8.11: Five Second Fitness
- Page ID
- 14101
Learn:
- Why it is important to build muscles, strength and endurance.
To Give Out: Why Muscle Matters Tip Sheet/ Mini-Water Bottles
Tools:
- Spin wheel with activities
- Signage and handouts
- Yoga Mats/ Mini-Water Bottles
- Whiteboard/chalkboard and chalk/marker, easel (to record scores)
- Timer, stopwatch, or phone to keep time
- Feedback survey, pencils, and collection box
Set-ups:
- Display signage/poster to highlight the goal of your demo, and promotes physical activity demonstration (i.e. key terms, fun facts)
- Set up your score board, the spin wheel with different physical activities.
Activity:
- Have participants spin the wheel and perform the activity.
- Have community leader explain or demonstrate to the participants what safe form looks like.
- Have the participants quickly demonstrate they can do the exercise safely.
- Ask each pair to do the activity for five seconds or more (duration), or for how many times (repetitions) they can in a set amount of time.
- Cue participants during exercise if need to adjust their form, and provide positive feedback
- Have community leaders record the time with a stopwatch (or phone), or count the repetitions, as each participant pair takes their turn.
- Record the times or repetitions for each individual of pair for all to see. Keep this in a leaderboard format, if possible.
- Ask participants to complete feedback survey.
Script:
- Do you know how much exercise you're supposed to get everyday?
- Do you want to try one of our challenges?
- Do you know the difference between strength and endurance?
- Regular exercise can improve your memory, help you sleep, and it can reduce stress, depression and anxiety.

Suggestion for board:
- Key terms
- Exercises to choose from:
- Strength exercise examples: squats, wall-sits, push-ups, plank, lunges
- Cardio exercise examples: hula hooping, jumping rope, jumping jacks
Suggested Information
Key terms
Fitness: Ability to do daily tasks with energy and without getting tired. (HSS,2008).
Exercise: Movement of the body that uses energy that is planned, structured, repetitive, and purposive. (HSS,2008).
Muscle-Strengthening: Exercises that make muscles do more work than usual by holding against an applied force or weight.
Bone-Strengthening: Exercises that produces an impact or tension force on the bones.
Muscular Strength: How much force you can exert (apply) or how much weight you can lift.
Muscular Endurance: How many times or how long you can exert (apply) force without getting too tired.
- As part of your 60 minutes of daily physical activity, be sure to include muscle-strengthening/bone-strengthening physical activity on at least 3 days of the week (HHS, 2008).
- Muscle-strengthening activities are ones that make muscles do more work than usual by holding against an applied force or weight (HHS, 2008).
- Bone-strengthening are activities that produces an impact or tension force on the bones (HHS, 2008).
- Muscular strength and endurance are two important characteristics of your muscles that you have to build.
- Muscular strength is how much force you can exert (apply) or how much weight you can lift.
- Muscular strength endurance is how many times or how long you can exert (apply) force without getting too tired.
Resources:
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2008). 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Retrieved From: https://health.gov/paguidelines/pdf/paguide.pdf
- TED-Ed. (2017). How your muscular system works - Emma Bryce. Retrieved From: Youtu.be/VVL-8zr2hk4
- TED-Ed. (2015). What makes muscle grow?-Jeffery Siegel. Retrieved From: youtu.be/2tM1LFFxeKg
- Turbulence Training. (2013). 5 at-home exercises you can use to build muscle without equipment. Retrieved From: youtu.be/xCRUFI0XcB0