Exhibit: Activity Sheets for Weight Training
Benchmark: Personal Management
Skills: P105: Use timelines, document steps you take, and evaluate your results in a problem solving process. 

    I have taken Weight Training both my freshman and senior years of high school and have learned a lot about working out my body. Since the building of the new weight room it has been easier to pinpoint exactly what muscles I use when I use certain machines because of the variety and also the charts explaining each exercise and what it works. I have learned a lot through the weight training program and I am grateful for the designated time each day to workout.

    Since the new weight room was built it is much easier to figure out how to work all of the different machines and to know what muscle you are working. There are charts on the side of each individual machine that explains each of the exercises and each muscle worked. This is extremely helpful when it comes to filling out your weekly activity sheet. Each week you have to fill out the activity sheet. Every day you fill out what type of exercise you did, cardio or strength training, how many repetitions you did, and at what weight the machine was set at. There are different criteria to be met for each student. But solely you are put into one of three categories in season athlete, out-of-season athlete, and non-athlete. Also, at the top of the activity sheet you had to record what category you fit into, your weight that week, the date, and your name.

    Throughout my time in weight training I got to record and thus see how I improved my workout each week. By recording what I did every day I was able to see exactly what I was gaining and also what I needed to work on more often. Senior year I considered myself a non-athlete because I wasn’t on any of the school sports teams that year. Thus I was required to have to days dedicated to cardio and two days dedicated to strength training. Then I also got one constant movement day when I could anything I wanted to do. 

    By having to fill out my specific workout each day and look at the overview I was able to observe my progress. I was able to see how my weight differed each week and also the difference and progression of intensity in my workouts each week as I grew stronger. This experience of having to record each action and my personal information will be very beneficial to me in my future career and adult life. I will have to record a multitude of information for my career in music therapy. I will have to record differences in my patient from each session and make sure to be very detailed. My records will sometimes be the only way of determining if the patient is making any progress and my detailed notes in weight training have helped prepare me to be very detailed and to observe progress over time. My time in weight training has also helped prepare me for my adult life simply by helping me learn how to work out my body. Now I know how to use the machines in a gym and how to work specific areas of my body. I also will be prepared for any fitness classes I may need to take in college. For example, one of my friends who previously attended Hanover-Horton High School and who is now in college actually had to go workout for a class and was told to record his workout. The teacher was concerned that students weren’t going to know how to do this but since he had to do this all throughout high school he was completely prepared. I am grateful for my time in the high school weight training program and for the valuable knowledge and skills I have gained that I will use in both my future career and young adult life.