Oh you read that right. TikTok got me in shape. Or at least I’m on my way to achieve my shallow body image goals, specifically working out in just a sports bra and pants.
But in all seriousness, TikTok is an app designed for Gen Z to keep up on the latest trends and challenges. Although when we all went into lockdown mode during the COVID-19 quarantine, a bunch of us millennials decided to check it out.
So there’s me scrolling through, laughing and wasting a ton of my time, until I started stumbling across workout videos on there.
I feel like I hit the jackpot. These people were posting 15-60 second videos of themselves working out to a specific song. They hit each exercise on the beat making their workout really fun to watch, and prompted me to try some of their videos.
Most people you see on there are creating or copying dance trends trying to go viral. But I think the workout videos are a lot cooler. That may just be my age talking, but it’s working for me.
Me being a PE teacher, I felt like I’m sitting in a really good spot with other peoples ideas. You know I’m about to recreate some of these TikToks and share them with my students.
It started off as me trying to motivate my students, but it turned out to actually motivate me!
Here’s how I made PE content for my students, but got a killer workout in at the same time.
Teaching Through Social Media
Since I teach Physical Education for grades K-12, staying current it a must.
These kids are so tech savvy these days, it would be a disservice to them if we didn’t evolve with them as teachers.
May 2020, I had an article published in The Physical Educator, about using social media to keep students physically active outside of school. I used Instagram to motivate and prompt young people to workout more outside of school if they were posting what they were doing to their own Instagram pages.
My study was successful, and so interesting that I am constantly looking for ways to build on it.
Cue TikTok
With my teacher Instagram, a couple of the things I post about is what exercises I’m doing that day. I then ask my students to comment on what they will be doing, or I’ll post my progress of a specific goal (flexibility with yoga), and ask them to create their own.
Other times I’ll create a game or activity, and have them try it out at home.
The point is never to give them a grade for it, but to inspire them to be moving outside of school. And now with everyone remote teaching, I find that my Instagram for my students is a million times easier to connect with them versus the Google Classroom I have set up for all 13 grades I teach.
So you’re wondering what TikTok has to do with my students?
My reasons for joining was like most of you…to see what it was all about. But then I got absolutely hooked. I noticed some of my younger students started following me (my user name is the same as my Instagram), and I thought…hmmm another platform to connect with.
Curious to see what else was out there, I started looking at what other PE teachers, or fitness instructors were doing and I loved the way they were creating workout videos attached to an upbeat song.
My first choreographed workout was inspired by another PE teacher. I learned her moves, practiced and recorded myself. Then I posted it to my teacher Instagram and put it on all of my Google Classrooms.
It was a hit!
Culturally Relevant Teaching
Understanding your students strengths, is the key helping them learn.
In my case, I can get my students to be physically active by connecting with them on a platform they love. TikTok is for the kids. I teach the kids. I’ve just connected with them on a very unconventional way, but it works.
Once I started making these TikToks, I found it hard to stop.
I get excited every day to learn new workouts, or create my own to send out.
And here’s I’ve been staying in shape:
Repetition!
Take the first video I did. I first had to learn the coreography. It wasn’t hard, but to hit all of the exercises on each beat took practice. Therefore I was doing squat after squat after squat.
From there, I had to record it and send it out to my students. I wanted a clean video, and sometimes I would mess up which meant I was doing the same moves over and over and over.
I’d mess up and have to redo the video.
The second video I posted, I created my own choreography. This was really fun, but took a lot longer than copying someones video. I practiced different moves, with different beats which meant a constant body weight workout.
Again, once I had the routine down I had to record it, and mess ups happened.
My funniest mess up video was when I discovered a maze game within the TikTop app. You’re supposed to keep a small ball inside a maze with your head as it moves (so much easier done than how I explained it).
I decided I’m going to play the game in a push up position and move up and down with the maze. Sounds really fun, until you realize you posted a song with swear words in it for a bunch of middle schoolers. I swear I could NOT hear them while creating the video.
Anyways, with a few takes of the game, then realizing I had to make a completely new video with a clean song, I was doing push ups for a good 15 minutes. I kept messing up on the redo video, because I was getting frustrated and my arms were tired.
The Point Is…
I started creating these videos with my students in mind, but it quickly turned into selfish motives for myself. I was getting really great physical activity in besides the basic running or yoga I do.
It’s fun, it’s simple, and its different enough to keep me going!
I literally wake up every morning excited to create new content, and that’s what exercise should feel like to you.
To feel excited to workout is so beneficial to your health. I am constantly dreading my daily run, but with my TikTok workouts, I get my heart rate up even higher than my runs, and I am physically active for much longer.
People tend to get bored of the same workouts which usually is the reason someone will quit a routine. But with this new TikTok hype, I can definitely see some of you creative exercisers getting behind this trend to stay active.
So give my videos a try, or create some of your own!
Remember, keep them short and sweet. You will get your repetitions in with practice, and recording to perfection.
For more TikToks from Detroit Physical Education:
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