Physical Wellbeing Response

1) I think that my opinion on great ways to be active and someone else's opinion on great ways to be active, might be different. In my opinion, I think walking, strength training, HIIT workouts, biking, and running are all great ways to be active. I also think yoga is beneficial for both mental and physical health. I have recently been using the app FitOn for workouts because it allows me to select a type of workout and the amount of time I have to do the workout. It also allows you to workout with someone else virtually, which has been great during the pandemic!
2) It has been incredibly difficult to maintain an active lifestyle throughout this past year. I have not prioritized my physical health as much as I should have, between teaching 60 students fully remote all year, graduate school classes/homework, and the stress and sadness of this pandemic. At the beginning of the year, I would make it a priority to take a 1-2 mile walk on my lunch break. When winter began and the days started getting colder, I stopped going on these walks. In the past 2 weeks, I have just started to walk again for 20 minutes after school. I have also started to run again, which I used to really enjoy doing and had stopped when school and work got too overwhelming. I have also been using the FitOn application throughout the pandemic, and just started using it again to do 15-20 minute HIIT workouts with friends.
3) It can be hard to find a balance between all of the things that we are supposed to do to stay healthy. Especially as a first year teacher, I feel as if the demands and stress are never-ending. I almost never prioritize self-care and my own physical health, because I am just so exhausted when the day is over. I have been reminding myself that if I do not do a HIIT everyday that is okay, as long as I am moving my body in one way or another. I have also tried to remind myself that sometimes what is healthy for me on a particular day, is to sleep that extra hour and to eat healthy. I am definitely getting hoping to get back on track and as the days get warmer and warmer, I will be moving and getting outside often!