Health and Wellbeing Club
What Do I Need To Know
As home schoolers, you should be thinking about doing physical activity every day. These recommendations are relevant to all healthy children and teenagers unless your doctor tells you otherwise.
Don’t be intimidated by exercise. All you need to do at the beginning is to do more than you were doing before. Every little bit helps!
Moderate Activity can be judged by your heart rate going up, you breathing has increased but you can still talk comfortably.
Vigorous Activity can be judged by your heart rate going up, fast breathing and it hard to talk.
From 5 to 8 years old
Aim for 30 minutes of moderate activity every day. Try to do activities that improve muscle strength two or more days a week, plan to spend less time sitting down and more time moving around.
From 8 to 12 years old
If you are in this age group you need to do up toan hour every day, but not more. Going to the park and climbing on the equipment also counted as physical exercise, so make sure you have fun!
From 12 to 18 years old
If you are in this age group you need to at leastone hour every day. However, if you can do more than an hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity, all the better
For example, if you are 13, this means: I hour, 7 days a week and if you record this in your dairy every day you for 40 weeks of our learning year that works out as 280 hours of your 1000 homeschooling hours. That’s over a 5th of your whole learning year moving and being active.
Why do you need to spend so much time being active?
· To help your bones, muscles and joints form and grow properly.
· To help your heart and lungs develop.
· To lend a hand in controlling your sugar levels.
· To support your coordination and movement control.
· To assist you maintain a healthy body weight.
· To improve your sleep.
· Exercise is vital for both your physical and mental development.
Most of this daily hour should be either medium or vigorous activities that gets your heart pumping. Three times a week should it include activities that strengthen muscle and bone: these would include any sports or games that including running, turning or jumping.
What should I be doing?
Sometimes it is not always possible to do a whole hour. You can split this up over the course of the day-
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2 x 30 minutes
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4 x 15 minutes
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3 x 20 minutes .
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If you are doing nearer 2 hours one day miss the next one to give your body time to recover.
Whenever possible, even if you have a disability, you should meet these recommendations. However, you should work with your health care teams to understand the types and amounts of physical activity appropriate for you.
So, what could you be choosing for the muscle and bone strengthen activities: -
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Active games involving running and chasing, such as tag, football (soccer for our American learners), netball and basketball.
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Bicycle riding – a good reason to join us on the Charity Bike Ride.
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Skipping, (Jumping rope) trampolining.
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Martial arts, such as karate and boxing.
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Walking and Running – why not join us on our walks and the 5k run training.
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Sports such as football, ice or field hockey, basketball, swimming, tennis.
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Any type of dance or you could join a Zumba class.
Don’t stick to just one or two activities, try to rotate them so you get bored and stop. Mix them up with some team activities and some individual activities, try out a new sport regularly. Lots of clubs offer test-a-days for free.
Include swimming and yoga as a part of your cross-training activities to increase stamina and control.
You can join us on any of our planned Physical Education activities by booking via the Upcoming Eventspage and we will provide you with training plans.
You don’t have to join a gym – you can do sports for free and meeting up in your local park to play some games or do sports with friends is just as valuable. We have a booklet of games for small, medium and larger groups – just ask!
Cycling and walking can be done almost anywhere safe. Pick up local walking guidebooks from charity book shops, ask at your local council for footpaths and cycling routes. Take a picnic and go explore.
If you would like to a group led activity, ask - and we will do our best to employ an instructor for our home schooling group.
Exercise For Free
Exercise For Free
Exercise For Free
Walk, Jog or Run
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You could walk, jog or run. A 60-minute period of walking, jogging or running every day should start with a warmup session of five to 10 minutes of marching in place with high knees before slowly increasing speed to a jog or running pace. Continue for 45 minutes, with short breaks if needed, follow this by a cool-down with a five- to 10-minute walk. It can be broken up into shorter segments throughout the day.
Cycling as an Aerobic Activity
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Cycling is an activity that everyone can enjoy, and it provides an excellent aerobic workout in addition to being a fun and recreational. Choosing routes with good safe cycle paths is essential so do this beforehand, and this time counts - so add it to your diary.
After stretching the legs, arms and back muscles for five minutes, a slow ride for five to 10-minutes serves as a warmup of muscles and to build the heart rate. After that, a moderate to vigorous pace for 30 to 45 minutes should be followed by a cool-down period of five to 10 minutes of slow biking or walking.
Join us on our Charity Bike ride and we will give you a training plan leading up to the big day.
Gentle Plyometric Exercises
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In the simplest of terms, plyometrics are exercises that involve a jumping or explosive movement. These are exercises in which muscles exert maximum force in short intervals of time, with the goal of increasing power in speed-strength. For example, skipping, bounding, jumping rope, hopping, lunges, jump squats, and clap push-ups.
You could warm up for plyometric exercises by jogging for five to 10 minutes. As a young teenager, you should begin doing plyometrics for a short time period and slowly working towards a longer routine as you age. This should be done on two non-consecutive days per week.
Yoga for Flexibility and Mindfulness
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Yoga is a good exercise because it helps you stay flexible and increases muscle and bone strength.
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Exercising Without Out Exercising
Helping with the housework and gardening also counts as exercise. Did you know that 3 hours of moderate house work equals the same as 1 hour of vigorous in the gym?
Time to clean you bedroom and get your physical exercise in too!
Paying for Professional Training
Weight Training for Strength
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Weight training routines is another possibility, but certain restrictions must be taken into consideration such as how far through puberty you have come - so that it is safe for growing bodies. This could be done up to three times per week for approximately 30 minutes per session. Begin with a five to 10-minute warmup consisting of walking, jogging or another cardio activity at an easy pace.
An experienced fitness professional should supervise your weight training exercises to ensure safe practise, that no damage to the changing body takes place and to adapt the routines as your body develops.
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Joining a Sports Club
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When you join a sports club they will be running activities that are planned for your age and skills. The staff will have a wealth of information on how this sport can help you stay healthy.
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Horse Riding
Horse riding is another great sport but it comes with a cost, by working the stables you may be able to reduce the fees and all that manure shifting counts as exercise too!
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Swimming for Life Saving
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Knowing how to swim is a very important life skill. learn to swim and collect the badges as these are your evidence of learning as well as exercise.
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We know a friendly swimming instructor who is happy to take groups of homeschoolers. Let us know if you want to learn and we will book a six weeks homeschooling special.
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