to that list and you’ve got a wonderful combination!

Physical Activity
Staying inside during home quarantine lowers our exposure to sunlight which can throw off our body’s natural rhythms. This is why some of us find that our sleep/wake cycle is disrupted – which can impact our focus, and make us feel out of sorts. Exercise can help! Even short bouts of physical activity can do wonders for your energy – so get up, stretch, and move your body!

‘The Greatest Showman’ is a movie with some fantastic dance scenes. Learn to dance the “Greatest Show” dance with one of the stars of the movie:
• https://youtu.be/qlPRDVqYO74 (Time: 2:41 – but you’ll want to practice!)

Let’s focus on building strength today with a full body workout! Substitutes for equipment include: no weights or water bottles for dumbbells and a chair for the jump box.
• https://youtu.be/cM-veFpQFnQ (Time: 41:53)

Feeling up to the challenge today? Do both the dance and the strength workouts! Post your dance to Tik Tok or Instagram and use the #healthykidsquarantined

Nutrition and Healthy

Eating Snacks often get a bad rap – but they CAN be healthy! Snacks give us energy between meals and if we make good choices can help prevent overeating when you get really hungry. Foods that fit into MyPlate food groups make great anytime snacks: fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, whole grains, and lean protein, like nuts or seeds. Items like cookies, cake, candy, chips, pop/soda don’t make good snacks because they are high in fat, sugar, or salt. These types of snacks also don’t fill us up, so you’re likely to be unsatisfied after eating them (which is why we eat so.many.chips!).
Check out these tips for making healthy snacks at home: Making Great Tasting Snacks

This week try frozen grapes for a healthy and sweet snack you are sure to love!

Frozen Grapes:

1. Rinse grapes in cold water for 30 seconds
2. Gently pull grapes from their stem and place on a clean kitchen towel
3. Place all the rinsed grapes into a Ziploc bag and put the bag into the freezer
4. Freeze the grapes for 8 hours

Physical Activity

The benefits of physical activity for your body are many – it can lower your risk of many diseases, keep you at a healthy weight, and help you age well. This may not seem important now, but your body will thank you later. For example, osteoporosis (a weakening of the bones) can be a problem as people get older. Weight-bearing exercise – like running or brisk walking – can help keep your bones strong.

Walking can be a great way to get in your physical activity – especially after strenuous workouts earlier this week. Today, aim to walk outside at a brisk pace. Can’t get outside? That’s ok– try this this two-mile walking video instead.

• https://youtu.be/Mbflu0yjytQ (Time: 30:15)
Get someone in your family moving with you! Ask a parent to walk with you, or challenge a sibling to the 20-minute workout for kids. No one at home to exercise with? Challenge a friend online!
Now, let’s bring that heart rate up with a 20-minute workout for kids, which includes a dynamic warmup, some cardio and bodyweight strength training.

• https://youtu.be/qzx-d1Z2bLY (Time: 20:29)

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Rainbow Smoothie
Smoothies are a great way to eat the rainbow. You can add fruit and veggies and even add in some ingredients that can provide plant-based protein and healthy fat.
Use our formula to be creative this week as you build your own smoothie that allows you to eat across the rainbow!
Ingredients:
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen fruit (ex: blueberries, strawberries, mango, apple, banana)
• 1/2 cup veggies fresh or frozen (ex: kale, spinach, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, sweet potato, beets)
• Add in plant protein and fat: hemp or chia seeds, nut butter, avocado
This basic template is a great way to practice creative, healthy smoothie building in your kitchen! Share your smoothie creations by posting it online, using #healthykidsquarantined!

Physical Activity
Handout: Seated Spinal Yoga Flow

Today’s KWIO yoga flow is called “Seated Spinal Yoga.” Spinal stretches are important because they lengthen the tight muscles in our back, improve alignment, and help us to maintain good posture.
• https://youtu.be/lBOAZ4lnLtI (Time: 9:51)
It’s throwback Thursday! Why not let your parents in on the fun with some throwback dances they are sure to remember?! Start with N-TV’s version of “U Can’t Touch This” by MC Hammer!
• https://family.gonoodle.com/activities/u-cant-touch-this-1 (Time: 2:08)
Feeling ambitious today? Try doing yoga and practice the dance until you’ve got the moves down! Work up a sweat and keep your body strong and healthy!

