You are hereMeet Shane Countryman, my Personal Fitness Guru
Meet Shane Countryman, my Personal Fitness Guru
Shane and I are cousins. But it's really closer than that. Shane, his brother Chase and I grew up separated by only a moderate sized field with a small cottage between us. With us being relatively close in age, we grew up together. Our summer days started usually with a short Nintendo session, some G.I. Joe battles, then a swim in the lake. After the swim, it was whatever sport was in season at the time, or the old fallback, basketball. Lunch would follow, then another crack at the field with baseball, football, or to the driveway basketball court for a couple hours. At this point it was usually time for a freezer-pop break and some more nintendo. Following nintendo and before dinner we usually had time for some more outdoor sport and a swim. Dessert for dinner was almost always basketball in the driveway under the solo floodlight until one of the sets of parents decided it was bed time. The basketball was always a highlight for us, as we'd re-enact whatever big games or playoff series that were happening at the time, or we'd go into classics mode, rewriting old outcomes, such as making the Celtics win the '87 finals. As we got older, my sister married and her husband Kirk became a part of the basketball crew, leading to many hotly contested 2 on 2 games usually pitting Kirk and myself against Shane and Chase. Our self-filmed slam dunk contest, Kirk's turn-around huge-step-back jumper, Shane's patented 1-handed running floater, Chase's behind the back, negative angle bank shot and the LaPhonso Ellis Day will always have a golden place in my memory.
With that heavy sports background, Shane stayed on that course and proceeded to choose a career in physical education. I trust Shane and his insight implicitly. This is the first of a series of interviews in which I'll be picking his brain for help for the group.
My questions are in bold, followed by his responses. I hope you, the reader, find this as insightful and useful as I do.
Could you give us a little background on your education level and why you picked the field and concentration that you're in?
I've always told people, when asked of course, that the reason I was drawn toward Physical Education is because being Indiana Jones didn't pay enough. I've always loved being active and competing. I know you can attest to that...Chase and I made/still make everything a competition. PE and Coaching were ways I could continue to do both of those things and make a living. Things quickly changed when I actually started to get close to teaching however. I saw the infrastructure of school, a curriculum, and how PE had become a way for former jocks and bitter never-were jocks to relive high school vicariously through their schools top student athletes. Or at least that was my experience in my late methods classes at SUNY Brockport. But, when I started teaching at a middle school in the sandhills of North Carolina, the PE teacher pendulum had swung in the complete other direction. I was one of seven PE teachers at my school, all of the other six were completely broken, apathetic, spiritless shells of their former selves. It's was horrifying. In both of those scenarios the people that were being adversely impacted the most were the students. They were either being exploited or neglected, no one was getting their needs meet. After about a month of living in this wasteland of middle aged indifference, the reason why I wanted to be a Physical Educator became clearly defined: I wanted to give each of my students a toolbox of knowledge that they could use throughout life that would help them accomplish anything they wanted. From developing their own personal wellness to picking up a livelong love of playing tennis or hiking. I think this is totally possible because, unlike other classes in a middle school/high school setting, a PE or sport team type situation is a much closer microcosm of actual life.
As far as credentials go: BS in Physical Education from SUNY Brockport and a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from SUNY Potsdam. State Teaching Certificates in NY and NC. And have coached 20 interscholastic sports teams.
What is the biggest problem that you see facing the physical health of your students today?
I'd have to say disinterest is a major problem with kids and their families. I see a lot of kids in PE that really are simply not interested in moving or being active. It's seems to me that they would much rather watch television. But, to be honest, it's starting to change already with those kids that are disinterested (after 3 weeks of school). Some you can tell have never been given the opportunity to try games or any kind of "playing" that allows them to be active. When they get introduced to these type of games they love it. I have a few heavy kids in my K and 1 classes that love running and moving, the problem now shifts from not be interested to not being in shape or having any type of cardiovascular fitness. But I think that the latter problem is much easier to fix than trying to get the kids to want to move.
Another, perhaps equal, problem is the diet. Both lunches coming from home and those provided by the school. I know the State has nutritional standards that each school cafeteria has to meet, but at the high school for example, they can choose to eat pizza everyday. That's not getting it done. You'd be shocked if you saw the lunches some of these kids bring in. Actually lunch from a second grader I had last year: Two huge PB&J sandwiches, a juice box and regular soda can, 5 (yes 5) chocolate Kudos bars, a sandwich bag bulging with potato chips, and another sandwich bag stretched to the ultimate max with gummi worms. Parents need to become more informed about nutrition and they have to develop good eating habits for their children. It's much to easy to pack a child a lunch with items that are entirely processed or packaged. I realize that it's OK to do that sometime, but some of these kids are getting that type of lunch everyday of the week
That's a pretty serious lunch. As a parent with kids myself, it's often quite a struggle, especially with my teenager, to get them to pursue a good lunch. My son's school lunches are pretty good actually, and pizza isn't an everyday choice, but it's still a school lunch. There's a parallel that I can draw here to my wife and myself. Amy and I just used to meet somewhere for lunch every day, with Wendy's being the go-to place.. I'd usually get a salad, thinking that it was a healthy choice, but it really wasn't, once the dressing is added, it's a calorie bomb. Now we're making a concerted effort to make brown bag lunches. We still meet for lunch every day, but now I'll have a ham sandwich (on those Arnold Sandwich Thins breads, they're awesome, I get the whole wheat one, really good) with some lettuce, a slice of cheese, a pickle and some hot peppers, and the Aldi's light mayo, which is tasty. I'll then add a serving of potato chips, usually the baked lays or pringles, and some cauliflower or carrots or something. I'm eating better, and eating much less. I'm still feeling full, though. It's been really nice eating like this, honestly.
