6 reasons why functional fitness should be included in the Primary School PE Curriculum

“Let’s vote on what we want to do in P.E. today, dodgeball or CrossFit?”[1] Eight or nine times out of ten, the class would vote in favour of CrossFit. But why? As a primary school teacher for ten years, I came across a wide variety of children — those with physical disabilities, those with neurodevelopmental disorders, those who already struggled with their mental health and well-being, and those who struggled to excel in the classroom. CrossFit was a session where all children could participate without waiting for their turn or feeling like anyone was watching or judging them! It also helps that I do CrossFit and am a CrossFit coach too, having specialised in running classes for children and teenagers for a few years now.

I have gained a lot from CrossFit and would love to see it being integrated into schools, here are my 6 reasons why it should be included in the primary school P.E. curriculum:

1.Covers a range of movement with very little equipment needed

It was quickly noticeable that P.E. lessons didn’t provide enough range of motion or even a lot of movement throughout. Children were easily spending more than half the lesson standing still. In a CrossFit functional fitness session, everyone would keep moving and be busy. Movements would include running, jumping, skipping, lunges, squats, push ups, sit ups, and many others. One my class’ favourites was the burpee and yes, chest to the floor every time! You’ll notice all of these are bodyweight movements with little or no equipment, apart from skipping ropes, and children were happy to bring in theirs from home when given enough prior notice.

An example of a workout my classed loved was:

For time:

30 burpees

21 air squats, 21 push ups, 21 sit ups

Then,

15 air squats, 15 push ups, 15 sit ups

Then,

9 air squats, 9 push ups, 9 sit ups

then,

30 burpees.

2. Open to all learners

“Can everyone please write a sentence with an adjective?” A common phrase within the classroom. “Can everyone go score a goal?” Not a common phrase in a P.E. lesson because not everyone will be capable of it. But in a CrossFit P.E. lesson, you can call out, “Everyone show me a push up!” What does that look like? Well, some will be on their knees, others will start in the top of a plank position. Some will get their chests to the floor, and a few will only go halfway, but everyone has done a push up. In my example of the sentence with an adjective, some children will use a commonly used word, others will use a WOW word, but everyone will have written a sentence using an adjective. Similarly, CrossFit is very easy to differentiate for different ability levels. In CrossFit, this is called scaling and the goal is that they will get just as much out of the session as the child who has done the prescribed workout.

3. An inclusive option for children with physical impairments.

I had colleagues who taught children with physical impairments, and I watched them struggle to make lessons inclusive. The the child was often resigned to being a scorekeeper or evaluating performances.

If the P.E. focus for the half-term is football, what is the child in a wheelchair meant to do? CrossFit has made strides in becoming an inclusive sport. The CrossFit Open[2] is now open to all. There are various divisions that individuals with physical impairments can enter depending on their ability level.

CrossFit can provide a unique and empowering experience for children with physical impairments in a school setting by changing the feeling of being excluded to being included. Workouts can be adapted to meet the needs of each individual, regardless of their ability level. For example, a child in a wheelchair can perform modified push-ups such as by pushing their hands against a wall or use a resistance band for modified pull-ups without having to leave their wheel chair.

In CrossFit, every child can participate in the same workout and feel included in the class. By providing a fun and challenging workout, it can help children with physical impairments build confidence, strength, and overall fitness. As an inclusive physical education option, CrossFit can help create a positive and empowering experience for all students, regardless of their physical abilities.

4. Measurable and repeatable

The Key Stage 1 National Curriculum for England states:

• Master basic movements including running, jumping, throwing and catching, as well as developing balance, agility and coordination, and begin to apply these in a range of activities.

The Key State 2 National Curriculum for England states:

• Develop flexibility, strength, technique, control and balance.

• Compare their performances with previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best.[3]

Schools are all about measuring progress. But how often can a child really tell that they are making progress? They are taught addition, and then for the rest of their school life, they are given harder and more complicated calculations to do. CrossFit works the same, but a child is able to track their progress for themselves. In CrossFit movements are described as being ‘measurable and repeatable’.

