Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Get Fit

Exercise and a healthy diet are the best ways to prevent heart disease.  Can you find a way to incorporate cardiovascular exercise into your schedule?  Can you actually follow the NFL's Play 60 recommendations?  For this challenge, you have to be active for 60 minutes a day for a minimum of three days.  You need to do something out of the ordinary - try a fitness class,  go for a run, walk the dog...anything that you are not use to doing.  It is helpful to take this challenge with a group of friends or family.  Discuss what you did and write a brief reflection on the experience.  Explain why exercise is important for cardiovascular health.

37 comments:

  1. I decided to follow the NFL's recommended 60 minutes of physical activity for 3 days straight with my mom! We did things we normally don't do everyday. For example, the first day, my mom and I went on a long run around Andy Brown Park. The second day, we attended a dance class called "Zumba" at the Aquatic Center. On the third day, my mom and I walked our two dogs around the neighborhood for an hour. I really liked incorporating fitness in my schedule everyday because it makes me feel very healthy and productive. Exercise is important to your health because it helps prevent risk of getting heart disease, high blood pressure, etc. It also helps tone your muscles, improve strength, and increase your metabolism. Any type of exercise added to your daily lifestyle is VERY benificial.

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  2. I did this challenge with my dad, and it was a great experience. The first day we rode the stationary bike for an hour. I thought that this would be really easy, but it actually made me really tired and the last 30 minutes were a struggle. The next day we walked for an hour. This was fun and even though it was exercise, it was fun because we could just walk and talk and not think about how tired we were. The last day I went without my dad and I did a Zumba class at la fitness. That is fun because you are just dancing the whole time, but it is much harder than one would expect. I enjoy working out, so this challenge wasn't a problem for me. I actually really enjoyed it. Although eating healthy is one of the most important things to remaining healthy, I still think that society needs to try to be more active and just do some type of exercise no matter what it is. Your heart needs to keep pumping and needs to stay active, and exercising is a very easy way to keep that happening.

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  3. On the first and second day I did this challenge with my friend Laura, and on the last day I did this challenge with my sister Sidney. On the first day Laura and I went to a Zumba class and watched abunch of Zumba videos at home. At first the Zumba class was really fun and easy but when we went back to my house and did some of the Zumba videos they were alot more challenging as we had already been working alot. On the second day Laura and I did aerobics consisting of step up, jumping jacks, agilities, and more. This was very challenging as I have mo muscle strength....like at all. On the third day my sister and I walked our dog together for 30min and then after that we went to the gym together. This was pretty easy and my sister was very supportive of going to the gym with me. Exercise is important for cardiovascular health because it strengthens your heart muscles and prevents future heart diseases.

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  4. For this challenge, I attended kickboxing class for an hour in a half which was definitely a struggle when your not very in shape. The second day I went on a long distance run with my brother with our dog and mapped out how far we ran. On the final day, we did a 1 hour abs workout with a video at home. The workout was difficult but on the third day I felt ten times more better about it theme the first. Being active is so essential for your health. It enhances cardiovascular muscles, helps you tone and stay strong, builds endurance and can relieve stress to help you think straight. If I can find more time in my daily schedule I would do more fitness activities daily.

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  5. For this challenge, I attended kickboxing class for an hour in a half which was definitely a struggle when your not very in shape. The second day I went on a long distance run with my brother with our dog and mapped out how far we ran. On the final day, we did a 1 hour abs workout with a video at home. The workout was difficult but on the third day I felt ten times more better about it theme the first. Being active is so essential for your health. It enhances cardiovascular muscles, helps you tone and stay strong, builds endurance and can relieve stress to help you think straight. If I can find more time in my daily schedule I would do more fitness activities daily.

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  6. For three days straight, I went bike riding and running for over an hour which is something that I usually don't do on a daily basis. To keep me motivated, I did this activity with my two sisters each afternoon. I really enjoyed incorporating fitness into my daily schedule because it allowed me to feel very healthy. Being active is very relevant because it can help out in long run since it would prevent heart problems and other diseases.