Nutrition and Healthy Eating

Vitamins and minerals are considered essential nutrients—because acting together, they perform hundreds of roles in the body! Vitamin B is important for your overall health because it helps your body produce energy! If you’re feeling tired and sluggish, try some foods rich in Vitamin B for a healthy energy boost.
Try one of these foods to get your daily dose of Vitamin B:
• Meat (red meat, poultry)
• Whole Grains (brown rice, barley)
• Eggs and dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt)
• Fish (salmon)
• Legumes (beans, lentils)
• Seeds (sunflower seeds)
• Nuts (almonds)
• Dark, leafy vegetables (broccoli, spinach, kale)

Happy Earth Day! Today, if you’re able, aim to do your workout outside – taking care of our bodies outdoors helps us remember the importance of taking care of our environment, too!

Earth Day Workout of the Day (WOD)!
• Use this A-B-C exercise guide (with video demonstrations)
• Using the associated exercises, spell “SUSTAIN”. To sustain means to strengthen or support physically or mentally.

Your ‘yellow’ challenge today is to extend the WOD:
• Use this A-B-C exercise guide:
• Using the associated exercises, spell “SUSTAINABLE!”

Today’s “red” activity involves challenging your friends to be physically active with you! On social media (Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook), do 10 burpees, and then challenge 5 of your friends to do it too! To tag us, use #healthykidsquarantined

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Healthy Snack Hack: Trail Mix
Changing the texture of the fruit or vegetables might help us eat more of a variety. For today’s snack let’s try dried fruits! Grapes (raisins), mango, coconut, or bananas all come in dried options! They taste great on their own but also are a great addition to many snacks. Add dried fruits to trail mix, yogurt and oatmeal, or put on celery with peanut butter. They are a healthy source of energy and fiber and are convenient to eat!

Ingredients:
• 1 cup of popcorn
• 1 cup of whole grain cheerios
• ¼ cup of nuts
• ¼ cup dried fruit of choice, raisins, craisins or any other dried fruits
• Mix together and serve
BONUS: Happy Earth Day! Celebrate by checking out these Earth Day fruit and veggie tips:
• Healthy foods for a healthy earth
• Healthy earth food traditions

Life has changed, but happiness still matters. When I am down, there are a few things that always cheer me up: 1. travel 2. family 3. sports (Lions & Spartans) — I’m sure your list is different, but just think of those things as you look at mine! Be happy! We’re in this together…

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Physical Activity
Handout: Strength Yoga Flow

Today’s yoga, the Strength Flow, from the Kids Work It Out program starts with an energizing ‘bunny breath’ exercise and then focuses on strengthening and stretching the legs, hips, and sides of the waist.
• https://youtu.be/ZJNqcBcNTcM (Time: 4:41)
For today’s workout, we’re focusing on training your lower half – with a plyometric workout that will make you work up a sweat!
• https://youtu.be/bmA-avXjhUE (Time: 43:28)
Today’s “red” activity involves combining the yoga activity with the plyometric workout. The yoga helps to improve your flexibility and balance and the plyos will get your heart pumping!

Nutrition and Healthy Eating
Wonderful Rainbow Water!

Did you know that many popular drinks like soda, sports drinks and even juice can have as much as 10 teaspoons of sugar added? Yikes! That much sugar is not good for our bodies or our teeth. Did you also know that water has zero sugar? This is what makes water our healthiest drink. But healthy does not need to be boring!

This week as we work to eat the rainbow, let’s also try to flavor our water using as a rainbow of fruits and veggies. Here are some ideas to make your way across the rainbow try adding:
• RED: watermelon and/or strawberries
• ORANGE: orange slices
• YELLOW: lemon slices
• GREEN: cucumbers slices
• BLUE: blueberries
• VIOLET: blackberries
• RAINBOW: build a rainbow drink by adding any or all of the above options!