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Gym class...time of your life or necessary evil?

Gym classes:

  • Total voters
    85
I

iMacZealot

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Mar 11, 2005
2,237
3
For high school students, what's your gym class like? For you old folk, what were your gym classes like?

This is the first time I've had gym class in almost a year. Through grade school, my gym teacher just put out a soccer ball and let us go nuts. My middle school teacher was very nice to me. Being the runt of the class, she looked out for me, and I really appreciated that. I also realised that she really got me into the habit of running daily-- it's a good exercise.

Right now, I'm in "Health & Fitness", and it's pretty much a classroom course four days a week with watered-down misinformation of health. The other one day per week is the fitness part of the course, which basically means I attempt to play frisbee with seven meatheads and/or stoners while the girls converse in the center of the field. When I can afford the loss of points, I will "forget" my gym clothes, which means I can't participate, but I'll convince my teacher to let me get some homework done for her class. Occasionally, they'll fold all of the health classes of the period into one for fitness, making it a total of about 70 kids, letting us do whatever we want while they teacher-chat. I decided to just show up for roll call and then cut class today, since we were on "street-surfing" boards, and a permission slip was required, but I forgot mine, which meant that I would've sat on a bench for 70 minutes. I got more exercise walking around campus, at least, and none of the teachers even noticed I left.

So, for me, gym class is a necessary evil.
 
Never had gym class in high school, played sports year round. However, I did enjoy the running and games and such in middle school, good time. Health was lame though, it's always some coach that teaches it who really doesn't care about the class and only pays attention to whichever team he happens to coach; makes for an easy A though, especially if your on any of the sports teams.

And this wouldn't be a poll if someone didn't think there needed to be another option. So, in that spirit, I think we need a "It was aight" option.
 
I have really bad balance problems. So bad, I actually got a note from the coaches at the school, saying "We feel it would be in the best interest of yourself and the student body if you were to not participate in the Physical Education class. Therefore, we have placed you in Health Education, and we think you will enjoy it much more then Phys. Ed."

So now I sit in a classroom, learning about the human anatomy 3 days a week.:eek:
 
Depends on what we focused on, if it was the 'health' course part of gym, it's useless, if it's something like dodgeball it can be pretty fun, imo.
 
I agree it's important to stay active, but in all but one of my experiences, my gym teachers were bad teachers and didn't care, and the all-powerful alpha-male always alters the culture in gym class to something that is always unfavourable to me.
 
I loved gym class in HS (my college didn't offer any classes). You had to take at least one "PE" type class in HS when I went. It was a health and fitness class with some activity and some other stuff I've long forgot (class type learning; nutrition, etc). I ended up taking about 7 or so PE classes during HS. I took advanced weight training with the Football team (I was about the only one not playing FB or wrestling) at least 3 or 4 times and team sports (mostly playing basketball and volleyball) the other 3 or 4 times.

Fast forward to my last year in college and I got into running. I've done a few 24hr adventure races, some 10K's and even a 50K. It's been a blast and I think those classes in HS helped my love of sports grow. Now I even own a small company producing endurance events in the Southeast United States. It's called Checkpoint Adventures.
 
PE Class as it was in my high school was horrible. At least thats the way i saw it. I'm not that coordinated, and as such, I didn't have much luck with the sports. The other gentlemen were very competitive and uncooperative.

That being said, I love going out and playing sports, if its "just for fun."

And actually, reflecting back, since entering University, I miss having the hour to go outside and get some exercise. I should see if I can get involved with something at the U.
 
Time of my life when we played baseball. I couldn't hit for beans but they'd let me pitch for both sides because I could actually get the ball over the plate.
 
IN my HS we have options offered and for all 4 semester i took weight training and just stood on the eliptical machine for 30 minutes and listen to my ipod.... that was jr year...:D Freshmen for one semester i took swimming (we have an indoor pool) which wasn't as bad... all we had to do was go in the pool, not even get our hair wet...we just had to be moving so you could use a kick board, walk, swim, dive etc. I did a few dives....then "swallowed" a lot of water and sat for a few minutes towards the end of class to dry off somewhat i mean catch my breath. I really liked that teacher, only normaly gym teacher at my HS. She though scuba outside of class i asked her about it cause i always want to get certerfied. Only negative was i had gym second period.. so it was kinda early to swim... i would get up get dressed, go to class, then change again into a bathing suit, then change again...
One year during a hockey game, ( i played for my HS team -only its conceder a club) i got slashed with a stick really bad and could barely move my wrist, it hurt so much taking off my pads... so the next morning i went to have it looked it was only sprained.. the doc gave me a note for gym to be excused. I gave it to my teacher and he was like what happend.. i was like i got slashed in my game last night..and he acted surprised that i played hockey and gave me an attitude about it...what a donkey
I wish we could have played floor hockey but whatever... i'm over it
 
Not a great experience for me - although it's been like 35 years since I was there. LOL

Sports was never my thing, and it seemed like Gym was all about the kids who were good at sports, playing together, and making fun of those of us who weren't blessed with those skills...

