Fitness of my Youth

Let it be known that I do not like exercise just for the sake of exercise. I can exercise in a quasi-social setting like a set of raquetball or a round of golf or, hell, even line dancing; or I can exercise with a goal -- walking to get groceries, biking to work, etc. -- but I cannot cope with aerobics, jogging, weight-training, lane swimming, or ab-rolling. I have tried all of these and failed.

I blame the long-defunct Canada Fitness Program. In the 70s and 80s, all elementary students were put through meaningless quantified tests of fitness then awarded Excellence, gold, silver, or bronze patches, or the "Participaction" pin -- the booby prize I usually earned.

Recently I came across copies of the Canada Fitness Award Manual -- the main one, and also one which includes adaptations "for use by trainable mentally handicapped youth." The thing is, the one test I invariably failed, the dreaded Flexed Arm Hang, is included in the modified one, but not in the main manual. My guess is that it was discontinued sometime before the main manual was updated (we have the 1984 edition in reference, which I presume is the most recent/last edition published). I will try to scan that baby soon and post it -- the illustrations are cheesy, so it won't be without an amusement factor.

The Canada Fitness Program got it wrong by grading kids on their performance rather than encouraging them to participate -- if everyone had been given a Participaction Pin and praised no matter what their ability, I might have actually grown up enjoying basic exercise. OK, maybe not... but by dooming me to the bottom of the heap I grew up not only disliking the exercises themselves but also those who excelled at them. I know it's not a healthy attitude but that's the core of it. ::shrug::