# Need ideas for a routine for my gym class



## rubantin (Sep 2, 2010)

I am a teacher at  private school. I have 8 students that I would like to develop a routine for. I have 4 pieces of equipment to work with and 30 minutes for the class. I would like to setup 4 stations so that we don't have to reconfigure the equipment each time.

These are the four pieces of equipment that we have..

1) Bowflex XTL Home Gym with Leg Ext/Lift

2) Pilate - Total Trainer 3500

3) Simple free weight bench with arm fly attachment

4) body solid total gym.... picture attached

Please give me some ideas for a well rounded workout for teens twice a week. And the setup for each piece... 

Russ


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## Phineas (Sep 2, 2010)

Do you have barbells, weight plates, and dumbbells?

How old are these students?

Of everything listed the only piece of equipment that caught my eye as useful was the bench.


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## Resolve (Sep 2, 2010)

Are you qualified or trained to be teaching such a class?


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## Gazhole (Sep 2, 2010)

Resolve said:


> Are you qualified or trained to be teaching such a class?



This was my question too.

Have you come up with any ideas of your own?

Not to be a dick, but i assume this is your job, and if you've been trained to instruct exercise i'm having a hard time working out why you need our help at all.


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## rubantin (Sep 2, 2010)

I am old and tired.... I have never had formal training. I worked out with a trainer in the Air Force-I am retired military. I am familiar with the safety issues. I am the certified history , science and religion teacher. However, I am not a certified trainer nor have I had training in this area. We are a small (emphasis on small) private school.

We have barbells and weight plates.


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## rubantin (Sep 2, 2010)

students are 13-15 years old


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## Phineas (Sep 2, 2010)

rubantin said:


> I am the certified history, *science and religion teacher*.



I imagine the science lectures are brief.


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## MDR (Sep 2, 2010)

rubantin said:


> I am old and tired.... I have never had formal training. I worked out with a trainer in the Air Force-I am retired military. I am familiar with the safety issues. I am the certified history , science and religion teacher. However, I am not a certified trainer nor have I had training in this area. We are a small (emphasis on small) private school.
> 
> We have barbells and weight plates.



This is the problem with putting unqualified teachers outside of their area of expertise.  At the last school I worked, they wanted me to teach ALL subjects, as opposed to focusing on Language Arts.  Spent years in school to earn a B.A. and M.A. directly applicable to my area of focus, and all of a sudden I need to teach seven subjects.  Insanity.

In any case, I feel for your situation, but I think you need to write your own lesson plans.  Good luck.


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## rubantin (Sep 2, 2010)

Actually science is what I have the most preps for.... I love teaching students to have open discussions on the issues.

Yes... I wish our school had the resources toproperly divide up the classes. Unfortunately my instructions for gym class were... Give them recess... as long as they are active that is all they need... I disagree and was able to get some ppl to donate weight equip... We are doing track/running on Mon/Wed and weight training on Tues/Thurs... So.. no I do not have the training... but I do not agree that all they need is recess.... and they are pumped to get into the room and pump some iron... I was just looking for some suggestions for routines... Anybody have some positive help or is there just criticism? I have a wife for that... So... if you can do something besides bitch, it would be appreciated.


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## Resolve (Sep 3, 2010)

Phineas said:


> I imagine the science lectures are brief.



Actually, it's not hard to study both science and religion; it's only when one's actual beliefs interfere or cause prejudice that an issue arises.

Example: my undergrad degree was in cellular and molecular biology, but I took several "religion" classes, such as "the cults of North America", "the History of Buddhism", etc.  I may not follow any of those religions, but it was still interesting to learn about them.

Rubantin.  Teach your boys first to do push-ups, wall-squats, chin-ups, and planks.  If you don't know the proper form for these, learn it.  And I mean real form - for example, push-ups should have shoulders back, head neutral and core taught, nose almost touching the ground at the bottom.

Once they perform those for a reasonable volume without too much difficulty, progress them to actual weighted movements.  I'd stick with bench, deadlifts, etc - things you can use your barbell for.  I'd minimize the machine work, saving it for the end of workouts, after several good compound movements have been performed.  Emphasize technique and form.


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## MDR (Sep 3, 2010)

rubantin said:


> I am old and tired.... I have never had formal training. I worked out with a trainer in the Air Force-I am retired military. I am familiar with the safety issues. I am the certified history , science and religion teacher. However, I am not a certified trainer nor have I had training in this area. We are a small (emphasis on small) private school.
> 
> We have barbells and weight plates.



Sounds to me like you are doing all the complaining...


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## Marat (Sep 3, 2010)

It doesn't sound like the resources are in place to teach them how to do the major lifts. 

