Cardio Room Cons

The smell of new equipment fills the air while beams of sunlight shine through the windows. Music plays from the front of the room, and kids are on treadmills, ellipticals, and rowers. You see a couple of kids in the back who are talking to others, moving very slow, and not sweating at all. If you look at a game of matball in regular PE class, you may see more kids engaged in the activity and getting more exercise as they run super fast to reach the next base or sprint to catch a ball. In the cardio room, it is individual, you do exercises on the equipment repetitively alone instead of playing a game with friends. Do kids enjoy the cardio room more than regular pe class? Some might. So what are the real pros and cons of this cardio room compared
Research shows exercise and sweating can reduce both physical and mental stress, which is not uncommon to students at this age. 14.8% 8th grade students rated the cardio room a 10. Kailynn Williams, an 8th grade student at PCMS, says the cardio room helps kids build strength and whenever she's in there, she gets a workout. In the survey conducted, 66.7% students say others use the equipment correctly and about 32% say others use it safely. 22.2% said the cardio room is essential, which would support Kailynn and others' view on the issue. Additionally, Tiffany Leung, another 8th grader at PCMS, says she would rather be in the cardio room than in actual PE class and wants to use the cardio room more often than her class does now. "Sometimes in PE they play games or sports I may not want to participate in", she
When asked if the cost of having a cardio room is greater than the benefit, Ms Hesemann, 8th grade PE teacher, said "No, students benefit greatly from it". Mr Hardy, another 8th grade PE teacher, answered, "Students can benefit greatly from the the cardio room, but some more money needs to be spent." Both agreed having the cardio room is essential. Do students get more exercise in the cardio room or regular PE class? Mr. Hardy answered regular PE. He explained it has "more appropriate equipment for middle school aged children". Ms Hesemann thought it depended on each student individually. Her class uses the cardio room "when the weather doesn't cooperate". Mr Hardy's PE class uses the cardio room about once a month. Both teachers agreed most students use the equipment in the cardio room safely and correctly. When questioned if they would like to use the cardio room more often, Mr Hardy replied "Yes, I would like to use it twice a week but space and number of students vs the amount of equipment available…". Similarly, Ms Hesemann says she possibly wants to use the cardio room more often. The cardio room may be taking the place of a time where kids build friendships, trust, and teamwork skills, a time they might otherwise rarely get at this generation. "A great aspect of PE is building teamwork and working together while still getting the exercise", says Tiffany, "The cardio room may be