Warm-Up Exercise Auction
Each group gets 10 bottle caps to bid on exercise cards in a quick auction, then uses what it wins to build and do a balanced warm-up. Students practice decision-making, planning, and what each warm-up phase is for.
How to play
- Make six groups of four and give each group 10 bottle caps; write the requirements on the whiteboard: at least two mobility moves, two activation moves, and one sport-specific move.
- Hold up about twenty exercise cards one at a time; groups bid by raising a hand and calling how many caps they offer, with 10 seconds per card.
- Each winning group pays and keeps the card; the auction lasts about 4 minutes, and any unsold cards stay in the pile until the end.
- Groups take 1 minute to put their cards in order and check the requirements; if a phase is missing, they can trade an extra card with another group.
- Groups do their warm-up for 5 minutes, with a different leader for each move.
- At the end, each group says which card they would pay more for next time and why.
Rules
- You can't bid more caps than you have left.
- Each group can win no more than six cards.
- Bids are made one at a time, no shouting.
- Safety: sport-specific or high-intensity moves always go at the end of the warm-up.
Variations
Easier
Auction twelve cards with only two phase requirements.
Standard
Twenty cards, 10 caps per group, and three requirements.
Harder
Add a pricey wild card that lets the group invent its own move.
Adaptations
- Limited mobility: groups can bid on cards marked with a symbol showing they have a seated version.
- Shyness: each group picks a spokesperson to bid, so nobody has to speak up alone.
- Fitness level: each group sets the reps for each card within a given range.
Learning goals
- Choose exercises based on the phases of a warm-up.
- Make group decisions while managing a limited resource.
- Complete a warm-up the group put together.
Equipment for a class of 25
- bottle caps: 60
- exercise cards: 20
- whiteboard: 1
Teacher tip
Run the auction quickly and with energy, like a real auctioneer, because a slow auction eats into activity time. Recycled bottle caps work great as currency.
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