Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Standing strong

40 minutes

Find Out: Let’s get lifting

20 minutes

Take Action: Data display

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions

Students will:

develop lifting skills and techniques while monitoring their progress

Success criteria

Students can:

identify good lifting technique
report on the impact of low- and high-intensity activity
record and evaluate data on their progress.

Preparation:

This is a split lesson, with the ‘Tune In’ and ‘Find Out’ phases happening first. Students start by exploring strength and different ways to be physically and mentally strong, before creating a plan to develop their strength. Students will enact their plans over a period of time. This could be 4 weeks or a whole term, depending on what suits you! Students will apply their mathematical skills to measure their journey.

Tune In: Standing strong

Step 1

Ask your students, ‘What does it mean to be strong?’

Suggested student responses:

being able to lift really heavy weights
being able to run for a long time
having big muscles
doing something you don’t want to do
facing a fear
standing up for yourself

Let’s see what some of Australia’s strongest athletes think it means. Show your students these two clips:

Kyle Bruce
Brandon Wakeling

Using student answers, lead a class discussion to create a Venn diagram of physical and mental strength. There might be more overlap than you think!

Step 2

Explain to your students that they will explore some of Australia’s strongest athletes.

Video 1: Para-Powerlifting

Para Powerlifting - #B2022 Sport Explainer Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWhA1pjsLsc&list=PLDpIhT88Z_ThDe0FV5_Axeo35DBFKpAO1&index=17)

Video 2: Weightlifting

Weightlifting - #B2022 Sport Explainer Video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QocMKs6mCk)

Step 3

Lead a discussion with students by asking them what athletes could do to improve their physical and mental strength.

Find Out: Let’s get lifting

Step 1

As a class, perform a warm-up covering the legs, core, arms, and shoulders. Choose a selection (3-5) of the strength tests below based on your available equipment. At each station, supply the accompanying strength test card.

3-minute push-up test
max 1 rep deadlift (alternative: kettlebell weights, resistance bands)
max 1 rep bench press (alternative: resistance bands)
max 1 rep leg press (alternative: resistance bands)
wall squat
vertical jump test
standing long jump

For safety, a maximum of 1 rep of bench press, deadlift, leg press, and squat should be completed using proper gym equipment. For information on how to set up and safely conduct these tests, please refer to the National Protocols for the Assessment of Strength and Power.

Provide students with the worksheet to record their benchmark statistics. Direct the students to rotate around the different testing stations in groups and record their efforts.

There may be some big differences between students’ levels of physical development. This lesson is about individual improvement, and it is important to keep this message clear from the beginning.

Step 2

Since they have collected their benchmark statistics, your students’ task is to design a weightlifting program to develop strength. This can be done individually, in pairs, or in small groups. If they will be given time during the week (for example, in PE class), make sure they are aware of this.

Using the weekly planner, have students develop a strength training routine. Remind them to have at least 2 rest days a week and choose exercises focusing on different body parts for different days (eg, avoid 2 ‘leg days’ in a row).

Introduce them to the STAR goal-setting method: Specific, Timely, Achievable, and Realistic.

Specific - Identify which exercises you will do which days and for how long (reps/set and/or time).
Timely - Make sure it fits into your week.
Achievable - Ensure you can do this, and it is within your abilities! Choose exercises you can do with the equipment you have access to.
Realistic - Is this plan sustainable, and can you complete it?

Step 3

Using the Think Pair Share thinking routine on the question: ‘What mental challenges will we face in this program? What strategies can we use to help us overcome them?’

View the suggestions below:

being unmotivated to train	• have an accountability partner • give yourself rewards for completing your plan • put on your favourite TV show or movie and • • watch for as long as your workout keeps going
being too tired to train	• swapping training times to earlier in the day (eg before school) when you have more energy • swapping out hard exercises for easier ones • revising the training plan to something more realistic
feeling like you’re not getting better	• track your reps and sets to see how much work you have been doing, rather than if there have been changes to your benchmark strength • measure your benchmark statistics on the same day of the week at the same time so you are in a similar body condition • measure your workouts by how you feel, rather than what you lifted.
feeling silly training in front of others	• train together with a partner or friends listen to music while you train • do your program in an environment that makes you feel comfortable (eg, at home)

Take Action: Data display

Step 1

Direct your students to enact their training program over the course of a week. Throughout the week, students need to note their different workouts and what they achieved.

At the end of the week, have students re-test their strengths across the benchmark exercises and record the results. Have students review their weekly training plan and make changes accordingly.

Continue enacting the training plan for your chosen length of time. We recommend a minimum of 4 weeks, but it could be up to a term.

Step 2

Students create a presentation (poster, written paper, slide deck) to record their fitness journey. Make sure they include:

at least 1 data display tracking each of their benchmark tests (eg line graph showing progression)
at least 1 data display tracking 1 of their exercises (eg a bar graph showing the number of push-ups done each week)
at least 1 calculation of total exercise (eg how much weight did they cumulatively lift during bicep curls? Make sure to convert to the correct units)
at least 1 discussion of a mental strategy they used to help them complete the program (eg did having an accountability buddy help them? Why/why not? What would they do differently next time?).

Step 3

Share the presentations with the class. Peers can provide feedback in the form of:

1 thing they liked
1 question they have
1 suggestion they could make

Reflection

Lead a class discussion by inviting students to respond to the following questions:

How does physical strength help in my day-to-day life?
Why is it important to maintain physical strength throughout my life?
How does being mentally strong help in my day-to-day life?
Why is it important to practise mental strength throughout my life?

Building Strength and Resilience

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