Friday we returned to Pike Schools to perform test-outs on the students that we worked with last Tuesday. We love data, it helps highlight how much of an improvement students make during our programs and gives real world feedback through measurable outcomes.
We utilized 2 test courses during this program, a flat 1/5 of a mile course and a more difficult hilly 1/4 mile course. There was almost no recovery between the two efforts and the students had already been exercising at other stations within the camp rotation and were properly warmed up.
Tracking the times on the courses for both Tuesday and Friday allowed us to compare the two and see the changes.
Results:
Flat Course: 3.4% Improvement Average
Hilly Course: 8.5% Improvement Average
Statistically, the flat course improvement is what we would expect to see as students learn how to put in better efforts and understand the limits of their physical performance. What was really neat to see (and was evident on the bikes) was that the longer and more difficult hilly course was much easier for the students to conquer on Friday–after 5 days of learning about health and fitness, 5 days of trying new things and working hard–these students learned that their endurance limits were much higher than they believed they were on Tuesday.
