Wake up and Shake up - An explanation

The Wake up and Shake up programme (W&S) is specially designed for use in the playground or School Hall. It is safe and effective exercise for the whole school, parents and staff, and comprises three sections.

1. Aerobics: The opening track is quite fast. The moves mainly use movement of the lower body. Using these major muscles makes the heart beat faster, warms up the body and prepares you for the day ahead.

2. Strength and mobilisation This is aimed at strengthening the legs and increasing muscular endurance. It is interspersed with joint mobilisation exercises. These tackle the joints that are most effected by the lifestyle of the average modern school child. Ankles, back, shoulder, wrist and neck joints are all mobilised, encouraging flexibility and full range of movement.

3. Stretch and revitalise: The final section brings the heart rate back to normal, and stretches all the muscles that have been used. This again aims to counter the effect of school life on your body. Sitting down can shorten the hamstring muscle. The stretch section aims to lengthen that muscle again. The chest muscles can become shortened with hunching over a desk, so this section aims to stretch out the chest again. The calm music allows you to ground yourself and leaves you ready to learn.

The whole W&S programme lasts ten minutes, meaning that you have achieved an extra 50 mins of physical activity by the end of the school week. The aim is to change the music and moves every half term to maintain the motivation and to further challenge the body physically. All the moves incorporated into the W&S session are low impact. This means that at least one foot is on the ground at any one time. This makes the exercises gentler on your joints, and means that it is safe for you to exercise in school shoes.


Most of the schools in this area are using W&S first thing in the morning, taking 10 minutes out of the school day. Teachers have found that behaviour has improved and the classroom is calmer since introducing W&S. This is in addition to the other benefits of fitter and healthier children, and schools achiveing the 2-hour Government target.