The Motivation Factor: Healthy Americans are Bad for Business
The 35th POTUS had a master plan to whip America into shape. Unfortunately, certain people make way too much money to let that happen.
“Poor bastards,” I thought, staring at the wall in my high school gym.
Painted in bold were the names and dates of record-setting swimmers, divers, and track stars, some going back a century.
Life must have been rough for them with no cable, car, or air conditioning.
But I had it backward.
The Eugenes, Melvins, and Herbs looking down would have felt sorry for me.
While I sat comfortably perched at the turn of the century full of prescription drugs and sugar, their teachers took education seriously.
Especially physical education.
And for that, they gained lifetime skills, and the nation was better for it.
Something JFK knew well.
Today, many people blame the CIA for 35’s early demise.
But after watching the award-winning documentary The Motivation Factor, I’m pretty sure the second gunman on the Grassy Knoll was a World Economic Forum goon with a time machine.
A President and a PE Teacher Mold a Generation
Kennedy knew physical fitness determined a nation's success, noting the ancient Greeks’ advanced civilization and dedication to physical fitness.
A country is only as strong as its citizens. -JFK
When we lose our physical health, our mental health soon follows. Eventually, so goes our patriotism and sense of community.
That’s why the Kennedy Administration published the official US Physical Fitness Program in 1964.
(See the entire book in PDF here, which includes exercises anyone can do equipment-free, with tips on how to walk and sit properly.)
But for maximum and long-term effect, public schools had to implement a proper physical education plan.
That’s where Stan LeProtti and La Sierra High School entered the field.
The La Sierra System
Meet Stan LeProtti.
After serving in WW2, LeProtti settled as a PE teacher at La Sierra High School in Carmichael, California, and joined the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition.
And there was no time for spacing out in his class.
Here’s a ~60-second preview:
They called it “The La Sierra System.”
With calisthenics, running, obstacle courses, and other grueling activities, everyone left for summer break with a six-pack.
But it wasn’t just about building muscle.
The program taught discipline, motivation, and perseverance.
And it worked, as some 4,000 American schools adopted the program nationwide, and alumni interviewed for The Motivation Factor reported excellent health and successful careers.
How it Works
Perhaps a major reason for the system's success was you didn’t have to try out for a team.
It was just PE class.
Every boy, and yes, girl, started at level one with white shorts and would test to advance to red, blue, and finally navy blue.
Overall, the program was successful.
Over 90% of kids advanced from white to red within the first year, and 60% eventually made the blue team, with only a select few earning the esteemed Navy Blue shorts.
Conversely, only 1-2% never escalated from white to red.
It is possible for young men to face difficult feats when motivated -Stan LeProtti
La Sierra for a Healthy Nation
Doctors, fitness instructors, and other professionals interviewed for the documentary tell of the strong correlation between physical health, grades, and much more.
Community
After the bell rang and the kids raced home, Coach LeProtti offered a less rigorous class for parents.
I doubt he received overtime pay or even asked for it, but the after-hours sessions reinforced community bonds as parents met daily.
Also, athletes know there’s no race on the field. It's about your physical and mental strength and ability to work as a team.
Exercise has the ability to unite. -Layla Jaffree-Williams, MD
Juvenile Delinquency
Physically active kids tend to stay out of trouble.
The Honorable Dana M. Bradshaw, La Sierra Alum (Navy Blue), said most defendants who stumble into his courtroom typically come from broken, lazy, and unhealthy homes.
When Prescott Middle School in Modesto, California, adopted the program, administrators saw an 83% drop in disciplinary actions in the introductory semester.
Sleep
Active kids sleep better because physical activity increases melatonin production.
Unfortunately, modern students sacrifice sleep for studying, which leads to poor performance and a gateway to many adulthood health issues.
Chronic Sitting
Sitting for hours isn’t great for anyone:
Studies show chronic sitting has a mortality rate similar to smoking
We lose two hours of life for every hour we sit
Physical inactivity raises your risk of general ill health by 114%
Memory
Today’s students graduate by learning to memorize information, regurgitate it on a test, and immediately discard the info.
When we’re physically active, we can better absorb information, and maintaining a regular workout routine will decrease the chance of memory issues later in life.
Posture
They say you’re as old as your back.
That’s why physical education taught kids how to sit, stand, and jump properly.
They even studied the history of back pain, held restorative workouts, and conducted barefoot drills.
Health Insurance Savings
Americans today spend the most on healthcare yet have the highest rate of health issues in our history, with 80% of a two trillion dollar health bill going to preventable conditions.
Today, noncommunicable diseases (heart attacks, strokes, cancers, etc.) kill 41 million people each year, equivalent to 74% of global deaths.
What would our national debt look like if we were a healthy nation?
La Sierra Today
While La Sierra High closed in 1983, the program continued at places like Prescott Junior High in Modesto, California, still active as of the documentary’s release.
But that was 2017. I guessed that 2020 made short work of any PE class, especially in California.
So I called the school.
They put me in touch with Jason Avelar, a veteran PE instructor and coach who was kind enough to share how La Sierra evolved.
To my surprise, Avelar said although they modified the program due to CV restrictions, it was still in good shape overall.
We see many a wide range of benefits from mental health, leadership, friendships, problem solving, goal setting, positive self image, self confidence, synergy and much more. -Jason Avelar, Prescott Junior High Physical Education
Healthy Americans are Bad for Business
But my excitement was short-lived as I understood Prescott is an edge case.
Today, we fear injury, liability, and failure more than properly teaching physical education.
It seems in the anti-bullying campaign, we sacrificed our kids’ health.
More concerning is healthy Americans aren’t profitable and bad for our nation’s adversaries as we’ve lost our sense of community and nationality.
Do I believe a group of men in cloaks in an underground bunker planned to make Americans sick for profit?
Of course not, but people make business and legal decisions that tend to make more money. And it doesn’t take a tin-foil hat to see.
Just look around.
Still, it's not just schools to blame. Social media wreaks havoc on young minds, especially girls.
Corporations that pump kids full of sugar and doctors who are more likely to write prescriptions than recommend lifestyle changes are also at fault.
Our problem is not guns, racism, or the infinite list of “phobias.”
Americans are sick. And sick Americans are lucrative.
But is there any hope?
Of course. But we can’t count on our president to save us.
It starts at home.
For more, check out the trailer for The Motivation Factor and rent it on Amazon for $3.99.
This knowledge, the knowledge that the physical well-being of the citizen is an important foundation for all of the activities of the nation, is as old as Western civilization itself. But it is a knowledge which today, in America, we are in danger of forgetting -John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Loved this article. Now that's a PE class!!