First we must assess our current levels of physical fitness and wellness. Include some form of self assessment inventory, or teacher directed fitness profiling, both of which are very important to establish a baseline for future growth.

There are many computer programs that will help you keep track of personal fitness profiles: Fitness Gram being the most popular. Polar also uses a reporting mechanism in their Tri-Fit® System that keeps track of fitness profiles. Having an instructor or teacher keep track of physical profiles may not be enough to contribute to a student’s understanding of how his/her assessment data relates to his/her own health dynamics.

You can even record scores in a spreadsheet (Excel), or a database (Access), to keep track of individual physical profiles. However, keeping track for the individual/student may not be enough.

Individuals/Students should be involved in inputting their own physical profile data, setting goals themselves based on this data, and in creating their own physical activity/fitness plans. Somewhat like the Individual Student Record Form in the Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment, students can write down their physical assessment data and the standards they are trying to achieve. Students could enter this data into an individual spread sheet, or upload this data to a database for comparison to post test scores.

To become a lifelong learner of physical activity and wellness, individuals/students must be involved in the process from the start: Assessment (Fitness Gram’s new program does allow for student input).

Second, "Planning & Goals" setting must also involve the individual/students. Some physical fitness assessment software creates fitness plans for individuals. However, these softwares do not provide individuals the opportunity to analyze their own fitness profiles, or allow for the creation of a personal fitness plan based on individual needs and activity preferences.

By enabling the individual to analyze their own profiles, as well as set their own goals and programs, they develop ownership of this process and use higher order thinking skills when doing so.

One way to have individuals create a wellness plan would be to use Microsoft Word to create a template where students can set goals for the various fitness components, or create a database (in Excel. Access) where they may input their choices for later retrieval.

The use of Web Applications will in the future allow individual profiles to be retrieved and placed in many formats, from individual parent/administrators reports to class/school records. This type of environment will allow for secure, instant access of student information by parents, teachers, administrators, and more importantly the individual.

Daily self assessments through journals and logs. Having individuals record their own activity levels is very important for them in understanding their accommodations to exercise over time. Tracking activity type, intensity, and duration is the key toward helping the person see real improvement, and to help modify plans and activities for further growth. The hope is that by making this process something someone will think is ‘cool’ will help motivate a person to continue.

Using heart rate monitors, pedometers, and computer logs is ‘cool’ for individuals. The technological toys to quantify their activity levels helps to motivate, and break, poor exercise habits. Using tools like Fitness Gram’s “Activitygram,” "PEManager" from Polar, "Log It" by PE Central, and The Presidents Challenge will begin to address the need for computer logs and journals. However, the process should all be tied together in a continuum in order that individuals may learn a positive pattern of behavior.

A future choice will be to use customizable web applications that allow for instant access to information, refining or adding information over time, and keeping the data in-house for retrieval. Right now this is not possible for most, but in the future customizing logs online will be just a form away.

... continued top of next column

Re-assessment and reprogramming should be done every 8 to 12 weeks. Individuals should reassess their physical progress periodically by analyzing their logs and journals, and reassessing their goals to determine whether they are on the right track. This will help the individual to align their daily activity plan to their current wellness profile.

Setting up individual criteria during the goal setting phase now enables a person to see progress that might lead to future growth and adherence. The cycle repeats itself until eventually you have a self-directed learner of physical activity and wellness for a lifetime.

Through the use of technology, programs can be shaped to become self-directed learning environments where individuals are more likely to become physically active for a lifetime.