According to Web MD, Functional Fitness is about strengthening your body to handle real-life situations. Instead of going to the gym today, I did my fitness activity at work.
The preschool I work at was closed last week; today was the first day back. Since I work with two year olds, they have very short memories. Several of them had forgotten exactly what school was all about, including one of the special needs boys. After his mom left, he spent his time walking around and crying. He did NOT want to be there!
This boy likes to jump, and he likes it even better if I boost him up so he can do a gigantic "bunny hop". I decided to see what I could do to improve his mood by putting my hands around his waist, lifting him up about a foot, then bringing him back down. He kept crying, but not quite as loudly. I did it several more times, lifting him up a bit higher each time. He stopped crying and started smiling.
I treated the activity like squats at the gym. This boy weighs about 30 pounds, so it was a great mini-workout. After a couple of minutes I was quite tired, and he was ready to move on to another activitiy.
You're wonderful, Kathy! That's rewarding work, but very exhausting. Good for you for getting a good work-out.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good way to look at the situation and turn it into something positive.
ReplyDeleteLove it! Perfect exercise.
ReplyDeleteawww...cute! and good for both of you!
ReplyDeleteI shall now begin singing "Functional fitness!" whenever my kids jump on my back and ask for a ride.
ReplyDelete