The 10 Worst Exercises You Were Forced to Do in PE

Published on 3/31/2016 at 6:25 AM

There was something about forced physical activity during school hours that I had an extreme aversion to — and I was an athlete until I graduated high school. Even when I "forgot" my change of clothes for gym, I had to borrow from school (the loaner clothes were dyed pink and unsurprisingly made the experience infinitely worse). My PE teacher typically didn't buy my sick excuse and my principal found me hiding in the bathroom one too many times, so attending PE was inescapable.

While I tried to avoid gym class at all costs, some day's activities were unquestionably worse. There was a hierarchy of the most terrible PE exercises I was required to do during this miserable hour. So here are the most dreaded gym-class activities we all experienced, as told through GIFs.

Dodgeball

I know some people enjoyed this activity; I will concede that sometimes even I didn't detest it. But, having rubber balls flung at your face is all fun and games until someone (me) gets hit in the head.

Timed miles

Seriously, why is this required? I like running; I don't like being lapped by my more talented classmates.

Track and field activities

For those of us who weren't skilled track stars, doing hurdles was an embarrassing and painful exercise. How many fences did I have to knock over before my teacher excused me from the activity? None — there are no excuses in gym class!

Field sprints

Because I was an athlete in school, I got a double dose of everyone's favorite sprinting exercise. Running the lines on a field in a successive pyramid until you want to drop was torture. I sweat a lot exercising so returning to class after a line running day was another personal nightmare.

Choosing teams

While not a physical activity, the anxiety of waiting to be picked for a squad was unbearable. No one — I don't care how removed from sports you are — wants to be chosen last.

Fitness testing

Sure, fitness testing wasn't as strenuous as passing the Marine Corps assessment — but it definitely felt like it at the time. You had to pass a certain level to receive the supreme prize: a presidential fitness t-shirt (and you were decidedly uncool on my campus if you didn't have one).

Watching all the talented athletes

Like I said, I was an athlete, which made me competitive — but that doesn't mean I was good. Every gym activity had the one student who made it look easy. When you're struggling to do a single push-up and the girl next to you just did 15, no one is smiling.

Push-ups

Another exercise I am totally capable of, and do regularly now. When I was screamed at by the gym teacher to get to 20 while my friends watched and laughed at my shaking arms, push-ups were unbearable.

Overeager gym teachers

I will never forget my middle school gym coach because she felt more like a drill sergeant than teacher. Instead of allowing me to revel in my young age and enjoy a break from the books, I was constantly accosted to run faster or push harder.

Bat and ball sports

Not everyone is coordinated. In fact, there are very few people capable of pitching a baseball or softball without endangering a life — I am not one of those people. I cringed each moment a ball was tossed my direction. Sometimes my life even flashed before my eyes.

Bonus: sex education

Of course sex education is important. Middle schoolers definitely don't understand that. Instead, this unit produced red faces, uncomfortable shifting in our seats, zero eye contact, and unavoidable mental images.