WEBELOS FITNESS
Circle 10 Council

Smell Test

Everyone knows what a taste test is, but have you ever had a smell test?  One way to cook healthier meals is to replace some ingredients like salt or fats, which are used primarily as taste enhancements, with healthier alternatives.  Herbs and spices have strong and distinctive smells as well as flavors. Many of the smells can be associated with favorite or special food memories from even very early childhood, like mom’s apple pie or grandma’s cookies.  This introduction to herbs and spices will come in handy in a year or two when your Webelos will be responsible for cooking their own meals in Boy Scouting.  It also provides a meeting full of surprising

discoveries.  Before the meeting, gather a number of herbs and spices.  Try to have a few examples of an herb in both dry and fresh forms.  Also, look for prepared food items in your kitchen that have the distinctive aroma of one or two of the items you have gathered.

During the meeting, have the boys sniff the herbs and spices (one at a time) and try to think of a food that often smells the same.  Have them sniff a dried herb, than crush or break off a fresh piece of the same herb so they can see the difference in the strength of the aroma and taste.  Finally, open a container of a prepared food and see if they are able to identify which herb or spice gives the food a distinctive flavor.  

Suggested Den Activities

Have the boys read a story in the newspaper or magazine about a drug or alcohol related incident. Have them report back to the den and discuss what happened.

Invite a nurse, doctor, or EMT to talk about the effects of tobacco, drug or alcohol abuse as well as the positive effects of eating a healthy diet.

Invite a local sports figure or coach to come and discuss fitness with the boys.

Let boys design posters on how to say no to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol. Display at a pack meeting.

Show films (approved by parents and pack committee) on drug and alcohol abuse.

Invite a dietician to come and discuss the benefits of a balanced diet.

Take a field trip to a fitness or recreation center.

Have the boys collect advertisements for tobacco and alcohol. Help the boys see that the activities in those ads have nothing to do with tobacco or alcohol. Have them read the warning labels on cigarette advertisements, note the size of the warning in relation to the ad.  Can people do the activities depicted in the ads without smoking or drinking?

Substance Abuse Information Resources

Awareness of substance abuse problems is a very important part of the Fitness pin. Remember to stress that prescription drugs administered by a doctor or parent are okay and emphasize that the problem is misuse or abuse of drugs for non-medical purposes.  Many pamphlets and books, written on the level of Webelos age boys, exist on this subject.  Some resources are: “Drugs: A Deadly Game”, community hospitals, local police stations and DARE officers, libraries, and the Consumer Information Center, which you can contact at PO Box 100, Pueblo, Colorado, 81002.

Test Your Heartbeat

Did you know that you can’t actually hear a

heartbeat? The heartbeat itself is just a contraction of muscle and is perfectly quiet. What you can hear is the sound of heart valves snapping shut.  Here’s how to test your heartbeat:

Press the first two fingers of one hand over the radial artery in the opposite wrist.  The radial artery is located under the depression just below the base of your wrist. Sit very quietly and move your fingers until you can feel the pulse of your blood.  Using a watch or clock with a second hand, count the number of beats in 10 seconds. Multiply by 6. Now you know the number of beats per minute.  Run, exercise, or jump rope for 10 minutes. Take your pulse again to see how much faster your heart is pumping.

Magic Circle

Preparation: at least three people, roughly the same size

Can you and all your friends all sit down without touching the ground and without using a single chair?  Everybody stands in a circle facing the same way with his or her hands on the next person’s waist.  Now, everybody bends their knees until they are sitting on the knees of the person behind them. Lead your entire pack in this activity at the next pack meeting. What is the largest Magic Circle you can make? All the workers at a Japanese car factory formed the world’s largest Magic Circle of 10,323 people!

Jumping Rope

Jumping rope is wonderful aerobic exercise, which means that it exercises the heart.  Professional athletes like boxers use skipping rope to built their endurance and coordination.

See how many jumps you can do before making a mistake.

How long can you jump rope? The world record is over 12 hours.

How fast can you jump rope? Fast jumping is best done boxer style with both feet together all the time. It is helpful to have a short rope so that it just misses the ground as you jump.

Can you jump backwards? With practice, you will find this almost as easy as skipping forward.

Cross hand jump: jump in the normal way but, as the rope passes over your head, bring your hands forward and cross your wrists. Quickly uncross them before jumping over the rope.

Two jump: jumping with a friend using only one rope.