Showing posts with label Well-Being. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Well-Being. Show all posts

Thursday 23 February 2017

Building a Foundation for Lifelong Fitness

The fitness room familiarizes students with the fundamental equipment and core movements
that will enable them to put together safe, effective workouts anywhere in the world.

Greenwood’s fitness room encourages students and staff to make their physical well-being a priority.

Weight rooms can be intimidating: “What equipment do I use? Which exercises should I do? Am I doing this right?” When we were outfitting our fitness room, we had a goal in mind: to introduce students to the fundamental equipment and core movements that will enable them to put together safe, effective workouts anywhere in the world.

You won’t find any weight machines in the fitness room. The equipment is made up almost entirely of free weights, with stationary bikes and rowing machines available for cardio, warm-up and cool-down. Unlike weight machines, free weights allow our Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers to model and teach proper form to students, increasing the impact of the workout and vastly decreasing the risk of injury.

“We wanted to provide a good selection of the basics students need to learn how to put together a great workout,” says Sam Clark, Greenwood’s Athletics and Recreation Coordinator.

The equipment in our fitness room is made up almost entirely of free weights, which
encourage proper form and greatly reduce the risk of injury. Stationary bikes and rowing
machines enable students to warm up and cool down.

In addition to being integrated into many physical education classes, especially our Personal Fitness courses, the space is also open at designated times throughout the week. Students and staff alike have been taking advantage of the opportunity to get in a stress-busting workout on a lunch break or before or after school. (It’s important to note that all users completed an orientation before using the space, and that students are supervised at all times while using the room.)

A recent Grade 9 HPE class made the benefits of this new space clear. After several classes focused on Personal Fitness, the class paired up to design and complete their own workouts. Students put together routines that targeted the arms, legs and core, and confidently moved through exercises including back squats, tricep extensions, planks, dumbbell snatches and bench presses.

“We want students to see the benefits of lifelong physical activity,” Sam says. “The fitness room is a great way to help them get into that mindset.”

Thursday 17 November 2016

Supporting Health and Well-Being with Intramurals

Greenwood’s new gymnasium allows us to offer organized athletics outside of
 inter-school competition.

One of the main focuses of our new strategic plan is educating our community on the core principles of well-being, and integrating health and well-being into all of our programs. Physical activity is one of the keys to well-being, with benefits including decreased anxiety and increased concentration.

Intramural sports provide students with an opportunity to engage with their peers in a positive and meaningful way. Greenwood’s new gymnasium allows us to offer organized athletics outside of inter-school competition.

Run during part of the lunch period, intramurals get students’ blood pumping before afternoon classes while providing an outlet for stress. Currently, Greenwood runs basketball leagues for Grade 7/8, Grade 9/10 and Grade 11/12 students. Male and female students play together in 4v4 play. As we grow into our new space, we plan to introduce more leagues across a variety of sports driven by student interest.


Students looking for a less structured athletic opportunity can participate in open gym
periods held in our existing gymnasium.

Students looking for a less structured athletic opportunity can participate in open gym periods held in our existing gymnasium. Open gym is available daily at lunch to all grades and gives students supervised, safe time to engage in the physical activity of their choice.