Why you should be exercising more during the pandemic

By Olivia Martin | Social Media Editor

One thing that I am not is a homebody. Don’t take that the wrong way — I love my home, both here in Waco and in California, but the amount of time that I typically spend at home on a normal basis is very small.

Maybe it’s my people-loving personality or my inability to sit still, but I can’t be the only one who has found themselves going a little stir crazy from the amount of time I spend sitting at home each day (I’m looking at you COVID-19).

Because my class schedule consists of only two in-person classes, I find myself sitting at home for a large part of the day during the weekdays. Whether I’m sitting on my couch doing homework, in my bed on Zoom (with my camera turned off, of course) or possibly even at a local coffee shop getting work done, I am always sitting.

God bless my two in-person classes that get me out of the house. I never thought I’d say this, but I have actually begun to enjoy the walk to Castellaw from my house (it’s not a short one), simply because it gets me out of the house and on my feet and moving.

My saving grace this semester has been working out with my roommates. I have found that even on days where I have sat around all day doing my classes and homework, getting a short workout in makes me feel not only more productive, but actually puts me in a better mood and helps me focus on my work later on.

I’m sure we can all agree that our lives have changed drastically because of COVID-19. The places we can go and things we can do are very limited right now because of the current state of the pandemic. But just because we can’t necessarily go out as much as we used to, that doesn’t mean that we should neglect our bodies of the movement we not only need but deserve.

It is so important to do something active each day — even if it’s something small like a walk around the block, because the reality of our lives right now is that we are not getting as much natural movement as we are used to on a daily basis. On top of this, the pandemic has also had severe effects on people’s mental health which makes staying active and exercising all the more important.

I would encourage everyone reading this to go and out do something active. Force your roommate to go on a walk with you, find a workout partner, go on YouTube and search “beginning yoga” and do it in your living room. Whatever it takes to get you up and moving, do it!