The Importance of Exercising By: Marcella Hill

                                                    The Importance of Exercising By: Marcella Hill 

    Throughout the past two years exercising has become very important to me. Whether it's taking my dogs for a long walk, or going to the gym or even using workout programs at home exercising has been the one thing to always keep me sane. When we started this year virtually, sitting at a desk all day in my room day after day became so old real fast. The one thing that got me through the long days was knowing that  I could take my dogs for a long walk after school. My dogs have become so lazy since we've all been at home, they sit around and do nothing all day since everyone is stuck doing work from home. I would take my dog Lucky and Lulu for walks everyday after school around our neighborhood and I would put my airpods in and listen to music. It felt so good to just step away from all screens for an hour of the day. Our walks were a way to de-stress from schoolwork and the craziness of the world. 

    When the gyms closed in March due to the pandemic, I was a little disappointed but my father had purchased a subscription to Beachbody which is a workout program which contains over 100 different types of programs using dumbbells and other equipment that was very easy to access. Over quarantine I would do workout video after workout video just to pass the time.  Some of my favorite programs were 21 day fix and P90x as well as MBF. I didn't workout for hours a day just because I wanted to improve my physical appearance, I did it because it was the only thing that I could consistently do and keep up with at the time. It stabilized my schedule. Instead of sitting down watching tv for hours I chose to do this to better myself. When the gyms finally opened in September I began to go everyday after school. Going to the gym after school to just blast music and workout and get out of my house had a great impact on my mood and became an important part of my day. 

    Another form of exercise that is important to me is dance and volleyball. I was a competitive dancer for over 10 years and I recently decided to stop competing and take regular classes and teach instead. Dance has always been very important to me because I have been doing it my whole life and I have grown very close with all of my teachers and my teammates. Student teaching the young dancers is definitely one of the highlights of my week and is also a form of exercise which is very enjoyable. I also take a lyrical class every week which is very relaxing and helps with my flexibility. Aside from dance I also play volleyball on a club team. This form of exercise is very fun because I am surrounded by my friends and it is a different type of exercising. Whether it's diving on the ground for the ball, running suicides, or doing many drills it takes my mind off everything for a few hours. Since everything has been so up in the air lately within regards to attending school in a hybrid model or fully virtual, exercising has become a very important part of my days that can remain consistent in my schedule no matter what happens.