I am a fan though of the movements that Resolve mentioned. Also, there's plenty of general physical preparedness (GPP) work that you can do with them. Very large 18-wheeler tires are available to be picked up for free. The students can flip those around the gym or dragged via chain links  




YouTube Video











Sleds are great too. 





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Along the lines of tires, you can hook up the very big tires (you can get 600lb tires for free as long as you can transport them) to a rope and have them stand in one place and try to drag the tire closer to them. 




YouTube Video











Brainstorm heavy things that they can carry around -- farmer's walks are fantastic. 




YouTube Video











You don't necessarily need to by the expensive equipment in the video, just have them carry heavy things. If you are inclined, you can even make your own atlas stones.





YouTube Video











Those machines that you currently have access to just take up space and don't serve much of a purpose -- perhaps you can sell them off and get a Prowler . It would probably be the best piece of equipment that you guys can own.





YouTube Video









 





YouTube Video











Along the lines of bodyweight exercises, TRX Straps are fantastic as well. 

Since it's a class, you can basically make relay races and stuff like that every now and then as well. Like you mentioned, you can set up stations where they flip tires or push the prowler or work with the TRX straps etc. 

Overall, there's no real use for those machines. You can really make a substantial improvement in their conditioning by just making them move around heavy objects - you don't need to get fancy.


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## rubantin (Sep 4, 2010)

*thanks*

Great ideas... tell me if I got it right...

1. Sell the equipment, except for the bench.

2. Maybe get a couple of benches and bells? 

3. Get some tires and rope.

4. We already got a lot of heavy stuff to move.

5. Normal exercises with good technique.

6. We are already doing sprints and distance running every other day.

7. I bitch too... must have learned from my wife... she is bitching about me being on this page right now...lol

Any other ideas?


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## davegmb (Sep 4, 2010)

Rippetoe who is well respected has a good short begginers routine that can be done by your students with limited equipment split into workout A and B

Workout A:
3 x 5 Squat
3 x 5 flat bench press
3 x 5 deadlift

Workout B:
3 x 5 Squat
3 x 5 standing barbell shoulder press
3 x 5 bent over row

Ill post the link as there is videos of the movements, hope this helps good luck 

Rippetoe Starting Strength 3 x 5 Beginner Program - Workout Program - DailyBurn


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## sharoncrunch (Sep 4, 2010)

rubantin said:


> I am a teacher at private school. I have 8 students that I would like to develop a routine for. I have 4 pieces of equipment to work with and 30 minutes for the class. I would like to setup 4 stations so that we don't have to reconfigure the equipment each time.
> 
> These are the four pieces of equipment that we have..
> 
> ...


 
My Master's is Exercise Phys/Kinesiology.  I think your set-up would be well suited for a circuit.  Just alternate cardio stations with weight stations.

To "grow" the area, add some boxes as stations for plyos/lateral training; mats for various abs; get creative.


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## rubantin (Sep 4, 2010)

sharoncrunch said:


> My Master's is Exercise Phys/Kinesiology.  I think your set-up would be well suited for a circuit.  Just alternate cardio stations with weight stations.
> 
> To "grow" the area, add some boxes as stations for plyos/lateral training; mats for various abs; get creative.



Appreciate your input... could you give me some specific ideas with the equipment I have?


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## sharoncrunch (Sep 5, 2010)

Resolve said:


> Actually, it's not hard to study both science and religion; it's only when one's actual beliefs interfere or cause prejudice that an issue arises.
> 
> Example: my undergrad degree was in cellular and molecular biology, but I took several "religion" classes, such as "the cults of North America", "the History of Buddhism", etc. I may not follow any of those religions, but it was still interesting to learn about them.
> 
> ...


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## sharoncrunch (Sep 5, 2010)

Resolve said:


> Actually, it's not hard to study both science and religion; it's only when one's actual beliefs interfere or cause prejudice that an issue arises.
> 
> Example: my undergrad degree was in cellular and molecular biology, but I took several "religion" classes, such as "the cults of North America", "the History of Buddhism", etc. I may not follow any of those religions, but it was still interesting to learn about them.
> 
> ...


 

Rubantin, I believe the above is extremely practical advice......  Start where you are



rubantin said:


> Appreciate your input... could you give me some specific ideas with the equipment I have?


 

Seems pretty simple:  Use the equipment for the exercises for which it was intended:   Lat Pull Downs; Triceps Kickbacks; Overhead Presses; Curls; etc....  

Your pieces of equipment can provide many exercises.  Just begin with the simple and progress to compound.

I still think circuiting through the pieces/exercises is actually the best idea in this case--- 

Emphasize proper form and technique to prevent injury and maximize results.


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## Marat (Sep 5, 2010)

My intent isn't to come off like an asshole or be combative but to be potentially helpful with my two cents. Additionally, I'll mention that I'm ignorant to how the private school system works. I do not know what you can or cannot do, especially in regard to how the school board/your limitations fall into place.

