Grade by Grade
A–B. Active Living and Movement Competence · Active Living and Movement: Train with Purpose, Play with Strategy

Plan, Do, Review: A Personal Fitness Plan That Adapts

A2.4 1.2 1.5About 75 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can use assessment results and an analysis of my strengths and weaknesses to choose a starting point and set goals.
  • I can set outcome, performance and process goals that work together.
  • I can write a 6-week plan that applies FITT and the training principles, with a lighter week and a mid-point review.
  • I can identify strategies to overcome obstacles, celebrate achievements, evaluate outcomes and revise my goals or program.

Words to know

outcome goal
A goal about a result, such as finishing a 5 km community run.
performance goal
A goal about your own measurable performance, such as running 1.6 km in under 9:30.
process goal
A goal about the actions you control, such as completing 3 running sessions every week.
mid-point review
A planned check partway through a plan to compare progress with goals and adjust.
lighter week
A planned week with lower training load so the body can recover and adapt.
evaluate
To judge results using evidence, and decide what to keep or change.

Remember from Grade 9

In PPL1O you wrote SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound), built a 4-week plan from your assessment data using FITT and the training principles, and revised a plan using evidence.

In Grade 10 you run a longer plan with more structure: three kinds of goals, a lighter week, a mid-point review with clear decision rules, and a final evaluation.

Hook: the plan that bends but doesn't break

Aaliyah started a 6-week plan in October. In week 3 she caught a cold and missed three sessions. Her old self would have quit ("I've ruined it"). Instead, her plan had a mid-point review in week 4. She checked the evidence, adjusted, and finished stronger than she started.

Good plans expect problems and include a way to adapt.

What A2.4 asks of you

You should develop, implement and revise a personal fitness plan. The curriculum's examples:

  1. Use fitness assessment results and an analysis of your personal strengths and weaknesses to identify a starting point and set goals.
  2. Use training concepts to help achieve those goals.
  3. Identify strategies to overcome obstacles.
  4. Celebrate achievements.
  5. Evaluate outcomes and revise goals or your exercise program as needed.

Three kinds of goals that work together

  • Outcome goal: the big result. "Finish the 5 km fun run at my community's spring festival."
  • Performance goal: a measurable personal standard (SMART). "Run 1.6 km in under 9:30 by the end of week 6 (from 10:10 now)."
  • Process goals: the actions you control each week. "Complete 3 running sessions and 2 strength sessions every week; sleep at least 8 hours on school nights."

Outcome goals give direction, performance goals give a measure, and process goals give you something to do and check off every day. On a bad day, you may not control the outcome, but you can still meet your process goals.

Building the 6-week plan

  1. Starting point: your assessment results (for example, 1.6 km time, push-ups, sit-and-reach, heart-rate recovery) plus an honest list of strengths and weaknesses.
  2. Goals: one outcome, one or two performance goals, and process goals.
  3. FITT for each week: frequency, intensity, time and type for each component.
  4. Overload: increase load gradually (about 5% to 10% a week).
  5. Lighter week: week 4 reduces load so you can recover; it's also your mid-point review (a quick retest).
  6. Obstacle plan: if-then plans for known barriers.
  7. Celebrations: small rewards for process wins (a new playlist, sharing progress with a friend, trying a new trail).
  8. Final retest in week 6, then evaluate and set the next plan.
A 6-week plan with a mid-point review (planned weekly load)Week 1build100%Week 2build108%Week 3build116%Week 4lighter + review85%Week 5build120%Week 6lighter + retest90%100% = week 1 load
Planned weekly load across 6 weeks. Load builds gradually in weeks 1 to 3, drops in week 4 (lighter week and mid-point review), builds again in week 5, then drops before the week 6 retest so you can perform your best.

The mid-point review: decision rules

At week 4, compare your retest with your goal. Divide the improvement you need into equal parts to see if you're on schedule.

  • Ahead of schedule: raise the performance goal or add a little more overload.
  • On track: keep the plan.
  • Behind schedule: first check adherence (did I do the sessions?), sleep, illness and nutrition. If you did the plan and still aren't improving, change the training (more overload, or more specific training). If the goal was unrealistic, revise it to something achievable.
Mid-point review: compareresults with your goalAhead of schedule?raise the goal oradd overloadOn track?keep the plan;progress as plannedBehind schedule?check adherence, sleep,illness; adjust plan
Decision rules for the mid-point review. Whatever the result, you adjust the plan instead of abandoning it.

Living skills: managing (1.2) and evaluating (1.5)

Revising a plan isn't failing; it's adaptive management (1.2). Using evidence to decide what to change is critical thinking (1.5). Write down why you made each change, so at the end you can evaluate which choices worked.

Worked example

Let's build Aaliyah's plan

Aaliyah's assessment: 1.6 km run 10:10; push-ups 12 (knees); sit-and-reach 24 cm; 1-minute heart-rate recovery 20 bpm. Strengths: she enjoys running with friends and is very consistent. Weaknesses: upper-body muscular endurance; she often skips warm-ups. Her goal is a 5 km community run in 6 weeks. Build her goals and week 1.

  1. Starting point: cardiorespiratory endurance is moderate (her main focus for the 5 km); upper-body endurance is her weakest area.
  2. Outcome goal: finish the 5 km community run at the end of week 6.
  3. Performance goals: 1.6 km in under 9:30 by week 6 (40 s faster); 18 knee push-ups by week 6.
  4. Process goals: 3 runs + 2 short strength sessions every week; a 5-minute RAMP warm-up before every session.
  5. Week 1 FITT: Runs: F 3×, I moderate (talk test: short sentences) with one interval day, T 20 to 25 min, T running with a friend twice. Strength: F 2×, I effort 6 to 7, T 15 min, T knee push-ups 3 × 8, rows with a backpack, planks.
  6. Overload: add about 2 minutes per run per week in weeks 2, 3 and 5; add 1 to 2 push-ups per set; week 4 is lighter.
  7. Obstacles: "If it rains, then I'll run with a rain jacket or do a 25-min indoor circuit." Celebrate each week of process goals met with a new playlist.