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  8. Over the Christmas break I took the NFL 60 minute challenge with my cousins! We played outside for three days straight!! One of the days we played ultimate Frisbee at a local park in Houston. The second day we went to a dog park and ran around and played fetch with my cousin’s Labrador. On the third day we played a very intense game of volleyball and also a few matches of tennis!! I had so much fun being outside with my family instead of siting inside playing video games, card games, and board games like my family usually does when we are together. While doing the NFL 60 minute challenge over three days I realized just how important cardiovascular health is!! When you get your heart pumping by exercise you can increase exercise capacity, endurance, and skeletal muscle strength. Regular physical activity also prevents the development of coronary artery disease.

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  9. I took on the NFL's play 60 challenge with my dad. For 3 consecutive days I went on an afternoon run with my dad. Right after my dad came back from work, we went on a run around the neighborhood. We first started by running 2 miles. The first day was really hard. We had to take a break at 1 mile and we finished within 20 min. After I finished I was very sore. The next day we ran the same distance;however, we did not stop this time. On the last day we increased our distance to 2.5 miles. Although it took longer we did not need to stop. Throughout the challenge I became less sore at the end of runs. Running is beneficial to the cardiovascular system because it makes the heart stronger as the heart needs to pump more and more faster during runs. A healthy heart creates a healthy cardiovascular system. Not only was this challenge good for my cardiovascular system, it was also a good bonding time for my dad and I. Even-though the 3 days are up, we still continue doing our afternoon runs.

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  10. Over the break I decided I needed to stay in shape for baseball. Every day I went to the school weight room, lifted weights and then ran outside on the track. Every other day I alternated between upper body and lower body when I was lifting weights. Then I did different types of running. One day I back peddled and jogged around the track a couple of times and another day I ran bleachers, it all just depended what I wanted to do that day. After doing this I feel like I have stayed in shape and came back to school in better health than I was in before. Exercise is very important to a healthy life style. It can make all the difference

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  11. Over the Christmas Break I took the Play 60 challenge with my family, granted, more times it was just myself participating as my parents would not always be interested in working out, (My mom runs 4 times a week though). For three days I became active for 60 minutes, for the first two days I ran in the morning for about 40 minutes and then I would walk my dog in the afternoon for 20 minutes. On the third and final day I played football with some friends for more than an hour. I think if I can manage to walk my dog or run or play a sport for at least an hour a day then I can be a little mor healthy. Exercising is important because it makes your body become active and it helps burn calories, fat, and will help you become all around a more healthy person. I think I will start exercising for 60 minutes a day that way I can stay healthy.

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  12. During the break I thought it would be fun to go out with my family and workout. So with the NFL challenge of play 60, I thought it would be fun to throw the football around with the whole family. We don't usually play sports but I told them that it was only for an hour. The hour flew by and my family really enjoyed bonding and we got off the couch! The second day I was bored and told my mom and sister that we should try a Zumba class. I've never tried a Zumba class but I thought it would be more fun than just running. The class got me out of breath by the end but I know I will go back. The third day we decided to go to the park and feed the ducks. After that we just walked around the neighborhood. After doing this challenge, it is really not that hard to invest play 60 in my lifestyle. The experience was great and my whole family enjoyed it because we also got to spend more time together. All these exercises are good for cardiovascular health because it gets the heart pumping everyday for 60 mins. The heart would be more healthy for the long run.

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  13. Over the break I decided to take the NFL 60 minute challenge. Every other day we alternated between upper and lower body. Each day we lifted weights and ran a mile. The first day we worked on upper body and biked for 30 minutes. The second day we worked on lower body and ran on the treadmill. The third day we played basketball and worked on arms. Exercise is important because it improves your circulation and helps your body use oxygen more efficiently. Exercising also increases your production of synovial fluid, which lubricates your bones so they don’t become frail.

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  14. I followed the NFL’s recommended physical activity for 60 minutes with my mother this winter break while we were on vacation, and for these three days we did some new ways to keep ourselves active. One the first day we walked around downtown Chicago for a really long time and my cousins took me and my mom around downtown. Second day we went to walk my cousins dog in a totally different area where we see other people walking everywhere, the time went by so fast because there was so much entertainment. The third day we had gone to their condos gym and we tried out some new machines and walked for 30 minutes. It was a great experience walking around town at a place we weren’t familiar with. And what made it all the more better is how I got to work out with my mom and cousins while having a great time. It is really important to maintain some physical activity because it helps prevent from getting any heart problems, also helps in keeping a good body and maintaining a good weight for my height, as well as increasing my metabolism.

