After my 6 week experience of weight training and maintain a fit lifestyle while being a full time students I feel that I can always make time to be healthy. Exercising while being a full time student and full time mother and student teacher has helped to relieve stress, and balance my moods. Exercising in the morning along with proper nutrition gives me a great amount of energy that is natural and beneficial for me all around. I have learned that if I listen to my body when it comes to sleep, exercise and nutrition I can maintain healthy habits. I also learned the difference between cardio and strength training.
When I started this project I was interested in developing fitness habits for a healthy body and mind. Over the course of these 6 weeks I experienced the benefits of weight training, I have developed an interest for new exercises and I feel that I have a better understanding of how my body functions, operates and rejuvenates itself. I will definitely continue to expand my knowledge of weight training after I recover from my surgery. I have knowledge of how to maintain a healthy diet and support my new hobby. Light exercises have helped to speed up my recovery. There are many benefits to exercising and although I feel that I have to start making new progress I know it is well worth it. This journey led me to develop new inquiry questions that increased my understanding of complete wellness and overall fitness. I was able to find the answers to the questions I had on the topic when I initially had when I began this project; 1) Where can students go to work out? Gym memberships are as low as $10 per month at local gyms. College students like myself also have access the school gym. I shared my experiences with my family and decided to get a membership at the local YMCA when my children began to show interest in exercising. 2) How can students find motivation? Some of the ways I stayed motivated was by following motivational gym pages on Twitter. I also planned my week ahead of time and set out my gym clothes in the morning to help me save time and get out the door. 3) What are some quick and easy snacks? Working out in the morning meant I needed a bigger breakfast to get through lunch. I found that drinking protein shakes with chia seed and hemp seed kept me satisfied until lunch time. 4) How can students make a workout schedule that they will stick to? I learned that looking ahead and planning around important dates is essential. I did not train hard on the days before a presentation or important meetings. I learned to allow my body to get enough rest in order to have a good amount of energy through busy days. Listening to your body is key. 5) How can students work out and still have time to study? I was able to complete a lot of my reading at the gym. Having a portable device like an iPad is helpful. 6) How will working out help students be successful in school? I found that I had a positive attitude after working out. Exercising made me feel energized and improved my moods. 7) What are some good home workouts? I found many resources online about easy home workouts and linked them to my research. Overall taking 20 minutes to workout at home is well worth it. I personally stick to the basics like jumping jacks, sit-ups, push ups and squats. I found that I can really get my heart pumping in 20 minutes. 8) What are the benefits of strength training? Strength training protects bone and muscle mass, it helps to develop better body mechanics, as well as make you stronger and fitter. 9) What should students eat before and after a workout? Drinking a lot of water before working out and having a light snack before every workout is important. I also found that drinking protein before working out yields the most benefits. 10) What time is best to workout? This really depends on your schedule but for me it was most beneficial to work out in the mornings. It gave me the boost of energy I needed to teach a class of 35 high school students.
3 Comments
On week four of this 20% project I was doing a great job of going to the gym and actually hit my goal of going 5 days a week. Unfortunately on Monday of week five I was extremely sick from what I believed to be food poisoning. The reason I knew there was something seriously wrong with me was because I was not able to get out of bed in the morning to work out. It had been extremely motivated but my body was telling me there was something wrong. I after taking over the counter meds and not improving I decided to see a doctor and was diagnosed with appendicitis. I went to the ER for a surgery on Thursday. The first thing I asked my doctor when I woke up from surgery was when I would be able to work out and return to the gym. I was told I would need 4-6 week of rest before doing any heavy lifting. I was unable to walk for 4 days after surgery. Now I am back home on the road to recovery. Needles to say I am very upset. Not being able to do my daily routine is definitely hard on me. I have did not make any progress this week and will need to begin exercising at a very slow rate as I recover from surgery.
|