Working out the mind and body

Suzie Harrison

Forget about spin classes, aerobics, going to the gym or boot camp

antics, which can often be costly and inconvenient. Top-notch

training will be provided for free. The only stipulation is

enrollment at El Morro Elementary School, which offers an expansive

fitness menu to keep Laguna children in shape as part of its physical

education curriculum.

Lynn Chaldu and Tami Burns are the physical education teachers of

first through fifth-graders.

Last week the students did a fitness station workout with 10

repetitions at each stop, jogging to each location to keep their

heart rate up.

“We start every class with a workout,” Chaldu said. “We’ve been

doing this total body conditioning, doing abdominal crunches, a

plyometric station, which helps with power and speed.”

Included in the routine are jumping jacks, resistant work and

push-ups.

“They do it for about 15 to 20 minutes and then we meet for cool

down and stretching,” Chaldu said. “But the first part of class is

always some kind of workout.”

She said each class includes aerobic activity, strength and

flexibility exercises and introductory level sports drills and games.

“It’s helping your muscles and your agility,” said Stefan Elbaz,

9.

Colin Ceithaml, 10, explained that the “No walking zone” adds to

the workout by helping build muscles and makes the session more

challenging.

“My favorite sport is soccer, it’s good training because you get a

lot of exercise,” Colin said. “The best part of class is having the

game after we run and do stretching.”

The game that day was football and they started with three person

drills. Shouts of “hut, hut” and “go, go go,” were heard. Each player

got the chance to be the quarterback, center and receiver by

rotating.

“They compete to see who can throw the farthest and who has the

best spiral,” Chaldu said.

Upon missing a catch one student said to another, “I told you to

go deeper.”

The fitness regime seems to have payed off, Chaldu said, because

El Morro fifth-graders score in the top 5% in the state on the

Fitnessgram test.

“Fitnessgram testing is administered every spring to all fifth-,

seventh- and ninth-graders in the district,” Chaldu said. “Testing

measures aerobic capacity, upper body and abdominal strength,

flexibility and body composition.”