Overview

The Iowa FitnessGram® Initiative is a participatory network of Iowa K-12 schools and University partners committed to promoting physical fitness in Iowa schools. Our goal in establishing this partnership is to help Iowa schools to enhance the promotion of physical activity and physical fitness in youth. With assistance from The Cooper Institute, we provide access and support on the effective use of FitnessGram® (the national fitness testing battery). In return, we hope to work with schools to test out new ways to enhance fitness education and youth activity promotion.

A unique opportunity through the Iowa FitnessGram® Initiative is to incorporate the new online version of the Youth Activity Profile (YAP) in school physical education. The YAP has been designed to provide schools with a tool to assess and promote children's physical activity behavior as well as attitudes towards physical activity. The YAP software interface is customized for participating schools to assist in education and promotion about physical activity. Click here to learn more about the Youth Activity Profile.

Our team is also directly involved in leading the coordination of a USDA funded project called SWITCH (School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health). The training initiative helps schools create a foundation to support school wellness programming. Specific modules are available for Physical Education but the programming is designed to provide training to a team of 3 school leaders interested in promoting school system change. Visit www.iowaswitch.org for more details. Stipends are available to participating schools.

The Iowa FitnessGram® Initiative is managed by a team of faculty and staff affiliated with the Physical Activity and Health Promotion Laboratory at Iowa State University under the leadership of Dr. Greg Welk (Scientific Director of FitnessGram®). If you are interested in learning more about the Iowa FitnessGram® Initiative (or getting support from our team), please complete the quick registration form. You can also email the project director (Dr. Greg Welk) directly at gwelk@iastate.edu.

Click here to complete the Contact Information Form

Building Active Schools

Our research team has launched a new project to help schools understand sedentary behavior at school. The project capitalizes on the data from the Youth Activity Profile but focuses on helping schools to learn ways to promote activity during the school day. Click here to access the handout on the project

Try the 'Dragon Challenge'

Our research team is currently piloting a new physical literacy assessment called the Dragon Challenge. The assessment is widely used in the UK and our group is working with a group in Wales to pilot the assessment here in the states. We are currently looking for schools interested in trying it out with us. Visit the Dragon Challenge page for more details or email Matt Earney for information.

Access Muscle Warm-ups

A student project conducted in 2017/2018 through the network helped to evaluate the utility of a brief musculoskeletal fitness warmup routine that could be readily incorporated into most PE lessons. The brief warmup included dynamic stretching activities followed by a series of 1 minute circuit stations that included simple strength and plyometric activities. The evaluation demonstrated meaningful gains in musculoskeletal fitness (assessed with handgrip and vertical jump) following 8 weeks of use in PE. The materials are available for schools / teachers involved in the Iowa FitnessGram network. Click here to learn more.