Gym teacher makes 9th Graders do Insanity Workout

PRMinx

As a kid who struggled through many a gym class (so uncoordinated), I love this idea. A program like Insanity makes the kids focus on themselves and not what everyone else in the class is doing. I think this is a benefit to those kids who feel uncomfortable being forced to play a team sport they suck at, letting the team down, and then ultimately being teased for it.

As an aside, my Crossfit box has a Crossfit Kids class every Saturday. It goes over extremely well.

KimberlyDCZ

The teacher isn't putting on the dvd and leaving the room are they? Unless they are I don't see the difference between "doing insanity" and the teacher making up a similar programme themselves. We used to do circuit training at school. I assume insanity is pretty similar to that.

I hated all of PE of course, because it was just a good chance for all the bullies who hated you to take a shot at you, steal your clothes, call you out for wearing cheap trainers, call you fat, not pick you for their team etc, etc...

It's called INSANITY for a reason. I wouldn't assume...

tcunbeliever

Isn't there a version of insantiy specifically made for kids? I've not done Insanity, but I do P90X and I want to say I saw an advertisement for Shaun T's Fit Kids Club (or something like that) which was either part of the Insanity set or an add on to the Insanity set? Or maybe I'm just crazy! My daughter who is 9 does a lot of my workouts with me off and on...kids are smart enough not to injure themselves, they probably listen to their bodies better than most adults.

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

unless they have some medical reason why they can't do the insanity workout i see nothing wrong with it.

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

oops posted my response twice

rduhlir

No child left behind is a joke.

I second this.

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

Unless they have some medical reason why they can't do the Insanity workout i see no harm in it.

NJL13500

I have 2 children (16 and 19) and teach in a middle school. I teach what used to be called Home Economics. Our focus now is on healthy food preparation and financial literacy. No more sewing or making unhealthy foods with shortening and sugar. My students actually embrace healthy eating. They love to make stir frys with vegetables and homemade pita chips and whole wheat pizza. It's all about informing them and giving exposure.

Our PE department won an award from the county. They do P90X, Zumba, Wii Fit and have recently started training the kids to do a duathlon. Last year they had them participate in a triathlon. They have a small rock climbing wall and weight room. They also do traditional team sports. The key is to get the kids moving and expose them to something that they might like. One kid may love one unit of PE and hate another. At least now he/she knows. Maybe they would have never tried Zumba and love it. I get plenty of high school age girls at my gym when I take the class.

In high school my kids had to participate in ONE semester of PE for their entire 4 year career. That's it. The course is titled Lifetime Fitness. It is trying to get kids to find something that they can do for the rest of their lives. There was a walking/running unit, a cycling unit, and lots of other things. Luckily for my kids they participated in sports on their own and like to exercise. Some kids are not as lucky. They do their one semester of PE in 9th grade and then settle in with their bags of chips in front of the tv.

Not to try and make trouble, but did your friend call/email the PE teacher first to ask his/her motivation for teaching the Insanity unit? As a teacher I really wish more parents would just ask me instead of having the first response be to "tattle" to my Principal. Again, I'm lucky because that is exactly what he tells them to do first before he will speak with them. Many problems could be solved at that level if parents would just go to the source.

We don't know the teacher's motivation for teaching the unit, but then again no one has asked. My guess is the simple answer is to expose the kids to something that they might like and maybe make a difference for a few kids that may not have been able to try the program otherwise. Teachers are supposed to inspire and push their students to try new things and be a little uncomfortable (not to the point of pain or injury). If my kids had done Insanity at school I would be fine with it.

KimberlyDCZ

THIS. IS. CRAZY!!! Kids muscles aren't developed enough to do intense workouts like this. I hear this can cause serious permanent damage. My teen sister is my best workout partner. We do Zumba, SHORT sessions of Insanity, and Rockin' Body but this is one or two times/wk, not every day and we switch up the workouts. I would never make her do a full Insanity session as I can't do it myself, yet. Being required to do this without the parent's consent is WRONG. When I was in high school, we did Sweatin To The Oldies. I think that, or Tae Bo, maybe a good option, but Insanity is WAY TOO MUCH. Also, what is the gym teacher doing while the kids are watching a video. How lazy is that?!