When working with your students, do you tailor any programs to them, based on your observations about their fitness?
I'm still trying hard to get each and every kid the attention they need, but I struggle with trying for the greater good also. Like any group of people, the fitness levels of any particular class is diverse. With that in mind, I try to plan each lesson around a theme or skill I need to cover and I make the activity dynamic. By that I mean the activity can extend upward for the more fit or skilled student and, likewise, students who may not have a great foundation can work at a more rudimentary level. My goal is that each student will be challenged in each lesson but also will have opportunities for success.
For students who have extensive wellness needs I assign "homework" task. But in order for these to be successful, a trust must be built between the student and myself. The assignments are merely suggestions or challenges given to the students that are direct with clearly defined goals. For example: "Hey Johnny, I've noticed that you've been walking less in our warm-up. Have you been running at home after school?"....Johnny,"Not really"...."Oh, I bet if you started running for 5 minutes at home, only walking when you have to, you could pass the mile next month." The trust I mentioned before comes into play during the actual execution of the task. The student needs to trust that I actually believe they can acheive the goal and I trust that they do the suggested task.
The fun (and difficulty) comes in finding a carrot to dangle for each student. They're all different. The mile example may not work for every kid. It's been my experience that our Presidential Fitness Test works as a nice goal and the appeal of a better appearance (sadly, some people are remarkably insecure).
So do you see more value in setting smaller, intermediary goals, or larger ones? For example, our group's current goal is to compete in and finish the Great Race here in Auburn. To get to that goal, though, I have set myself smaller goals before then, goals like getting to 300 pounds by New Year's (currently at 339, down from 365 about 6 weeks ago). I've also got fitness-based goals too, like being able to take a 20 minute run with no stops, 45 crunches in a minute, and things of that nature.
Goal setting is a vastly overlooked part of any weight loss/fitness building strategy. Ultimately the ways you set and achieve goals is a personal preference, many ways can be successful as long as the goals are being accomplished. I, personally, have found your strategy the most likely to be achieved. A large main goal on top of a pyramid of smaller (no less important) goals is a great way to build confidence and to motivated.
Coming out of high school I had zero organizational skills. I've worked hard, with the help of my wife, to develop some organizational skills and habits that help in my goal setting/achieving. One thing that has helped me tremendously is the book "Eat That Frog" by Brian Tracy. It's a short, easy read (even better...it's on my iPod. I checked out the audiobook form from the Flower Memorial Library). If you're unfamiliar with the premise, Mark Twain once said that if you have to eat a live frog each day it'd be better to eat it first thing, then you could go through the day knowing that that was the worst thing that would happen all day. "Eat That Frog" has become a silly little matra I remind myself of each morning. I go right for the task that is the biggest, hardest, and most beneficial to my life. After that the rest of the day is great! This strategy works well with my relationship with running. I hate running. Hate it. But no one can argue about it's benefit to wellness, fitness, and one's life longevity. Running is the single best thing you can do to develop (or maintain) a high line of physical fitness.
I also recommend list making. Each day I have a small list folded in my pocket. It's a great way to see progress where progress can be difficult to distinguish. Plus, the little morale boost you get from crossing off that task can help get you through on a downer day.
Until you've said it, I haven't seen list making as a valuable entity for this. It was suggested to me by a couple members of the group, and I didn't give it all the thought it deserves. That's a valuable technique, it appears. Back to goals and training, what course would you propose for a guy like myself? I've got the eating under control for now, I think, and it's time for me to start seriously adding a workout of some kind. How can people set their own milestones? We have a pretty diverse group here with AtOurPace, is there any one thing we could all use as a starting point? Not all of us have a large amount of weight to lose. We have some people where just eating better isn't going to produce that much of a result. Where do people in this position start?
Cardio, Cardio, Cardio. Running is the best, ellipticals are great, stationary (or actually) biking is good, and walking is OK. A simple test to begin with is to find how long you can jog for without stopping. Be sure to measure (in a way you can continue to measure consistently) the time, pace, and distance. For example, Johnny can run for 3 min., 7 blocks (or .25 of a mile, or any constant distance), at a moderate pace (or 80-100 beat per minute*). The units used to measure need to stay the same for each part, you want to minimize the variables. Take that base and develop a few steps of smaller, challenging but achievable goals. The following is very simple example using the Johnny base test:
Base: 3 min. 7 blocks(or .25 mile) moderate pace
Week 1: 4 min.
week 2: .7 block loop (14 blocks or .5 mile)
week 3: 4 min. moderate/fast pace
- notice the first couple weeks we only changed one variable, then we progressed to changing two variables, etc...
Eventually, you like to set goals like run a mile in under 9 mins. Or run for 30 min. in your Target Heart Rate Zone (THR)*.
As for weight training, at first I would look to training the larger muscle groups. The best are your quads and glutes. Because these muscles are so big, strong ones attack calories like an unstoppable Rebel force. They become very helpful in burning calories that aid in weight loss. For those who may struggle with running because of their physical size, working out in the pool is a great alternative. Great on the joints, it adds resistance, and it's something you can do in the winter. Just walking the pool or doing water aerobics have excellent benefit potential.
*- http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/bl_THR.htm
This is the end of the first interview. I will be following up with Shane in the future with more questions about weight training, cardio, stretching, and anything I can think of that would be valuable. If anyone would like submit any questions to Shane, you can use the forum labeled 'The Gym'. I'll be scanning that forum for interview questions, and who knows, maybe Shane himself will be scanning it and replying right there himself. I'd like to end with a 'thank you' to Shane from myself and the entire group.
Now it's time for me to go write a list...
