Human interaction, physical activity, and stress relief – three things we could all use a little more of these days. Luckily for University of Minnesota students, the School of Kinesiology’s Physical Activity Program (PAP) can provide all three of those things through their Physical Education (PE) courses. 

During the fall semester many students have found themselves with an almost entirely online education experience. This is a big shift from the normal hustle and bustle of campus life, and has come with many challenges. One of those challenges is maintaining good health and wellness. This is where a one-credit PE course could make all the difference. 

Why consider a PE course during a pandemic? Benefits include built-in exercise time, an opportunity for safe in-person interaction, and an activity-based curriculum centered around each student’s health and wellbeing. All of the PE courses available through the PAP offer students those opportunities. 

“Now more than ever, getting regular physical activity is a challenge,” said Ben Kohler, instructor for PE 1015 Weight Training. “There are so many benefits to taking a PE course right now. A lot of my students are taking my class to have built in exercise time. They don’t have to figure out what to do or find the motivation to do it on their own.” 

Kohler, and PE 1045 Rock Climbing instructors Bryan Karban and Ben Phaneuf are all teaching hybrid, partially in-person PE courses this fall. 

“There have certainly been challenges to the change in course format,” Karban said. “But, actually, there are some really great silver linings to this new experience. Students get a lot more one-on-one time with me to work on their climbing technique, and we were able to increase the course capacity since we split the in-person portion into two groups to accommodate the hybrid model.” 

Phaneuf echoed these silver linings, adding that he’s noticed an increase in the level of excitement of his students. 

“The level of excitement for an 8:00 a.m. climbing course has never been this high,” Phaneuf jokes. “For the vast majority of my students, this is their only in-person course this fall. Just being able to participate in some physical activity and interact with other students on campus is a big draw.” 

Rock Climbing isn’t the only course that has seen some unexpected silver linings come from a hybrid or remote setting. 

Kohler noted that even though his students aren’t getting the “typical” weight room experience, they are writing their own fitness plans to accommodate their personal space and equipment availability. 

“Part of my course is having students write their own 8-week exercise program,” Kohler said. “They now have the knowledge to create a plan around what they have access to. Working out at home doesn’t have to be a barrier, it just requires some creative planning.” 

Kohler’s class focuses on the fundamental movement skills that he said, “all human beings should know.” And, with this adjusted format, Kohler said it’s actually a much friendlier experience for students who don’t have a lot of experience in a weight room. 

“One of my favorite moments in class is when students who have an adverse reaction or no experience with lifting realize that the weight room is not just for hyper-masculine, college-aged men,” Kohler said. “And now, with significantly reduced capacity in our spaces, it’s even easier for students who are just learning to feel safe and free of judgement or lots of eyes.” 

Hannah Silva-Breen, who is teaching PE 1012 Running and PE 1014 Conditioning fully online, had similar thoughts about how her students might benefit from this non-traditional format. 

“Especially for my conditioning class, students are going to have a lot of autonomy over what type of workouts they want to try,” Silva-Breen said. “They get to fit their physical activity into their own schedules. And, if you’re nervous at all about trying something new, doing it on your own first is a big pro. I hope this limits some of the self-consciousness, and fear of judgement.”

In addition to these unexpected benefits of a PE course during a pandemic, there is also the research-backed evidence that physical activity in general is an excellent stress and anxiety reliever. 

“As we move into the dark, cave-like, pandemic winter isolation that is likely coming, this is a great way to stay active, learn basic skills, and get dedicated exercise time, both in your own space as well as the RecWell space,” Kohler said. “We can’t neglect the mental health of our students, and we know that any exercise will improve that. It is really, really smart for students to consider a PE class this spring.” 

All instructors agreed with this perspective. Karban noted specifically that “rock climbing in particular has performed above average in its ability to improve people’s mental health, and it has a natural social element that not all physical activity does.”

A PE course in your spring schedule can provide you with both important structured activity and safe human interaction. And, the final benefit? 