Maybe kids are more sensitive today, but "back in the day", I remember hating it...
 
Put me in the nonexistent "It was alright" category. Our school district high-schools run on accelerated block scheduling so that you only have 4 periods a day instead of 7-8 in middle school. Some classes are 18 or 9 weeks long. Health and PE are two separate things though so I took the health class last 9 weeks and I am in PE for these last 9 weeks of school. During our gym period we listen to the first announcements, watch channel one news, and then get dressed. Mostly we just play a stupid tag game for the rest of the class or play the tag game and hockey/soccer for the rest of class. Thank goodness we don't have to take showers though! I plan on taking gym for 9 weeks again in my sophomore and junior years and then not take it all in Senior year unless I do athletics or something.:apple:
 
aross99 said:
Not a great experience for me - although it's been like 35 years since I was there. LOL

Sports was never my thing, and it seemed like Gym was all about the kids who were good at sports, playing together, and making fun of those of us who weren't blessed with those skills...

Maybe kids are more sensitive today, but "back in the day", I remember hating it...
Click to expand...
Don't worry... nothing has changed. Except now the teachers make the other kids let you join in. :rolleyes:
 
I have happily completed the course requirements for gym, but, when I did it, it was merely okay. I was sure to do it for Fall Semester rather than Spring, because that way I'd fight 90º temps down to 40º, rather than 70º-100º.
 
I love Gym Class.

I have taken aquatics class for the past two years (this year and last) and it's the time of my life =)

I even got a sunburn from water polo today =)

Oh, and we get our lifeguard certification in that class as well.
We usually swim 8 miles a day.
 
iJesus said:
I love Gym Class.

I have taken aquatics class for the past two years (this year and last) and it's the time of my life =)

I even got a sunburn from water polo today =)

Oh, and we get our lifeguard certification in that class as well.
We usually swim 8 miles a day.
Click to expand...

Well, that actually sounds cool. I'd take that over frisbee or free-for-all dodgeball anyday.
 
Gym class was pretty fun for me. Even if you were tired or felt like skipping, at least you weren't in a classroom. And as for health class, it's just an easy mark. Of course, in neither did we really learn a whole lot. It just seemed a bit random. A few weeks of such and such sport, a few weeks of circuit training. A few weeks of another sport. A few CPR training sessions. Still, it was fun just to let loose and have some fun with friends.

I'm a pretty average athlete so I don't do any varsity sports in university. I do intramurals but that's the highest level I can play at. And my own personal gym class is pretty fun, but I'm all alone! :p I need to meet a good running buddy.
 
I never really had a big problem with gym class. I would have to say that its a necessary evil just because we do have to work out a bit. Granted I can see why people could complain about gym class. I understand that not everyone, including myself, like to run. But it was one of those classes where I felt had some good use for myself. I was a really big gamer so I knew i was not getting enough exercise. Granted after the second year of no more gym I was happy because i no longer wanted to be forced to do all that work...

I guess I'm ambivalent towards gym class...I see its benefits, and i see its annoyances....
 
Gym in HS was fine. The only thing I didn't like was the weeks we spent on swimming one year just 'cause I'm not a very strong swimmer (and the water in the pool was funky). I'm small so I was typically picked last but I didn't let that get to me. I just unloaded on the opposite team to the best of my ability. Spite is a wonderful motivator.:D


Lethal
 
I think its meh.

Ours is 45 min., and the first part is just free play in the gym while every one gets dressed, and then we usually play some game. This season is baseball, and I hate it. Its boring to me.

Today, we had free play, and since one of my friends likes to run, we ran laps and did stairs. Twas fun.:)
 
Since I was a pudgy, glasses-wearing weirdo who usually got elected for teams as one of the last guys in your class, gym classes were not only a necessary evil but regular proof of sucking hard at something.

I am older now, still wearing glasses, but I'm in a better shape than I was around that time, but those six humiliating years at school killed most (if not all) joy of sports for me. However, life also evolved and now regularly shows me I suck at almost everything. :(
 
I didn't have to participate for most of my school years. I took an extra course for some of those years and a few others I just got out of school early. Reason being I had enough activity for 3-4 days of the week spending painful hours training in martial arts. (taekwodo, mostly) So long as I showed that I was still training every semester, they excused me. It was ace.
 
I wasn't particularly a sport person back at school but I really miss PE. Had a magic moment when I realised I could run too. Never bothered with cross country running, just used to jog at the back and chat with friends but one day I really went for it and came 3rd (out of 60). Week later I came first :) got in trouble once for running too fast! Me and a friend really went for it and because we were seperated from the others we were at danger :rolleyes: in the countryside?!

Yea you probably hate it now but if you're anything like me 5 years after school you'll be missing it!
 
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