Richmond Parents Monthly | Richmond magazine for families

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Are You Fit as a Fifth-Grader?
With limited P.E. class time, fitness becomes a family thing.
By AMANDA SOUTHALL

Children have a sixth gear, I’m sure of it. It’s what catapults them across the monkey bars, keeps them a step ahead during freeze tag and springs them off the mat during a curl-up.

My first hint that I’d lost that gear came mid-way through the curl-ups. Thirty seconds into my attempt at the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge, doubt arrived in the form of an acute cramp nestled smugly in my gut. Every effort was a reminder that even Pilates can’t prepare you for one minute of “as many as possible” curl-ups at a pace of “as fast as possible.”

And the worst part? My minute of core-aching curl-ups was too slow; I had only done 36 when the time ran out.

Your Goal: 42
Your Score: __
As a fit 25-year-old, I hadn’t been too daunted by the idea of attempting the Presidential Physical Fitness Challenge (PPFC). I run regularly, have finished a triathlon and eat vegetables now and then.

I confidently set my sights on the requirements of a fifth-grader: 42 curl-ups in a minute; a 10.5-second shuttle run; a 6.5-inch v-sit; three pull-ups; and a mile under 9:02.

That was, of course, before the curl-ups fiasco. Perhaps I should have taken the advice of Dieu Shumbushu, a seventh-grader at Tuckahoe Middle School: “When I do the sit-ups I try to just breathe and go as hard and as fast as I can.”

Six curl-ups shy of the required 42, I failed the first test. So I did the only thing I knew to do. I reset my watch and belted out 44 curl-ups in 59 seconds.

Motivation for Fitness
The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports developed the PPFC in 1966 to serve as a fitness recognition program. The goal was to motivate children ages 6 to17 to pursue an active lifestyle by assessing their achievement in five events: curl-ups, shuttle run, v-sit reach, mile run and pull-ups. Each event is designed to test strength, endurance, agility or flexibility.

Through the years, over 70 million youth have received presidential recognition for their physical accomplishments in the program.

In Virginia, the PPFC is no longer required. Instead, the Virginia Department of Education requires yearly fitness assessment screenings through a program called FitnessGram.

“The FitnessGram has wellness zones rather than a pass and fail,” says Karen Moran, a physical education teacher at Washington Henry Elementary. “It doesn’t just test athleticism, it’s more [overall] wellness.”

Though the PPFC has been replaced, I decided to attempt the Challenge for two reasons. Primarily, the FitnessGram requires software to determine wellness zones. Plus, I did the PPFC when I was in school, and I wanted to compare this experience with my experiences in elementary school.

Instruction to Match Needs
“Fitness screening assessments give a baseline of information from which [physical educators] can adjust their instruction in order to provide effective programs in physical education,” says Bonnie Conner-Gray, educational specialist for health, physical fitness and drivers’ education in Henrico County Public Schools.

The FitnessGram program assesses three areas of health-related fitness: aerobic capacity, body composition, and muscular strength, endurance and flexibility. The tests are administered twice a year, typically in the fall and spring.

“In the fall we do all the tests as a precursor without practice. After that we work toward what we need to do in the spring,” says Moran.

Your Goal: 10.5 seconds
Your Score: __
The shuttle run is designed to measure speed, quickness and agility. I don’t claim to have the agility of a fifth-grader, but I figured I could make up for it with my speed. Once again, I was wrong.

In this test, students sprint back and forth, picking up and placing erasers or blocks at opposite ends of a 30-foot track. I admitted defeat after three attempts, my best time almost a second too slow, even when I cheated by not picking up the erasers.

Dieu, who plays basketball and football, says the tests aren’t too hard because he leads an active lifestyle.

“I usually don’t really have a problem with the tests,” he says. “I’m really active. I love anything that has to do with sports and moving.”

Giving the Best Effort
For someone like Dieu, fitness assessments aren’t intimidating, but that isn’t the case for all students.

“Before we begin testing we talk about differences in body types and abilities,” says Christy Valentine, a physical education teacher at Pole Green Elementary. “I just want to see everyone trying hard and giving their best effort.”

