PE at college isn’t like adult exercise – but possibly it should be

Physical education (PE) is a fundamental part of faculty life. It’s greater than only a series of lessons about kick a ball or run around a track. It should provide the crucial groundwork for a lifetime of physical activity. Often, though, the game that children do in PE doesn’t bear much resemblance to the physical activity we do as adults.

Historically, PE lessons have had a powerful emphasis on team sports corresponding to football and rugby. These sports undoubtedly have their merits, including promoting teamwork and competition.

But recent data from Sport England shows that adults are inclined to participate more in fitness activities corresponding to circuit training, Pilates or weights, in addition to running, walking and energetic travel corresponding to cycling to work, fairly than team sports.

In research with colleaguesI interviewed 32 teenage boys and located they desired to take part in fitness activities that mirror those typically performed by adults, corresponding to lifting weights. However, the boys told us that opportunities are lacking at college. “School is usually football and that,” one said. “When I am going home I can do weights, it’s just not something we do here [at school].”

Physical inactivity within the UK is tied to alarming outcomes. It’s linked with one in six deaths and exerts an economic burden of £7.4 billion annually on our society. Healthcare costs alone account for nearly £1 billion of this total. PE lessons could do more to introduce children to ways to remain energetic throughout their lives.

Competitive sports

The UK government recently demonstrated its commitment to PE in England. It pledged an additional £600 million towards the PE and Sport Premium, a fund launched in 2013 to support children getting more energetic and to enhance the standard of PE. In addition, it’s providing an additional £22 million to support the School Games Organisers network, which promotes competitive sports and runs competitions inside schools and between schools across the country.

While extra money for PE in schools is all the time priceless, there’s a risk that this funding may reinforce traditional approaches to highschool sport. Teacher training in non-team sports and activities more aligned with lifelong physical activity could also be missed.

Our research with teachers has found that they often lack knowledge to deliver activities focused on muscular fitness, corresponding to weightlifting, or can have misconceptions concerning the suitability of this activity for young people. “We just don’t have the knowledge and I wouldn’t feel confident,” one teacher said. Another commented:

It could be useful to do fitness-type CPD [continuous professional development]but we don’t really have the knowledge to share. We all go the gym, but what we will do with the pupils isn’t really clear.

This is where a portion of the federal government’s funding may very well be of great profit. It could help enhance teaching practices in PE, possibly by the introduction of online teacher training platforms. These are popular in medical professions but are surprisingly underused in PE teaching.

In my research with colleagues, I actually have explored how this type of online training could help PE teachers. We provided an internet training programme to enhance five teachers’ knowledge of muscular fitness activity, a type of lifelong physical activity. It focused on activities corresponding to weightlifting, gym exercise and plyometrics – explosive exercises focused on constructing muscle power, corresponding to squat jumps – and on how these may very well be incorporated into the PE curriculum.

PE teachers told us that using this online platform allowed them to cover the fabric at their very own pace, and talked about how they would come with the content of their lessons.

Beyond school

Improving young people’s access to physical activity that can help them stay energetic in adult life needs to be a priority beyond schools. Extracurricular initiatives, corresponding to after-school programmes and native sports clubs, could offer opportunities for physical activity corresponding to circuit training that resembles adult fitness classes.

Another potential solution could be improved access to traditional gyms for those under the age of 18. Access for teenagers is currently limited, often comes at a major cost, and should be restricted to make use of of just some equipment. More concentrate on teenagers at gyms could help cultivate a love for physical activity at an early age.

The government’s funding commitment signals a transparent dedication to PE. However, considering the potential long-term health implications, it’s clear that a broader and more encompassing approach is required across communities. Rather than PE focusing solely on traditional team sports, young people should give you the option to access a more diverse range of activities that reflects their changing interests and lifestyles.