GROSSE POINTE WOODS, Mich. – Veteran physical education teacher Scott Grimmer hopes students will spend some time each day with his WOW – With Out Weights workout.

When the spread of COVID-19 closed schools across the country, and De La Salle Collegiate went to distance learning, some parents approached Christopher Dean, assistant principal for academics, asking for something for the kids to do at home. 

Dean spoke with Grimmer, who quickly created the program. 

Grimmer put the 35-40 minute full-body workout together with the assumption that most students have no strength-training equipment available. 

The workout is explained on the De La Salle website’s Distance Learning page.

“As is typical, Scott approached this initiative with enthusiasm and a can-do attitude to provide another layer to our distance-learning plans,” Dean said. “Scott, and many of our teachers, are just incredible examples of why De La Salle stands out as an innovative and creative learning environment while continuing to maintain and grow student engagement.” 

Grimmer says the workout includes a cardiovascular component, with no breaks between sets, depending on the individual, or some rest/pause when necessary. 

The workout includes a five-minute warmup that can be used on a treadmill or stationary bike, or a short jog. He also provided suggested repetitions for each of the 11 activities.

“Anything to get your heart rate elevated and moving,” he said. “I tried this myself, and it took about eight minutes.” 

For a 30-40 minute workout, including warm-up and cool down, students can repeat the cycle of activities three times. 

Grimmer and his four health classes usually spent about 75 percent of their time in the weight room, and the rest in the classroom, using the online program Dynamic Health.
 
“It’s not the same as resistance training with weights,” he said, “but it may be the best you can do right now to keep fit.”