The ranges of wellness in the Fitnessgram also answer criticisms that the PPFC didn’t accurately assess fitness.

“The [PPFC] tests are a good idea in theory, but they’re really not a good assessment. I think it’s possible to be bad at the tests but still be physically fit. Fitness ranges seem more fair and accurate,” says Jenny Ramsey, a Mechanicsville mother of three.

Your Goal: 6.5”
Your Score: __
Defeated thus far, I sat down to try the v-sit test, designed to measure flexibility of the lower back and hamstrings.

I remember demolishing this test in elementary school, and I hoped the years haven’t robbed me of my flexibility. I needed 6.5 inches to pass, and my confidence was restored when I reached a full 8 inches beyond my heels.

Determining physical fitness is an increasing concern among educators; America is in far worse shape than it was when the PPFC was implemented in 1966. About 8 million young Americans—roughly 15 percent—are overweight, according to the Office of the Surgeon General of the United States.

“We are a nation ‘at risk’ of an entire generation who may not outlive their own parents as a result of the childhood obesity epidemic,” says Conner-Gray.

In addition to dramatically increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer, Conner-Gray says obesity also impacts the educational process. “There is a positive association between fitness and academic success. Healthy, active students have the essential framework to perform well in the total school environment. Absenteeism and other obstacles to school success can be reduced through overall health and wellness programming.”

Your Goal: 3
Your Score: _
I’ve never been able to do a pull-up. Not when I was in fifth grade, not when I went rock climbing three times a week and certainly not now. So it was no surprise when, after a full minute of straining, my chin was still no closer to the bar than when I began.

With the required three pull-ups out of the question, I had the option of doing 19 right-angle push-ups with no more than three seconds of rest between each. I did five push-ups correctly, 12 sloppy more, and resolved to start doing push-ups every day.

Goal setting is one of the positive trademarks of physical fitness assessments.

“It’s great for students to see the goal and compete against themselves,” says Valentine. “Most of the students want to do the tests and want to hit a goal.”

The bi-annual timing of the tests also helps students work toward improvement.

“Students can aspire to improve at their own rate and can use the information to meet their own personal goals,” Conner-Gray says.

Class Time is Limited
The difficulty that physical education teachers face is helping students improve with a limited amount of classroom time.

“I only see my kids once a week for 45 minutes, and that’s really not enough time to improve,” Valentine says. “The best we can do is instill the principles of wellness and teach them to have fun and learn to enjoy exercise.”

Without ample time for fitness in the classroom, Ramsey says it is important to place a strong emphasis on fitness in the home. “It’s great that the education system is promoting fitness, but responsibility really falls to the parent, especially at the elementary age.”
Ramsey gets her family to participate in activities together and involves her children in organized sports.

“Kids naturally gravitate towards TV and video games, so parents have to promote fitness as much as possible,” she says.

“Parents, educators and the community all contribute to lifetime wellness for children when they model good nutritional and physical activity practices,” says Conner-Gray. “The cornerstones placed for children at an early age are laid for a lifetime of health enhancing behaviors.”

Your Goal: 9:02
Your Score: __
The mile. It’s the most dreaded part of the physical fitness test, so much so that the epic distance has become a rite of passage of sorts. If you can run the mile, you can do anything.

For me, the mile is a bit like returning to an old friend. It was during the mile as a fifth-grader that I resolved I would never again walk in a race. I held true to my resolution, and as my times gradually fell I learned to love running. In high school I ran cross country and track, and now, I’m training for my first marathon. Still, when I toed the line and looked down the lane of the track, I felt the weight of the mile, the apprehension of four laps and the pressure to get a good time. And then I was off.

My endurance-trained legs got me across the finish line with a respectable time of 7:12, and with that, I effectively finished my adult attempt at the PPFC. The experience wasn’t just a humbling gauge of my own physical fitness; it was a new perspective on physical education.

Fitness is a critical, lifelong aspect of education that falls to parents, educators and, eventually, the individual. Thanks to the pull-ups, I never have met the PPFC requirements, but despite my perceived failure, I know that fitness is a ongoing choice, not a test.

“I choose to be fit because I want to be healthy and I want my body to be strong,” Dieu says.