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Squats


Ages

3-14 Years Old

Duration

2 Minutes

What You Need

Chair (optional)

To find out how this lesson fits Physical Education and Health Education standards click here.

Description

Have students stand with their feet shoulder width apart. Instruct them to squat down (as though they are pretending to sit down a chair), being sure to keep their stomach muscles tight and their backs straight to prevent injury. Using their arms for counter-balance, they can reach out.  Tell them to slowly squat down until their knees are bent to 90 degrees, and knees do not go past their toes, hold for a count of 3 seconds and slowly stand back up. Do sets of 8-10 repetitions. You could encourage the students to also incorporate doing squats during a TV commercial, or doing a set of 10 here and there throughout the day.

Modification Option

  • Poor balance: perform squats by holding on to the back of a chair or counter for balance
    • perform with back against wall
  • Impaired leg strength:
    • decrease range of motion to 45 degrees
    • if you do not have enough strength to come fully to standing, do a much as you can using your legs as much as possible and arms to assist (move to a partial standing position)

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