“Mr Forbes, I’ve managed to do a full push-up! And, I did 3 of them!” The child is amazed by their ability, measurable because they can physically see their progress and repeatable because they did 3 reps. They will continue to increase that number in the following weeks, or I might challenge them to repeat those 3 reps three more times, making sure to focus on the quality of the movement. If we look at the second of the KS2 objectives, on a weekly basis we can measure performance, demonstrate improvement, and keep a note of personal bests. I might say to the class, having completed the workout I described earlier, “Make a note of your score and in three weeks you will repeat this and see where we have improved.”

Looking back at the objectives, we can measure mastery of basic movements. Maybe they haven’t gone faster, but now go deeper into their squat and lower in their push up. They have developed strength, technique, and control.

5. The potential benefits of CrossFit for children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Exercise has been shown to improve neuro-behavioural functions, making it an effective way to reduce symptoms of ADHD and enhance executive function performance[4]. Despite not yet being recognised as an alternative treatment for children with neurodevelopmental disorders, evidence suggests that it can have a positive impact on executive dysfunction[5], which is commonly experienced by children with conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyspraxia, and dyslexia. Executive function refers to a set of cognitive behaviours responsible for attention, working memory, time management, planning, reasoning, and impulse control, all of which are crucial for children in school, but particularly challenging for those with neurodevelopmental disorders. By incorporating CrossFit into their routine, children with these conditions can improve their overall health and well-being while also developing essential skills to help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.

6. It builds confidence, while having fun

“Today we will be doing burpees,” and groans ring around the hall. “But we will work on going upside down,” and the groans change to excited chatter. The previous week, I’d demonstrated 30 unbroken handstand pushups, and now the whole class wanted to learn how to do them. They had also been begging me to persuade the head teacher to install a pull up bar in the hall after I’d shown them a video on me performing bar muscle-ups. I can’t remember if I ever got around to asking, but if I did, I would definitely have received a look of, “You’re crazy, we haven’t got the budget for that!”

The quiet students in class would really come out of their shells during these lessons. Sessions were filled with laughter, high fives, and pats on the back when their peers improved or accomplished a movement that they had been working on for a few weeks. The sense of achievement from a CrossFit lesson would carry over into the next lesson, where children were more engaged and felt capable of consuming and applying new and previous knowledge. The impact it had on working memory, which you can only take my word for, was exceptional.

I truly believe that the self-esteem boost that these sessions gave the children, and the fun they had during them (yes, burpees can be enjoyable, especially when they involve jumping over a friend) had more of a positive impact than any other P.E. activity we did. Of course, it’s important to choose the right time of day for these lessons and hope that the classroom windows are open wide, as the smell of sweat can be overpowering! As many teachers know, children can become smelly quite easily.

Through the fun we had, I always to foster a love of physical activity that students don’t typically get from the average P.E. lesson. By incorporating engaging CrossFit exercises into physical education programmes, I believe that children are more likely to develop a lifelong love of physical activity.

P.S. I was never really meant to be doing CrossFit, but I was always a little bit of a rebel and liked to do my own thing a lot of the time!

……………….

Note for teachers

As a qualified CrossFit coach, I was able to ensure workouts were age-appropriate, carefully supervised, and designed with safety in mind. For this type of activity, it is essential that teachers are appropriately trained and have the knowledge to make modifications and adaptations that may be necessary for different ability levels and needs. CrossFit offers courses for educators, including one specifically targeted at coaching kids.

……………….

Footnotes

[1] What is CrossFit?

CrossFit was founded in 2001 and can be used to accomplish any goal, from improved health to better performance. CrossFit is so effective it may feel like magic, but in truth, it’s a formula — a formula that works. It’s the formula for everything we do, from forging elite fitness to preventing and reversing chronic disease. It’s the inputs that give us the outcomes, the results that have revolutionized an industry and changed millions of lives for the better.

https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit/ 2023

[2] The CrossFit Open is a worldwide competition. A workout is released weekly for 3 weeks, and anyone can enter, regardless of age or disability, new to the sport or have been doing it for 20 years.

[3]https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/239040/PRIMARY_national_curriculum_-_Physical_education.pdf

[4] Mehren et al. 2020 Physical Exercise In Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder — Evidence and Implications for the treatment of Borderline Personality Disorder. Borderline Personality Disorder and Emotion Disregulation 7, 1

[5] Ludyga et al. 2021 How Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders can Benefit from the Neuro-cognitive Effects of Exercise. Neuroscience and Biobehavioural Reviews 127, 514–519