Popsicle Push-Up

1. Gather your group on an open, flat and dry surface.
2. Challenge your group to elevate the bodies of every individual off the ground for a period of five seconds, with only their hands touching the ground during this time.
3. Every person must be physically connected to the group during the five seconds.
4. No equipment or physical aids are permitted to solve the problem.
5. Allow ample time for planning, problem-solving & trial-and-error.
6. Encourage creativity, as there are many solutions.

Video Transcript for Popsicle Push-Up
presented by Mark Collard

Your object is over the next couple of minutes to find as many ways as you can, you may be challenged just to find one, but to find as many ways as you can to elevate your whole group off the ground for a period of five seconds.

And one more thing, the only thing that can touch the ground though while you are elevated as a group is your hands. The only thing that can touch the ground, the grass in this case, is your hands. That needs to be for a period of five seconds.

Now I will wander around. When your group thinks they have a technique that gets the whole group off the ground for a period of five seconds with the only thing touching the ground being your hands, let me know. I will come over and just check.

There are lots of different ways of solving it but right now you might be in the world of oh my goodness, is he just saying do a handstand? That could be an option but I’d suggest there’s a lot of other ways as well.

One last thing, one other qualifier just because of this group is a high-level performing, socially developed, intrinsically motivated group of adults, is that the other thing I will ask you to do is that every single person in your vowel group needs to be connected to the other people in your group.

That does not mean you have to touch all of them, but if I was touching Larry and Larry was touching someone else, everyone else is connected. For example I touch one person with an electrical current, every single person in your group would actually be affected.

So find a space that works for you. When you are ready let me know and I’ll come over and check what you’re doing. Go.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up)

Yeah, especially in the middle of your back. If you’re going to do that perhaps put them on shoulders. That’ll be a far more substantive place to place weight on someone rather than the middle of their back.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up)

Alright. Once everyone is up I will start counting.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up … One. Two. Three. Go.)

Not everyone is up yet.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up)

Two more minutes, folks. Two more minutes.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up)

Here we go. This has merit. Now you’ve only got to lift your own weight.

(people playing Popsicle Push-Up)

Everybody ready?

(One. Two. Three. the group attempts the Popsicle Push-Up)

And one, and two, and three, and four, and five.

Congratulations, guys. Well done.

Let’s keep it short and sweet…

Announce to your group that their only goal is to elevate everyone’s bodies off the ground for a period of, say, five seconds, while their hands are the only part of their anatomy allowed to touch the ground.

Furthermore, everyone must have physical contact with the group at all times.

End of story.

Likely, you will have to restate the problem several times, as people gasp at the images of handstands flashing in their minds, or the fact that they can’t use other objects to assist them (this is a people problem.)

There are many simple solutions (as well as a couple of extremely athletic solutions) to this fun, team-building initiative, so encourage your group to think creatively.

Not all groups will succeed at the task, and that’s okay. Look to process the experiences of working together as a team and the development of problem-solving skills as an achievement.

Given that hands will be placed on the ground, consider the type of surface on which the activity will occur. Carpeted indoor rooms and grassy fields are okay, but gravel parking lots and wet areas, not so much.

If you prefer, you may present the problem with a demonstration of a recognised solution first to spark people’s imaginations. For example, start with one person lying face down on the ground as if preparing to do a push-up. A second person lies face down at right angles to the first person so that the top of their feet are resting on the first person’s shoulders. A third person repeats this procedure using the second person as their footrest, while a fourth person weaves their body into this formation so as to connect everyone in a square. On “GO” everyone does a push-up. Ideally there should be four raised bodies, with only eight hands touching the ground.

Beware gung-ho individuals and groups that truly believe that they can all do a hand-stand to accomplish the task. Allow them time to discuss their strategies, and then at the 11th hour when it is clear they are about to launch into a massive hand-stand, stop them, and suggest that they look for another alternative.

Also beware the ‘solution’ in which everyone sits on their hands. While in theory this may meet the challenge, in practice, it is just too awkward to see if anyone’s butt is, let’s say, overhanging and touching the ground. Encourage more thinking.

For the record, the technique used to weave four popsicle (icy-pole) sticks together when they are fashioned into a boomerang shape, is useful in a popular solution, and thus, is where the name of this classic group initiative originates.

You could integrate Popsicle Push-Up as part of a well-designed SEL program to help your group make caring and constructive choices about personal behaviour and social interactions across different situations.

