Published

Making moves towards more exercise for school pupils

Happy, active school children

So concerned is fitness guru Joe Wicks, a former teaching assistant, about the decline in the number of hours dedicated to PE and exercise in schools that he is taking matters into his own hands and leading free HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) sessions live on YouTube every morning for five days from Monday 11 September to Friday 15 September. The aim is to get 1 million pupils working out in schools across the world. "Kids are not doing enough exercise", he says "as soon as they get home it's just TV and iPads. You have to get that 15 minutes of exercise in somewhere".

Sue Wilkinson, the Chief Executive of the Association for Physical Education says "Anything that increases physical activity we would welcome", however she also points out that "one size doesn't fit all", "some kids like doing specific exercises, others would, forgive the pun, run a mile".

A residential activity break at PGL can give young people the opportunity to try a wide range of activities that they might not otherwise have the chance to experience. Whether it be mountain biking, canoeing, climbing or fencing, it can be the introduction to a lifelong passion; PGL Sponsored Athlete, Lizzie Warner was introduced to archery because her brother tried it at PGL! At the very least, it can be the realisation that being active is also FUN!

Find out more about a Multi-Activity school trip for your primary or secondary school group.

See two of Joe's HIIT workouts:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhFmi_OaBG4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCL4eavNUbE