Aaron Ventresca

Ms. Maria Krafty

Physical Education I
12/21/16
Fitness Project Reflection
During my semester of Physical Education, I sought to accomplish a personal S.M.A.R.T.
Fitness Goal relevant to my own needs. To make this goal worthwhile, it was designed to be
specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. My goal was to increase my bench press
from 3x10 repetitions with 90 lbs. to 3x10 repetitions with 120 lbs. This goal was relevant to me
because it was created to increase my overall wellness. Further, I sought to increase my upper
body strength so as better enable me to do more complicated dance moves in theatrical
performances (i.e. lifts, etc.).
To measure my progress, I executed various fitness tests before and after a semester of
Physical Education. In the Fall, I ran a 6:24 mile, did 40 push-ups, and 60 curl-ups. I could bench
press 3x10 repetitions with 90 lbs. In the Winter, I ran a 6:43 mile, did 46 push-ups, and 61 curlups. I could bench press 3x10 repetitions with 120 lbs. Overall, I managed to increase my
muscular strength, and muscular endurance. In terms of flexibility, I increased my sit and reach
by 1.5 units on my left leg, and 1 unit on my right leg. Thus, I also increased my flexibility.
Based on the information provided above, my personal fitness goal of increasing my
bench press by 30 lb. was achieved. To ensure that my goal was achieved, I made sure to
exercise daily (even if it was only for 10 minutes), to always find motivation in others, and to use
my mantra. My mantra was, What seems difficult now will one day be a warm-up. In the
future, I would seek to make a more difficult goal, as I seemed to easily achieve my goal.

To keep myself on-schedule to better accomplish my goal, I made great use of my Plan
for Success F.I.T.T. Calendar. The calendar enabled me to plan what exactly I was to do each
week, which enabled my exercises to vary in frequency, intensity, type, and time. Further, the
calendar served as a psychological asset; it enabled me to purposely set aside time each day to
exercise.
As an extension of the Plan for Success F.I.T.T. Calendar, I used Activity Logs to track
my progress. Though burdensome to fill-out, I found the Activity Logs to be a great asset to
accomplish my goal. The Activity Logs enabled me to record my daily exercises, which allowed
me to gauge my progress in the short term. If I did not exercise much in a certain week, I knew I
would have to work harder the following week to make up for my complacency. Further, the
Activity Logs demanded that I be honest with myself, and that I was truly working toward
achieving my goal.
When attempting to reach my goal, I did face a variety of obstacles. During the six-week
period I worked to achieve my goal, I often ran into the issues of not being able to find time to
work-out, or merely being too lazy to work-out. To overcome these obstacles, I relied on my
support network I established when I set my goal. My mother, my own support network, would
motivate me into setting aside time to work-out and breaking sedentary habits. In the future, I
would include multiple people in my support system, as I found it to be a massive asset in
achieving my goal.
In sum, I learned a great deal about myself, goals, and fitness in general by participating
in this project. I personally learned that I am very good at keeping to schedules. The Plan for
Success F.I.T.T. Calendar was a massive help, as I greatly relied on it to keep me on track. I will
utilize calendars in the future when setting other fitness goals. Further, I learned that goals must

be timely. I often set lofty goals that take inordinate amounts of time to achieve. I must seek to
set multiple smaller, achievable goals instead. Lastly, I learned that fitness is fun when done in
groups. Exercising alone is often not as fun as exercising with friends. Though still working
hard, I greatly enjoyed working out with classmates during our in-class sessions. In the future, I
plan to pursue more fitness related activities in my own personal life.