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Connect

Bring or join together; provide access and communication

  • This workout takes approximately 10 Minutes
  • This workout is for students in Grades 9-12
  • Teacher Resources

Move

  • Type:  Strength
  • Excercise:  Plank + Push Up Series
  • Target:  Chest + Arms + Core
  • Equipment:  None
Workout guide

Steps

PLANK STEPS
1. Start in plank position, with your hands a little wider than your shoulders
2. Keep your feet and thighs together, legs straight
3. Tip your heels forward, keeping your back flat
4. Tuck your hips under, squeeze your glutes, and pull your abs in
5. Keep your fingers spread apart, your head in line with your spine, and your eyes focused forward
6. Keeping your back flat, bend and stretch your knees only (on the count!)

PUSH UP STEPS
1. Start in plank position, with your hands a little wider than your shoulders
2. Keep your feet and thighs together, legs straight
3. Tip your heels forward, keeping your back flat
4. Tuck your hips under, squeeze your glutes, and pull your abs in
5. Keep your fingers spread apart, your head in line with your spine, and your eyes focused forward
6. Keeping your chest open and shoulders down, bend your elbows down/up as you lower your body down/up

Sequence

– Plank: 10 single count (bend/ stretch)
– Push Up: 10 single count
– Plank/Push Up: 10 combinations (bend/stretch + push up)

Modification

If you have back discomfort or pain, or if you lack the upper body strength to do a full push up:
– Complete all the moves with your hands on a chair or against a wall (see CONFIDENCE workout)

Icon of a body with vibration lines on the sides of it.

How does your body feel after completing the workout?

Icon of a profile view of a person’s head with a speech bubble where the brain would be.

How does your mind feel after completing the workout?

Icon of a question mark.

What does Connect mean to you in this moment?

Choose from the additional reflection prompts below to customize this lesson and meet the needs of your students and your time constraints. Create a unique workout experience every time you return to this lesson!

Self-Connection

Past

Do you consider yourself to be an introvert, extrovert, or somewhere in between? Have you always identified this way?

Present

Think critically about the word CONNECT. What are some different ways that others might interpret this word?

Future

How can you make time to connect with yourself?

Real-World Connection

Family

Reflect on the concept of a “chosen family.” Do you feel a strong connection with anyone outside of your family?

Learning Environment

How did you stay connected to people in your life during social distancing and remote learning, and what have you learned from that experience?

Community

Send a card to a nursing home patient in your community.

Academic Connection

ELA

What writer (i.e. an author, screenwriter, playwright, etc.) do you feel connected to? What work have they created that you feel most connected to?

Social Studies

How does food help you feel connected to your culture and/or family? Share a family recipe or dish with the class.

STEM

Reflect on how your mind and body connect. Draw an outline of a body and place a small “X" on three areas where you experience tension, pain, or weakness when feeling heavy emotions.

Fun Fact

There is a 50% chance that in a group of 23 people, two will share the same birthday. A popular term for this coincidental connection is a “birthday twin.”