Why do you believe their muscles aren't developed enough? Do you have kids? Children are pretty sturdy, active, agile beings! Have you never seen kids participating in competitive sports? What a bizarre response....:huh:

Sports are one thing, but extreme training is another. I do know that my nephew, who plays football at 12 years old is too young to lift weights. This is where I get the information from. Insanity is a combination of strength training and cardio but the strength part may be too much for a younger age.

persistantone

They have probably banned team sports in most schools because its not fair for the kids that aren't good at them (stupid rules of parents who's kids are nonathletic) ... So they are forced to try to do something new, and because some states have banned physical fitness testing because its not fair, and running because some kids cant and its not fair, i think this teacher is taking a chance on doing something good for these kids, and soon that will get banned to and PE will turn into social hour with one flat dodge ball that isn't allowed to be thrown because some kid might by chance get hit and think they are being targeted by a bully and the school will have to close down. END RANT sorry I am not a parent yet so I cant fully understand the whole making sure everything is fair for your kid, but I think its also important that kids learn lift isn't fair, and just because one kid isn't good at something doesn't mean every other kid has to miss out on it.

I agree with everything in this! I AM a parent. Everything is being taught now to be "fair" to the weakest student. I don't agree with no child left behind AT ALL. I praise the PE teacher for teaching Insanity because at least he is getting the kids moving. It is a workout that is possible for ALL fitness levels. You work at your own level. And the weaker kids won't be holding back the stronger kids. I am all for this. PE should be hard. PE should teach fitness. PE should NOT be simplified because society has become obese. It is the parent's responsibility to teach the child? Unfortunately, many parents feel it is the school's responsibility. Parents as a whole are not teaching proper eating and fitness. Someone has to teach the fat kids how to not be fat. Their fat parents certainly aren't doing it.

One of our local schools allows students to take fitness classes for PE credit. The high schoolers come into the Y and take spin classes, P90x classes, lift weights, etc. So why is teaching Insanity wrong? I think your idea that is wrong exemplifies what is wrong with this country. No child left behind is a joke.

It's cool that your local schools allow kids to come to the Y and take spin classes. I think taking exercise classes with adults makes a huge difference. The students are less likely to be judged. PE was hard for me because I just wasn't as fit as the rest of the kids and my Pe teacher just seemed more annoyed with me than anything. I think the instructors at the Y would be much more supportive, and I don't know, as a teen, it always felt good to be a part of the adult world. I like that your schools allow options. I think having options are key to lifelong changes regarding our health.

fishgutzy

No child left behind is a joke.

I second this.

Third.
NCLB was never about improving education. It was about forcing "failure" on all public schools and implementing what is now called "Common Core." Set up the schools with goals that they would never be able to meet, then tell them they won't be penalized for not meeting the goals if they accept the federalized common core standards which further dumb down standards and remove local control and common sense from public schools.
But that is another story for another thread.

Lupercalia

THIS. IS. CRAZY!!! Kids muscles aren't developed enough to do intense workouts like this. I hear this can cause serious permanent damage. My teen sister is my best workout partner. We do Zumba, SHORT sessions of Insanity, and Rockin' Body but this is one or two times/wk, not every day and we switch up the workouts. I would never make her do a full Insanity session as I can't do it myself, yet. Being required to do this without the parent's consent is WRONG. When I was in high school, we did Sweatin To The Oldies. I think that, or Tae Bo, maybe a good option, but Insanity is WAY TOO MUCH. Also, what is the gym teacher doing while the kids are watching a video. How lazy is that?!

