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I'm Glenn Swan gross, president of Fitness Incorporated, and the formerly director of program development for the President's Council on Physical Fitness. While I was with the council, one of the very remarkable programs that we discovered in high schools across the country was the La Sierra program at Carmichael, California. At this school, the football coach, who assumed the position of physical education director and director of athletics, attempted to design a physical education program that would give the same opportunities to every boy in school that a varsity athlete receives. A who makes the football team, and this attempt, he provided means for them to progress through the physical education program and gain status so that they really felt as if they were accomplishing something in terms of physical development.
Every class began with a 12-minute conditioning program in which the boys found themselves the very formalized calisthenic type program in which every boy was expected to respond the way it forced the athlete would on a team. When the Signet was given to begin, they all start at once. There were no laggards. Everyone participated fully. Everyone was important. There was not the usual type of straggling and laziness sometimes associated with other calisthenic type programs. Well, as a boy progressed to this program and became a white, and then a red, and then a gold, and then a blue, and the purple, a navy blue, he found that that also his physical prowess was improving along with this. And that's one school in the country last year, high school, where you don't have to ask if there's a physical fitness program. You simply look at the boys.
Getting back to football coach Stan Laprade II, who originated the program, coordinated chili drills in football with agility drills in finishing classes. He used many of the exercises found in football training programs in the conditioning programs for the boys. They performed some very outstanding, a very difficult physical feats, such as the extension pushup, which is even rapport that only one boy in 30 thousand can accomplish. They also turned to vertical type push-ups because the normal style push-up was too easy for the boys to accomplish, and once they got over a hundred, it took too long to score. Every boy has an opportunity in this program to advance on the team. That's what they're called. They're not called that physical education squad. They're all called teams: blue team, red team, go team. And he can schedule at any time a testing period with his physical education teacher, had go down to try to advance from one color to the next. By the way, to be a navy blue at last year of high school, you have to be able to do a man lift and carry of a boy ten pounds within your own body weight and carry him five miles without letting his feet touch the ground. You also have to be able to do 150 push-ups. You must be able to make seven complete trips up and down the vertical pegboard, and there's an emotional stability test that must be passed also, which the boys hands and legs are bound together, and he has to sustain himself and he found the pool for six minutes.
Now, some of these accomplishments seems to be quite and strenuous and quite difficult as they are, but keep in mind that the boy who walks off the street, the freshman in La Sierra high school, is not expected to compete the navy blue standards, just as the freshman boy went to school is not expected to make the first string on the varsity team. Most important part of any summer workout far as footballs concerns is running. This is definitely the most important part. Actually, weightlifting secondary. Biggest important thing is that working on your speed and endurance. Joggin, which we're doing right now. You're gonna jog mile, just work on your endurance. After I'm through doing this, we're through. Usually run some strides and then pick it up into a running full speed run about three, four hundreds. Start, start within it. I start running some 20s and 30s for really quick starts and speed. It's definitely the most important part about footballs to start. The only way you'd accomplish this by running 10, 20 yard Sprint's. That's the most important thing. We feel the conditioning and physical fitness as a preventive measure and will prevent an awful lot of injuries. We feel that this is just as important as the treatment of injury.
Since the legs are so essential to the longevity of an athlete, it is therefore important that he stimulated stretch his upper and lower leg muscles before he participates in a vigorous activity. In this cross leg stretching exercise, as demonstrated by the Penn State ends and backers, the body bends with straight legs will give a sufficient amount of contraction and relaxation to develop and stretch the leg muscles. From the open stance with alternate toe touching, the Texas Longhorns are approaching maximum stretching and contraction of the upper and lower leg muscles. At the same time, they are increasing flexibility and tone to the truck area. Here, the Alabama backs execute the high step crossover to approach the near maximum contraction, stretch, and flexibility of the upper and lower leg muscles. From the modified sit-up position, the Penn State ends and backers are isolating the lower abdominal muscle, which can be toned through normal sit-ups, and they are now toning and strengthening the middle and upper abdominal muscles. The Washington Huskies execute the neck exa metric exercise with manual resistance. Through this control manual resistance, they are strengthening and toning the neck and upper shoulder girdle muscles. The most effective control resistance can be provided from the stand up position. The quickness drill, as demonstrated by Penn State and Nebraska, aid in the development of reaction to visual and verbal commands. It is important to note that each reflex action is essential not only to the athlete but just as important to the activities of daily living.
All of the previous exercises demonstrated to develop and strengthen various muscle groups are now utilized in executing a more complex series of drills. In this QuickStart drill, note the carryover of the utilization of the modified sit-up exercise. [Music] The sea troll drill shows the need for quickness and response and recovery and balance. The monkey roll drill demonstrates the need for this development of reaction to move. [Music] The Cornhuskers wave drill shows reaction to a visual command involving quickness, agility, and balance. [Music] With the addition of obstacles in the drill, many Lions execute their Burma Road drill, which demands more agility on the part of the athlete. Must read, react, and avoid contact with the object. The Michigan State Spartans run the gauntlet drill, demonstrating proper running form and body control, which once again shows the carryover of the strengthening and stretching leg exercises. [Music] The Spartans star drill requires quick body movement from the down position. Note the full involvement of the upper and lower body muscle group. [Music] The following sequence of drills is executed by Washington and Penn State, emphasizes the knee with proper body control and body balance while running forward, backward, and laterally, while adjusting to a change of direction. [Music] The Cornhuskers high-step drill accentuates the need for strength and development of the upper leg muscles, which are necessary to achieve high knee action. A strong leg drive.
The values of Fitness are obvious. The price of Fitness is attractively low, and no matter what activity you participate in, Fitness will increase your chances to excel. Fitness is very easy to attain. All it takes is a little know-how, a little time, a little extra effort. True Fitness, you can increase your agility and strength and endurance. Also, you will be building a foundation of fitness habits that you can carry on for years, helping you to stay active longer and enjoy a healthier, happier life. The future belongs to those who prepare for it. [Applause]