Specifically, this activity offers ample opportunities to explore and practice the following social & interpersonal skills:

Self-Awareness

• Recognising Strengths, Prejudices & Biases
• Demonstrating Self-Confidence, Honesty & Integrity
• Experiencing Self-Efficacy
• Having A Growth Mindset

Self-Management

• Identifying & Managing Stress
• Demonstrating Self-Discipline & Self-Motivation
• Setting Personal & Group Goals
• Use Planning & Organisational Skills

Social Awareness

• Taking Other’s Perspectives
• Demonstrating Empathy & Compassion
• Understanding & Expressing Gratitude
• Recognising Strengths In Others
• Respecting Others

Relationship Skills

• Communicate & Listen Effectively
• Seeking and/or Offering Support
• Build Positive Relationships
• Work Collaboratively
• Showing Leadership
• Resolving Conflict Constructively

Responsible Decision-Making

• Demonstrating Curiosity & Open-Mindedness
• Identifying Problems
• Making Reasoned Judgements
• Identifying Solutions
• Anticipating & Evaluating the Consequences of One’s Actions
• Promoting Personal & Collective Well-Being

You can learn more about SEL and how it can support character education here.

Behavioural Norms

The dynamics of this fun group initiative will invite your group to interact and engage with one another in a manner that would necessarily speak to the benefits of having developed a set of supportive and healthy behavioural norms in advance. Or, if not, you could focus on any less-than-desired interactions or outcomes to explore what sorts of behaviours your group would prefer to see and commit to in the future.

For example, in addition to those described in the Reflection Tips tab, you could invite your group to reflect on the following questions to explore a variety of full value behaviours such as:

• How did the group demonstrate its ability to care for self and others?
• Generally speaking, how did the group make decisions? How were all members involved?
• Describe your group’s goal-setting process?
• What types of leadership were demonstrated during the exercise? Were they effective?
• Was adaptability a key component of the group’s success? In what ways?
• Were there moments of accountability or integrity that concerned you? Why?

Safety

Any time one or more people are lifted off the ground is a good time to invite your group to adhere to certain safety guidelines. The physical nature of many of the solutions to this exercise demand that the comfort and safety of everyone is a top priority. Be sure to step in at the 11th hour if necessary to arrest a situation if you are concerned that the group is about to do something unsafe. For example, the inclination for those involved in a push-up to support the feet or legs of another participant in the middle of their back is a recipe for harm. Physical safety issues such as these are very obvious but do not neglect a range of mental and emotional safety measures, too. For example, you may wish to invite your group to reflect on issues such as inclusivity and equity.

• Multiple Solutions: Challenge your group to discover as many different techniques as they can within the time limit to successfully accomplish the task.
• Multiple Work-Stations: For large groups, form two or more smaller teams (see Getting Into Teams for ideas.) Challenge them to work in smaller ‘work stations’ to ultimately solve the problem for the whole group. Typically, most groups will perceive this challenge as an ‘us versus them’ competition, an observation which may contribute towards a useful discussion later when the task is complete.
• Record Attempt: Using any technique the group chooses, attempt to elevate as many people off the ground for as long as possible. Good luck.

We’ve all seen amazing levitation tricks performed by famous magicians at live shows and on television. We all know that it’s an illusion, but these tricks always look sooo real, don’t you agree? Well, it may surprise you to learn that if we’re lucky, we may get to see some levitation magic performed right here, right now…

This next challenge is so simple, yet as soon as you hear about it, you’ll likely think of it as a very difficult task to complete. Keep in mind, that while the task may be quite simple, the process by which your group goes about solving it may be as simple or as hard as you want to make it…

Coupled with one or more reflection strategies, here are some sample questions you could use to process your group’s experience after playing this physical team-building exercise:

• In the beginning, did the task seem possible?
• What words would you use to describe your group’s process to solve the problem?
• How many ideas were generated? Were all of these attempted – why or why not?
• What process did your group use to make decisions?
• What skills were leveraged the most to be successful in this exercise?
• Is this exercise primarily a physical or mental challenge?

Quick, Introductory ‘Team-Building’ Session

What You Need:
8+ people (divided into 2 or more teams), 30 mins, shoes worn by participants

• Clumps – highly interactive exercise, ultimately used to create random teams
• Leaning Tower of Feetza – quick and simple introductory team-building task
• Popsicle Push-Up – physically challenging problem-solving initiative