“There’s basically no homework,” said Kohler. “It’s a one credit course, you show up, do your work during class time and then go home.” 

Read more from our instructors about the specific benefits of their courses below. 

PE 1012 Running

Silva-Breen is focused on allowing students to “ease into” running via this course. She is prioritizing warming up and cooling down before and after workouts to keep students healthy and injury-free. 

“The running course consists of either distance workouts or timed workouts,” Silva-Breen said. “There’s never a required pace, and I’ve built in some run-walk exercises to emphasize that it’s perfectly okay to walk when you need it.” 

She said her hope is that students in her class take away the importance of cross training, supplementing their running workouts with work on core strength, running form, etc., which will take the pressure off of joints and alleviate some common running injuries like shin splints. She also plans to talk about the dangers of overtraining and burnout, and how to mix up your running workouts to best benefit your body. 

PE 1014 Conditioning

Silva-Breen is also teaching a fully online PE 1014 Conditioning course. For this course, she said students will have “a lot of autonomy over the types of workouts they can do, and will have the ability to fit their workouts into their schedules on their own time.” 

Students will learn about cardiovascular systems and anatomy, a wide variety of workout types, injury prevention exercises, and warm up and cool down exercises. In addition to the physical work, Silva-Breen plans to talk to her students about the mental aspects of physical conditioning as well. 

“A portion of what we’ll cover in class will be about burn out, overtraining, and compulsive exercising,” said Silva-Breen. “I’ll be emphasizing during the whole class that exercise should be fun. A lot of time people view exercise as just a way to control or change your body, but I won’t be focusing on that all. Instead, I’ll be highlighting the benefits of exercise for mental and physical health, like living longer, stronger bones, stronger heart health, better school performance, etc.” 

Silva-Breen has a background in working with eating disorders, and hopes to inspire students to have a healthy relationship with exercise. And finally, she plans to do some “myth busting,” educating students about incorrect perceptions of fitness often spoken of in popular culture.  

PE 1015 Weight Training

PE 1015 Weight Training, taught by Ben Kohler, focuses on what Kohler calls the “seven foundational movements.” His course will cover the basic aspects of weight training, including exercise selection and technique, charting workouts, program design, nutritional considerations, and safety. 

“This is super valuable education on very basic movements,” Kohler said. “A lot of people come to the gym, and it’s easy for them to get on a treadmill or an elliptical, but when you’re given a free weight what do you do with it? When students leave my class they’ll be able to use these skills to help them do everything from powerlifting to basic lifetime fitness.” 

And, Kohler notes, students are essentially receiving personal training services for a fraction of the price they would pay in the fitness market outside. 

PE 1045 Rock Climbing

This course covers the safety, knots, equipment, techniques, and anchor systems used in climbing. 

“There are so many benefits to rock climbing,” said Karban. “I think this semester in particular, students should consider the fact that they get a semester-long pass to the rock climbing gym through their course fees, and significantly increased one-on-one time with myself and the other instructors.” 

Karban and Phaneuf both discussed the silver lining of smaller in-person sessions, and increased individual instruction on technique. 

“I spend a lot of time with each student, refining movement and giving individualized pointers,” Karban said. “I’ve seen big improvements even in just one session for students. You can really accelerate improvement in those small group, in-person sessions.” 

Karban did say that the increased one-on-one attention does come at the expense of regular in-person sessions. 

“Students will really need to spend some time on their own climbing to make the most of their class experience this year,” Karban said. “We obviously don’t require it, but with fewer in-person sessions than normal, the responsibility of learning is on the students now more than ever.” 

In addition to the great instruction time students will get from this course, both Karban and Phaneuf talked about the full body and mind benefits that the sport of rock climbing provides. 

“Rock climbing is a full body strength and cardiovascular workout that, for many of us, is more fun than lifting,” Karban jokes. 

We hope you find one of these, or our many other PE courses interesting and worth adding to your schedule!