Why do you believe their muscles aren't developed enough? Do you have kids? Children are pretty sturdy, active, agile beings! Have you never seen kids participating in competitive sports? What a bizarre response....:huh:

Sports are one thing, but extreme training is another. I do know that my nephew, who plays football at 12 years old is too young to lift weights. This is where I get the information from. Insanity is a combination of strength training and cardio but the strength part may be too much for a younger age.

Insanity is not weight lifting. It is cardio/body weight interval training.

ETA: doing things like push ups, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, etc. is not dangerous for a child. Body weight stuff is great. Think about gymnastics. Also consider the fact that kids do all sorts of body weight stuff when they are active and playing around as kids do. Climbing stuff, pulling themselves up and over fences, walls, etc. cartwheels, somersaults, jumping over things....kids are super athletic in their usual healthy state! Also, we are also talking about teenagers, not toddlers.

rduhlir

Sports are one thing, but extreme training is another. I do know that my nephew, who plays football at 12 years old is too young to lift weights. This is where I get the information from. Insanity is a combination of strength training and cardio but the strength part may be too much for a younger age.

Insanity is body strength, no more than what your 12 year old nephew does at football practice.

sPaRkLiNgLYFE

What part of the program do you disagree with?

I agree kids need a workout program but Insanity is for adults.

The school should have informed the parents about the program and requested permission to participate.

All kids have to have a physical before participating in any type of P.E or sports activity and parents do sign a consent form.

Hellbent_Heidi

Personally, I haven't grown in height since I was in 8th grade, so I don't believe their muscles aren't advanced enough to handle this. I recall doing basketball conditioning training in 9th & 10th grade and what we did was just as hard as insanity. I'm sure they are allowing students to participate at the level they can handle....?

I guess I don't see where this is such a bad thing. I wish I'd have kept my athletic edge from that age, instead of getting lazy later in life, and having to go back and achieve it again :ohwell:

Surisaddai

When I was in school my gym teacher was fat and she would always be eating Mc Donald's and make us watch crappy movies. I don't see anything wrong with it, obviously the kids are going to do as much as they can. I am a teacher and I have my kiddos workout (not to insanity) but I do try to challenge them. Doesn't the program have modifications?

BflSaberfan

The teacher was wrong not to inform the parents about the program!!

My kid is very fit but the others are not!!!


Are any of you doing Insanity?

At the begining of the year, you sign permision slips for the children when they go into PE. You also are asked to APPROVE your child's schedule. Sorry, but I don't think "The teacher was wrong" because you knew that they were going to do something physically active in the class.

You school has permission slips for gym? I have 2 kids and the only thing I've ever signed a permission slip for was a field trip.

Not sure how I feel about school having the kids do insanity. I don't really see the harm if the teacher made it clear that the kids should go at their own pace and of course drink plenty of water during the exercise and I highly doubt that happened.

LilynEdensmom

We did (yes I'm dating myself) things like sweating to the oldies during gym...which is no where near on that level. If the program is for 18 + years then I do think they need parent permission unless they aren't pushing the kids as hard as the video's due. I do think child hood obesity is a problem but pushing them to the point of getting sick is not the answer.

I've never had to sign a permission slip for my children to take gym either, only things I've had to sign was field trip permission and permission allowing their picture to be taken and used on their webiste, annuals, and newsletters.

twelfty

lol i can't help but feel the name of the workout makes it sound worse than it is.... i say fair play to the teacher for trying something different, i'd love it if my kids were doing this workout when they get to their teens, i want them to be as healthy as possible, education isn't just about books, P.E / gym is there for children to learn sports and fitness are important, you don't have to be on the football team or the fastest long distance runner in the school or whatever but everyone should be active and healthy and too many kids getting away with not doing it is part of the problem, but unfortunately parents don't side with teachers anymore they disagree and try to 'protect' their children....

and for whoever said kids got fat playing football, and hockey.... really?

GuybrushThreepw00d

Insanity is just a body weight class.. Albeit involving intensive intervals.

It's probably one of the better programs the gym teacher could have chosen.

Hey, look at it this way, at least it wasn't the Beachbody brazilian butt lift one.