I.M.F.A.S.T. does not require a special skill set to perform, enjoy, or benefit from the program.  ANY CHILD WHO CAN WALK, JOG, OR RUN can participate effectively and successfully.  Any physical education teacher is likely to b e able to share stories of those students who desperately need physical activity but have ‘two left feet’, poor hand-eye coordination, or feel self-conscious because they are not skilled, winning athletes.

Moving in space with a SpeedSac during the I.M.F.A.S.T. Program requires nothing other than participation and paying attention to own’s own physical experience in the session. The basic training simplicity inherent in the I.M.F.A.S.T. Program improves retention for repeat enrollment, as well as contributes to the overall fitness of athletes participating in other activities being offered.

Fitness training literature shows that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is an established approach to exercise that provides short bouts of vigorous exercise (often with added resistance) which causes one’s individual heart rate to go up into training zones.  These bouts are then alternated with short periods of rest or lower intensity exercise that causes one’s individual heart rate to go down into recovery zones. The heart muscle is being responsively trained to effectively work, and effectively recover. Combining aerobic exercise for the heart, with resistance training for the muscles, along with dynamic activity for coordination, and then having it all expertly monitored by the latest technology, results in more personal achievement and calories burned!

The I.M.F.A.S.T. program includes the use of state of the art wrist watch technology supplied and by Interactive Health Technologies, LLC (IHT). Each participant is given a heart rate monitors to wear during training that monitors and records their training and recovery heartrates during the 50-minute class session This data is then professionally analyzed by IHT and the I.M.F.A.S.T. staff. The information is paired with each student athlete’s age, height, weight, Body Mass Index*. Participation style, and gender giving an individualized picture of each child that helps assess, motivate, and guide their instruction.

*BMI – a value pediatricians us to describe height and weight on a growth curve that indicates if someone’s weight is healthy. The higher the BMI the higher the body fat percentage.  On average BMI gives an accurate picture, unless the higher number is the result of being ‘very athletic and muscular’. As the body matures, having a lower BMI correlates to being in good health and physical condition, while higher numbers corelate to being in poorer health and physical condition.

Although there are many benefits of competition sports, they can also can present obstacles for the many students who may be unfit, unskilled, uninterested, and unmotivated to have an active lifestyle.  School age children, who are in the process of social and emotional development (S.E.L.) that is often peer-based, may be extra sensitive to situations that reflect on their self-esteem such as losing, being awkward, failing, being criticized, or perhaps being made fun of.

The I.M.F.A.S.T. program eliminates competition with other, or for that matter, winning or losing in arenas that are out of one’s control.  The only competition is with one’s own performance numbers, learning how and what is needed to control (work and recover) their own heart rate. Each child learns during their participation about self-awareness, self-management, and responsible decision making. Since failure is not really an option with this approach. It is safe to say that “nothing succeeds like success”.  Just by “doing”, each child will experience and learn how to improve their physical condition and have confidence in their bodies and their behavior.

Because I.M.F.A.S.T. is an “individualized” workout for each participant based on their own heart rate data, it is possible to have small groups of student athletes with different abilities working together.  Because of this unique factor, an organization offering I.M.F.A.S.T. or the instructors teaching it, are not limited or controlled by class demographics when it comes to small group arrangements.  For example, if it was necessary for some reason, siblings, friends, teammates, or neighbors of different ages and skills could be placed in the same group.   A particular small group arrangement may also be chosen for the sole purpose of maximum motivation of one or two group members.

Because I.M.F.A.S.T. is an “individualized” workout for each participant based on their own heart rate data, it is possible to have small groups of student athletes with different abilities working together.   This provides additional unique experiences and valuable insights for teaching social awareness and creating supportive relationships within the group.

Often, we begin learning at an early age the many stereotypes that support false generalizations about other people. E.g.  “that others have it better” or “that others are lazy” or that a certain ‘type’ “does not try hard or hard enough” etcetera.

It is very instructive and often highly motivating for very skilled, athletic students to embrace how hard someone less skilled is working to improve themselves.  Conversely, it is very valuable for the non-skilled student athlete to embrace that even the “best” performers need improvement and must challenge themselves in order to achieve it.  No one makes progress unless they take responsibility for themselves and encourage others to do the same.  The I.M.F.A.S.T. program emphasizes how achievement depends on self-knowledge and self-control, combined with a cooperative appreciation and understanding of others.

I.M.F.A.S.T. Interval Training offers a clear and easy to implement Program. Instructors are given a SpeedSac Certification complete with sufficient fitness and safety instruction, all necessary equipment, directions for class structure and timing, knowledge of the staple and auxiliary exercises and stretches, as well as being shown how to set up the training parcourse outdoors or in an indoor setting.  Interactive Health Technologies (IHT) provides training and guidance to properly and responsibly use and care for the fitness ‘watches’.  I.M.F.A.S.T. staff members will communicate program modifications necessary for class participants as they are gleaned necessary from the IHT’s data analysis.