Simon Says Stretch

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Re-engage attention and physical readiness after periods of sitting through listening and gentle movement.

Use it when: Use during a midday slump, after heavy lecture blocks, or when transitioning between seated work sessions.

Skip it when: Skip when participants are in restrictive clothing, report acute mobility injuries, or when the space is too cramped for safe arm extension.

Group arrangement: Whole group facing the leader, standing or seated with personal space around them.

Timing: UWT plan uses 7 minutes based on the source suggestion of several 30-second rounds plus setup and debrief.

Materials and tools

• No specialized materials required.
• Optional scratch paper and pencil per person for tracking points.

Before participants arrive

1. Ensure participants have at least an arm length of clear space on all sides.
2. Decide whether participants will stand or remain seated.

Say this to open

For the next few minutes, my name is Simon. Follow my physical stretch commands exactly, but only if I start the command with 'Simon says.' For example, if I say 'Simon says reach both hands up,' you stretch both hands up. If I just say 'Reach both hands up' without saying 'Simon says,' hold completely still. If you move when you should not, or do the wrong stretch, give yourself one point. Low score wins. You track your own score.

How to run it

1. Explain the rules and practice 2 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Demonstrate one valid call ('Simon says roll your shoulders') and one trap call ('Touch your knees'). Confirm everyone understands that players self-score and remain in the game rather than being eliminated.

2. Run round one at moderate pace 1 minutes

   Call stretching commands for 30 seconds at a moderate pace, matching your own movements to the words. Examples: 'Simon says tilt your head to the left,' 'Simon says reach to the ceiling,' 'Shake out your hands.' Call stop at 30 seconds and let people mark any penalty points.

3. Run round two with misleading cues 1 minutes

   Call commands for 30 seconds at a faster pace. Introduce conflicting visual cues, such as saying 'Simon says place hands on hips' while touching your own head, or calling a stretch without 'Simon says' while performing it yourself. Stop at 30 seconds.

4. Run final challenge round 1 minutes

   Deliver rapid 30-second sequences combining fast prompts, quiet volume, and mixed visual cues. Call final stop and ask participants to total their penalty points.

5. Debrief the listening patterns 2 minutes

   Ask the group to shake out their limbs. Invite two or three participants to share what tricked their attention most: visual imitation or auditory cues.

Debrief questions

• What pulled your reaction faster: watching my body movements or listening to the exact words?
• When you caught yourself starting to make a mistake, what physical sensation alerted you first?
• How did keeping your own score change your focus compared to standard elimination games?

Finished output: Completion of three physical movement rounds with self-tracked scores.

Remote

Run with cameras on in gallery view. The facilitator speaks into the microphone and demonstrates on camera. Remote participants perform seated or standing in frame, keeping their own score on scratch paper or their fingers.

Hybrid

Position the room camera so remote participants clearly see the facilitator. The facilitator must face both the room and the camera. Remote participants keep track of points locally and can post total scores in the digital chat if they choose.

Access and participation choices

• All stretching cues can be performed from a seated chair position using neck, shoulder, arm, or facial movements.
• Participants may choose to observe, serve as timekeeper, or track points mentally without performing stretches, with no disclosure required.

If the session gets stuck

Participants feel embarrassed about making a mistake and freeze.

Remind the room that points are normal and nobody gets eliminated; the facilitator should intentionally make visible errors during non-command stretches to normalize slip-ups.

Room space is too tight, causing participants to bump arms.

Instruct everyone to remain seated or shift cues to compact movements such as wrist circles, shoulder shrugs, and neck rolls.

Terms used here

• Non-elimination scoring: A game format where mistakes add points to a personal tally instead of removing the player from the game.