Exercise & Fitness

BENEFITS

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• Improve attention, working memory, and processing speed, which support learning in subjects like math and reading.

 

• Are linked with higher grades, better test performance, and improved academic achievement when students get at least about 60–90 minutes of moderate‑to‑vigorous activity per week in school settings.

 

• Increase on‑task behavior, focus, and participation after activity breaks or active lessons, leading to more effective use of instructional time.

 

• Improve attendance and reduce disruptive behavior, which are both strongly associated with higher academic performance over time.

 

• Reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression and improve mood and self‑esteem, which support motivation, persistence, and willingness to tackle challenging academic work.

 

• Help students feel more confident and “ready to learn,” including improved confidence in specific areas such as mathematics.

 

• Enhance overall physical health (cardiorespiratory fitness, healthy weight, bone strength), reducing illness and fatigue that interfere with learning.

 

• Build lifelong health habits associated with better long‑term educational attainment and reduced risk of chronic disease that can disrupt schooling. link

 

 

 

HOW TO

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• Use a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) model with five coordinated components: quality PE, activity during school, before/after-school opportunities, staff involvement, and family/community engagement.

 

• Aim for students to accumulate at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily across these components, with PE as the foundation and classroom and after-school activities adding additional minutes.

 

• Align PE curriculum with national standards that emphasize physically literate students who demonstrate competency in motor skills, knowledge, and fitness concepts.

 

• Ensure PE delivers substantial moderate-to-vigorous activity time and explicit fitness instruction (aerobic endurance, strength, flexibility).

 

• Integrate physically active lessons (e.g., math on the move, vocabulary relays, station rotations with movement) that pair content learning with structured activity, especially in elementary and early middle school.

 

• Meta-analyses show physically active lessons produce large increases in in-lesson physical activity and small but significant gains in educational outcomes and time-on-task, particularly without detracting from core instructional time.

 

• Use short “activity breaks” or brain boosters (3–10 minutes of brisk movement) in homeroom, transitions, or long blocks, which experimental studies link to improved attention, on-task behavior, and small gains in academic performance.

 

• Provide structured before- and after-school programs (walking clubs, intramurals, fitness clubs) that add 60–120 minutes of weekly activity; multicomponent interventions with such elements show modest improvements in numeracy and reading. link

 

 

 

CHALLENGES

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• Administrators, teachers, and students often view physical activity as competing with academic time.

 

• PE minutes are frequently squeezed by test preparation, assemblies, remediation, and schedule changes, making it difficult to provide the frequency and duration needed to reach 60 minutes of daily activity.

 

• Many schools report institutional barriers such as inadequate indoor/outdoor space, limited equipment, overcrowded classes, and insufficient funding to support quality PE or after-school programs.

• Classroom and PE teachers may lack specific training, confidence, or skills to implement active lessons, CSPAP-style initiatives, or inclusive activity for diverse learners.

 

• Competing demands, limited planning time, and a perception that PA is a lower priority than core academics reduce enthusiasm for and consistency of implementation.

 

• School culture and leadership priorities strongly influence whether PE and PA are valued; when physical education is positioned as nonessential, it receives less schedule time, budget, and support.

 

• Students report barriers such as lack of choice, controlling teaching styles, large classes, and activities that privilege athletic students, which can undermine motivation and reduce participation, especially among inactive or marginalized youth. Link

 

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

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• Do not use exercise as punishment (e.g., push-ups or laps for misbehavior), which is widely identified as an inappropriate practice that makes students associate movement with shame and control.

 

• Do not tolerate bullying, teasing, or public comparison of bodies or performance (e.g., posting mile times, ranking fitness test scores), which is linked to truancy, discipline problems, and long-term avoidance of PE.

 

• Do not rely on outdated, high-risk, or exclusionary activities (e.g., traditional dodgeball, mass calisthenics with no form instruction, sit-up-heavy routines) that offer little skill learning and can humiliate or injure less-skilled students.

 

• Do not design programs around narrow performance benchmarks (e.g., mandatory 10-minute mile for all) without differentiation, which can demotivate most students and ignore developmental and ability differences.

 

• Do not treat PE as random games without a standards-based curriculum focused on skills, fitness knowledge, and lifelong activity habits; “roll out the ball” approaches are a common criticism of ineffective PE.

 

• Do not use fitness tests as high-stakes grades or gatekeeping; tests should be diagnostic tools for goal setting and progress, not pass/fail hurdles or public spectacles.

 

• Do not cut or marginalize PE and activity time to “protect” academics; this is specifically cautioned against in policy discussions because it undermines both health and learning.

 

• Do not assign untrained or unwilling staff to run PE or fitness programs simply to cover the schedule; lack of content knowledge contributes to unsafe exercises, poor progression, and low engagement.

 

• Do not skip ongoing professional learning and reflection; experienced PE teachers describe “thinking they knew everything” and stopping reading/reflecting as major long-term mistakes. Link