Lugo’s Intermediate PE class strays from established CrossFit-based curriculum

Freshmen know the routine in PE.

The class starts with a warm-up and is followed by strength training, a CrossFit-based workout of the day and a possible final assessment to finish the class period.

This CrossFit-based model is being tweaked this year by teacher and athletic director Tim Lugo, who is back teaching PE this year after several years away from it. He noticed some repetitiveness for second year PE students in Intermediate PE, and said he decided to adjust the curriculum to curb the monotony in the everyday workouts.

As a result, he decided to teach his fourth-period Intermediate PE class “just a little differently.” Aware that second year PE students have already learned about the specificities that are required in a traditional CrossFit setting, Lugo created a more activity-based class where he teaches cooperative game skills, making his new curriculum similar to that of the elementary and middle schools. He hopes that students can take these skills with them outside of the class after he realized that although some students become passionate about CrossFit, several others don’t.

“I think we need to expose kids to as many avenues as we can because different activities can keep them active for a lifetime,” he said.

For instance, the class’s first unit revolved around pickleball, a sport similar to tennis that is also included in Redwood Middle School’s seventh grade PE classes. Lugo hopes that by learning the basic techniques of pickleball, students will be able to pick up tennis on their own and continue with the sport recreationally for years after.

“Tennis is something you can do into your 50s and 60s and 70s,” Lugo said. “It’s not that you can’t do CrossFit into your 70s. There’s a lot of older people that do it, but depending on your health level at that time, [it becomes more difficult].”

Lugo is also planning on staying away from the final that is traditionally administered to PE students: a CrossFit-based final exam called “Final Gone Bad.” For many years, PE classes, both Beginner and Intermediate, have used “Final Gone Bad” as the exam to test cardiovascular fitness.

“It’s funny because I actually created ‘Final Gone Bad’ when I was teaching PE years ago,” Lugo said. “I named it after a CrossFit workout called ‘Fight Gone Bad’ that a lot of MMA fighters used to use.”

However, rather than “Final Gone Bad,” Lugo is testing his students a different way: a running exam. For the first semester, the exam will be a 1.5-mile run, and for the second semester, students will have to run a 5k. The finals will be graded based on a rubric of times and the students’ individual improvement.

To prepare the students for the running-centric final, Lugo’s lesson plan allows time for running every class period. Although some students are not keen on the regular running in Lugo’s class, many prefer it to CrossFit.

“Mr. Lugo does a really good job of pushing students to run and push our limits, which is why we tend to run at least once a week,” sophomore Ritika Garg said.

Lugo said he got the idea of the differently structured class from his years  teaching at Evergreen Valley High School before coming to SHS. There, students had a running final exam — an easy way to test a student’s cardiovascular fitness improvement, Lugo said. So, when given the opportunity to choose the final for his students, he decided to aim for the 5k.

“I think it’s kind of neat because most people can’t picture themselves running a 5k,” Lugo said. “To watch students complete that seventh lap at the end of the year, and to see the look on their face, regardless of their time, is pretty cool.”

Lugo’s new method to teaching PE has been received well by most students, who are looking forward to what the year has in store for them.

“This year, PE seems to be focused on a different part of PE, which I enjoy because my two years of PE will give me enough exposure to fitness,” Garg said.