Aaliyah's plan links her assessment data and strengths and weaknesses to clear outcome, performance and process goals, uses FITT with gradual overload and a lighter week, and includes obstacle strategies and celebrations.

Worked example

Let's run Aaliyah's mid-point review

At the start Aaliyah ran 1.6 km in 10:10; her goal is under 9:30 by week 6. She missed 3 sessions in week 3 with a cold. Her week 4 retest: 9:55. Is she on track? What should she do?

  1. Total improvement needed: 10:10 − 9:30 = 40 s over 6 weeks, or about 6.7 s per week.
  2. Expected by week 4: after about 3 weeks of training, about 3 × 6.7 ≈ 20 s faster, so roughly 9:50.
  3. Actual: 10:10 − 9:55 = 15 s faster. She is about 5 s behind schedule.
  4. Check causes: adherence dropped in week 3 because of illness, which explains most of the gap. Her other weeks went well.
  5. Decision: keep the goal. In week 5, return to her planned load gradually (not double sessions to "catch up"), and keep the week 6 retest. Celebrate that she came back after being sick.

She is slightly behind because of the cold, not because the plan failed. She keeps the goal, resumes the plan sensibly, and evaluates again at week 6.

Hands-on activity

Write, start and review your 6-week plan

You need: your assessment results (from the last lesson's log or a quick retest: a timed route, push-ups, sit-and-reach with a ruler and a box, heart-rate recovery), a notebook or spreadsheet, a calendar, and your usual activity gear.

  1. Analyse: write your results, 2 strengths and 2 weaknesses.
  2. Set goals: 1 outcome, 1 or 2 performance (SMART), and 2 or 3 process goals.
  3. Plan FITT for weeks 1 to 6, with gradual overload, a lighter week 4 (mid-point review) and a lighter week 6 (retest).
  4. Write 3 if-then plans for obstacles and choose celebrations for process wins.
  5. Start week 1 and log every session (minutes, effort, load).
  6. At week 4: retest, apply the decision rules and write down any changes and why.
  7. At week 6: retest, evaluate (Which goals did I meet? Which strategies worked?), and set your next plan.

Safety: include a warm-up and cool-down in every session; increase load gradually; build in rest days; follow medical advice for any condition. Stop if you feel pain (not normal muscle effort), dizziness or chest discomfort.

Just for fun

The world's shortest fitness plan: "Start tomorrow." The world's most effective fitness plan: "Start today, with a 10-minute walk."

Your turn

1

List the five parts of A2.4 from the curriculum's examples.

2

Classify: "Run 3 times a week."

3

Classify: "Do 20 push-ups by December 1."

4

Classify: "Make the school cross-country team."

5

Why does the plan include a lighter week 4?

6

What should you check first if you're behind schedule?

7

Give one healthy way to celebrate an achievement.

More practice: warm-up

1

What does SMART stand for?

2

What does FITT stand for?

3

What is a mid-point review?

4

What should a plan start from?

5

About how much should load increase each week?

More practice: on your own

1

Write an outcome, a performance and a process goal for a student who wants to improve flexibility for dance.

2

Goal: from 14 push-ups to 20 in 6 weeks. Week 4 retest: 19. What does the decision rule say?

3

Goal: 1.6 km from 9:00 to 8:30. Week 4: 8:58. Adherence was 100%. What should change?

4

Why are process goals useful on bad days?

5

Why shouldn't you double your sessions to catch up after being sick?

Challenge

1

Wei's goal is 1.6 km from 11:00 to 10:00 in 6 weeks. Calculate the expected time at week 4 (after about 3 weeks of training). His week 4 result is 10:30. Is he ahead, on track or behind?

2

Design a 6-week plan outline (one line per week) for a student who wants to improve muscular endurance for canoeing next summer, with overload, a lighter week and a retest.

3

At week 6, Aaliyah ran 1.6 km in 9:34 (goal: under 9:30), met 90% of her process goals, finished the 5 km run, and enjoyed running with friends. Evaluate her plan and suggest revisions for the next 6 weeks.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

"Complete three runs every week" is a(n):

2.

What should a personal fitness plan start from?

3.

At the mid-point review you are ahead of schedule. You should:

4.

Why include a lighter week?

5.

Goal: 50 s faster over 5 weeks. On a straight-line schedule, how much faster should you be after 2 weeks?

6.

Which is part of A2.4?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectation A2.4 asks students to develop, implement and revise a personal fitness plan: use assessment results and strengths and weaknesses, apply training concepts, plan for obstacles, celebrate achievements, evaluate and revise. Grade 10 adds three kinds of goals, a lighter week and a mid-point review with decision rules.

How to help at home:

  • Put the plan's sessions on the family calendar.
  • Celebrate process wins (sessions done) as much as results.
  • At the mid-point review, help your teen use evidence rather than feelings ("I'm terrible") to decide what to change.

Common difficulties:

  • Quitting after a missed week. Plans are meant to be revised.
  • Catching up by doubling up. Encourage a gradual return.
  • Only outcome goals. Add process goals they control.

Safety: gradual overload, rest days, warm-ups and cool-downs, and medical advice for any health condition.