Physical Best is a program of resources and training for K-12 physical educators. This health-related fitness education program was developed by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and is now offered through the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE). It provides the material teachers need for implementing health-related fitness education, including curriculum development and health-related fitness activities. Over 24 large school districts are currently using Physical Best as part of their curriculum.

Physical Best is the complete package teachers need to help students gain the knowledge, skills, appreciation, and confidence to lead physically active, healthy lives. No other set of resources comes close to delivering the amount of practical information teachers will find here. And it’s versatile. Teachers can use Physical Best resources to refine their programs or to develop new programs at the school, district, or state level, including teacher training and certification.

Physical Best workshops help to ensure successful program implementation

Prepare to teach your students the knowledge and skills for a lifetime of physical activity and fitness through the Physical Best program. The practical, ready-to-use resources and workshop series support NASPE’s national standards for physical education and best practices.

Physical Best Health-Fitness Specialist Certification Workshop

Provides comprehensive training and resources in Physical Best and Fitnessgram. The full-day workshop covers history, philosophy, principles, and components of health-related fitness education. Time is spent hands on with Physical Best activities that teach the related components and principles, and with the FITNESSGRAM assessment protocols.

An overview of the Fitnessgram software is also included. Those who have or are working toward a minimum bachelor level degree, and successfully complete a take-home examination, earn certification. Accompanying resources for each participant include:

• Physical Best for Lifelong Fitness: The Physical Best Teacher’s Guide
• Physical Best Activity Guide (elementary or middle and high school level)
• The Fitnessgram/Activitygram Test Administration Manual, Third Edition

Physical Best Health-Fitness Instructor Certification Workshop

Offered to "train the trainers" of the Physical Best program. Certified Instructors lead Physical Best and FITNESSGRAM workshops and in-services across the country, teaching other teachers how to implement the programs in their schools. This certification is geared toward teachers with experience in Physical Best who want to be certified to train other teachers.

The keys to successful workshop management and adult learning models are incorporated into the workshop. Certain criteria for registration apply, including certification as a Physical Best Health-Fitness Specialist.

For more information or to schedule a workshop, call Physical Best at 1-800-213-7193, ext 489, e-mail physicalbest@aahperd.org, or visit www.naspeinfo.org.

More about Physical Best Resources

For years, K-12 teachers have used Physical Best as an effective and proven tool in implementing health-related physical activity. The program gets students active and keeps them active-not just in class, not just for the school year, but for their lifetime.

With activities crafted and used by physical educators across the country, Physical Best has been used to show students that physical fitness can be fun and that all students can succeed in being physically active, regardless of ability or age.

Now, Physical Best has gotten even better. Yes, it still helps teachers to plan and conduct fun and developmentally appropriate activities-wide-ranging competitive and noncompetitive activities that allow all students to take part successfully. All activities are consistent with the new physical activity guidelines for youth, developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Physical Best still emphasizes personal responsibility and provides educational progressions that help students take ownership of their health-related fitness. It still includes assessment tools, and it supports the 2004 NASPE National Physical Education standards.

Plus, the second edition of Physical Best resources includes the following new features:

• New, teacher-tested activities for students from K to 12
• Revised favorite activities for all grades
• CD-ROMs with PDF versions of the reproducibles in each activity guide
• Expanded and updated information on physical activity guidelines, assessment, nutrition, inclusion, and goal setting
• Expanded ideas for encouraging lifelong participation in health-related physical fitness activities
• Expanded tips for including students of all abilities
• Practical examples for applying the proven concepts in real-world physical educational settings and for assessment

To learn more about adopting these books into your curriculum please contact your HK Sales Representative.

Coordinated Resources

Physical Best, along with Fitnessgram/Activitygram and Fitness for Life, provides a comprehensive health-related fitness education program.

Coordinated Resources is composed of the following:

Fitnessgram/Activitygram, developed by the Cooper Institute, provides the fitness and activity assessment components for physical education programs that include comprehensive health-related fitness education. Fitnessgram is endorsed and adopted by NASPE as the assessment component of Physical Best.

Fitness for Life, from fitness pioneers Chuck Corbin and a highly qualified team of coauthors, is now available in the Updated Fifth Edition high school text, or Fitness for Life: Middle School, and the new Fitness for Life Elementary School. The whole series presents information about health-related physical activity in a way that gets the message across to students, and the content of the each level does not duplicate but dovetails perfectly into the content of the next text. Both the high school and middle school books complement the Fitnessgram/Activitygram assessments by providing students with authoritative information about health-related fitness, physical activity, healthy behaviors, and exercise adherence. NASPE also offers training workshops on using the Fitness for Life program.

Human Kinetics also publishes a variety of other books on everything from games that use junk equipment to including technology in physical education programs and the latest in research and physical education teacher education.