Saturday Map: A Warm-Up Through Leisure Spots

Four corners of the field stand for active leisure spots (park, pool, hills and bike lane), and each one has a warm-up inspired by that activity. While rotating, students name real places in their town where they could do it.

How to play

1. Place a cone with a card at each corner: park (jumps and high knees), pool (shoulder mobility mimicking swim strokes), hills (long lunges as if climbing a slope) and bike (knees to chest and hip circles) (1 min).
2. Form four groups, one per corner, and explain that each group does that corner's warm-up for 2 minutes (1 min).
3. First two rotations; while jogging to the next corner, each student calls out a real place in their neighborhood or town for that activity (4 min).
4. Last two rotations with the same routine, slightly increasing range of motion and pace (4 min).

Rules

• Rotations go clockwise.
• Shoulder and hip movements are controlled, with no jerking.
• No one has to name a place: they can repeat one already mentioned.
• Lunges are done on flat ground with no puddles.

Variations

Adaptations

• Autism: gets each corner card with pictograms and the rotation order in writing.
• Knee injury: replaces lunges and jumps with calf raises and marching.
• Limited mobility: does the shoulder and trunk mobility at every corner and takes the shortest route between them.

Learning goals

• Prepare the body with general and joint mobility movements.
• Identify real places nearby for physical activity in free time.
• Link the warm-up to active leisure activities.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 4
• cards: 4

Teacher tip

Write down the places students name: they will be useful in the main part if you are working on active weekends. For rural groups, swap the bike lane for a country trail.

More activities like this

More warm-ups for High School