In terms of teaching/utilizing the major lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press):
 I do not think it would be responsible or safe for an (self-admitted) inexperienced coach to have a group of adolescents learning those lifts. That's not a slight against you, it's just the reality. The movements are inherently safe only when done properly. If it is within budget to bring somebody in who understands the lifts (that in itself is a tough thing to find without a discerning eye, just some guy from a local gym with some certification really isn't the way to go) then I certainly think that's a fantastic route to take.

That aside,

My P.E classes were just time wasters. Please be honest about the intent of the class -- if it is to simply have some sort of 'exercise' to fill 30 minutes and make the parents happy, then by all means, don't have them do GPP work.  Lat pulldowns etc are frankly not going to do anything for them in a physiological sense. Movements of that nature are just a notch ahead of useless, in regard to how they are being applied, and have the negative aspect of teaching the students improper programming. Proper programming, regardless of goals, will almost invariably consist of executing the squat, deadlift, and bench press. As mentioned above, it may not be reasonable to take the route of teaching the major lifts. Therefore, I believe that taking the route of 'general physical preparedness (GPP)' activity would be the way to go.  I'll concede that any activity is better than nothing but they might as well make the best out of their time if they are interested in working hard. 

Along the lines of working hard:
 If the students are given difficult, physical work and they are the kind of kids who don't even want to 'dress out', then again, don't take the GPP route. That's absolutely acceptable -- I wouldn't think that you are in a position , as this seems to be a mandatory general education setting and not a optional athletics program, to require the students to do work that is considered more strenuous than a typical P.E program. 

However, if it is feasible for the students to sweat (my high school had no showers and we just went to our next class sweaty due to Florida heat -- it was miserable) and they are interested in working hard and you are interested in actually contributing to noticeably increase in their performance, I'd highly recommend basing the program (school board permitting) around tire pulls/drags and moving around heavy objects via farmer's walks, sleds etc. It doesn't really take much know-how to execute. You don't have to actually go out and purchase expensive equipment (the Prowler), that was just food for thought. To reiterate, this will obviously take some effort on your end (you'd need to locate a tire disposable place -- they are in every city but it's still time and energy, and you or the school budget would need to invest in some chains or ropes and hooks to set everything up) and of course, it's completely reasonable if you do not want to go through that effort. It's not a knock against you if you don't want to set all that up, it's perfectly understandable. 

I understand you need to work within your limitations. Whether or not you want to put in the off-the-clock effort to set up a proper GPP program is entirely your business and is not something for us to judge. 

However, my primarily goal is to make you aware that utilizing the machine circuits will NOT really contribute to improving their health. It's just a lateral step and, frankly, they are probably more likely to get hurt than if you were to read Starting Strength and then try to coach them the lifts. You're dealing with machines that have weighted pulley systems that can easily snap wildly if the students let go prematurely and can easily cause broken fingers if the students are not careful where they put their hands. I highly urge against using those machines. 

If the stars and moons align and after the school board and the effort you are willing to put is all considered and you have the option of machine circuits vs GPP, I highly, highly urge the GPP route. 

If it boils down to the GPP route not being available (again, that's entirely possible and reasonable), I recommend you ditch the machines and play dodgeball or foursquare  or something.

EDIT: oh, I also think the bodyweight exercises (wall sits, push ups, etc) are a great idea.


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## rubantin (Sep 6, 2010)

sharoncrunch said:


> Rubantin, I believe the above is extremely practical advice......  Start where you are
> 
> I still think circuiting through the pieces/exercises is actually the best idea in this case---
> 
> Emphasize proper form and technique to prevent injury and maximize results.



That was one of my main questions... I was looking for someone that might be familiar with the equipment I have... I am not familiar with the equipment except for the weight bench. I am needing suggestions as to what exercises each of the pieces of equipment would be best for, so I do not have to reconfigure each time and can just set them up as stations...


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## Merkaba (Sep 6, 2010)

Phineas said:


> I imagine the science lectures are brief.



haha...yea...how do you do this?


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## Merkaba (Sep 6, 2010)

rubantin said:


> I am a teacher at  private school. I have 8 students that I would like to develop a routine for. I have 4 pieces of equipment to work with and 30 minutes for the class. I would like to setup 4 stations so that we don't have to reconfigure the equipment each time.
> 
> These are the four pieces of equipment that we have..
> 
> ...



Sell them all except for the bench and take that $100 bucks and go buy some dumbbells.  Then teach squats, bent over rows, one armed rows, military presses, lunges, split squats, pushups, bench press, shoulder raises, curls, deadlifts, romanians, planks, Sho....Shoul.....zzzz......zzzzzzz.......zzzzz


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