How OTU Improves Academics

Operation Tone-Up curriculum is aligned with National Standards in reading, writing, math, health and PE. As students apply knowledge about exercise and nutrition to their own lives, using the “text-to-self” process, they utilize and improve core curriculum knowledge and skills, understand the value of the core curriculum better, and engage more in core curriculum learning.

But OTU’s impact on learning goes well beyond this. Academic research over the past several years has proven the link between aerobic exercise and the brain. (Many coaches and parents already knew about this mind-body connection, but the relationship had not been well researched academically.) Aerobic exercise not only increases brain energy, it also literally expands the brain’s basal ganglia and hippocampus. These cerebral areas are critical for memory, particularly remembering relationships between things, for maintaining attention and focus, and for motivation and good behavior. This means that aerobic exercise, when it is structured, rigorous, and regular, can significantly improve academic performance—beyond what can be achieved by just focusing on academic-only performance improvements, which ignore the mind-body connection.

For more information on how Operation Tone-Up’s structured aerobic exercise improves academic performance, physical and mental health, and attendance, view our Powerpoint presentation in PDF format. You will also find references to relevant academic research.

AHA! Presentation PDF download