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  15. Bharati Murthy 1st Period

    During the winter break, I decided to join my mother, father, and brother when they went to the gym. For the first and second days of working out, I spent twenty minutes on a stair-master machine, fifteen minutes running on the indoor track, fifteen minutes on the elliptical, and fifteen minutes stretching. My level of intensity on the machines was not as high as my brother's level, probably because he works out more frequently than I do. I attempted weights, but the highest weight amount I could handle was fifteen pounds. On the third day, I ran a mile and did some jump-roping for cardio. The workouts left me sore, tired, and sweaty. I will continue to go to the gym as much as I can in order to increase my endurance, build muscle, and become toned and strong. Hopefully during the summer, when I have much more free time, I can go to the gym on a daily basis. All these types of exercises are important because we burn fat, therefore preventing obesity, which in turn prevents overworking the heart. ( The hearts of obese people have to work harder to circulate the blood.)

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  16. During the winter break, I decided to follow the NFL's recommended 60 minutes of exercise for 3 days. Most of the break, I was really lazy, just laying around eating food and watching tv. I decided that I needed to get up and go get some exercise to clear my mind and to get over my lethargy. During sophomore year, I used to wake up every morning at 5:30 and go running around the neighborhood for about 30 to 45 minutes. It has been a while since I have done that. I decided to do so this break. I went later in the afternoon when it was slightly warmer and jogged around my neighborhood and to a park nearby for an hour. I came home feeling tired but refreshed as well. The next day was colder so I decided to go on the elliptical. We have had it for a while, but I've never really used it often because I found it boring. However, I tried it out and didn't find it to be so bad. I went on it while watching a movie, so a little over an hour. By watching tv or listening to music while being on the elliptical, I was able to distract myself from the exhaustion and be active while having fun. The final day was a lot warmer. I was able to be outside for a longer time. First, I went bike riding (which I haven't done in a very long time) down a canal near my house and went down to the trails that were connected to it. It took about an hour total. I came home and later in the day went outside and played frisbee with my sister and some friends. Exercising is very important. It helps release endorphins to make you happy and relaxed. I found myself not stressing out about things when I exercised and enjoyed spending time outside in nature. Not only does exercise make you fit, but it also makes you refreshed and stress free. Merely being outside and running around, walking or playing a game with family or friends is good enough exercise. I need to find a way to still exercise even when school starts so that I can manage my stress and be healthy.

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  17. During winter break I decided to do something different by changing my workout schedule. Instead of working out in the evening I worked out in the mornings. I usually run in the evenings after I finish all my homework so I can stay fit but also not put everything aside. But running and working out in the mornings was actually a really good experience! I woke up at 6:30 and was out the door by 6:45 running to rhe gym and working out at the aquatic center. I was done by 8:00 and I'd make breakfast and be energized for the rest of the day. I accomplished so many things during the break because I woke up early! It's important to put in some cardio in because it can be a good stress reliever, improves stamina, strength, enhances flexibly, controls weight, and improves your overall quality of life

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  18. During the winter break I took the NFL 60 challenge. My family and I went and golfing! It was a fun activity and a different way to excercise. Typically I work out at the YMCA doing my own running and weight lifting. However, golfing helped me to learn a new activity which im always up to doing as well as working different muscle groups. We went twice over the break for about an hour and a half both days, and on the other three days I went walking around the nature parks at Andy Brown. I am excited for the spring when it warms up so I will be able to go out to the golfing range with my family more often!!

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  19. Over Christmas break, I started a goal of running at least 15 miles a week. I ran outside when it was pretty and likable weather, but ran at the gym on a treadmill when it was really cold, or if I just didn't want to go outside. I'm keeping this up as my New Year's Resolution as well, and running about 3.5 miles a day, after I get off school. This is a positive change for me, because while I was excersizing a little bit, I wasn't ever pushing myself to stay fit. I'm always surprised at how refreshed I feel when I'm finished. I've got my brother to start going to the gym with me, not that he's in town and am trying to convince him to keep it up when he goes back to school. Being active is so crucial to your health because it improves your mood, strength and keeps your heart strong, which will keep you strong as well.

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  20. Get fit

    Normally I am not a very active person. My daily exercise consists of walking up and down the stairs to get to class during school. I have always known that even if I am not obese this does not mean that I am fit, and this challenge reiterated this point very well. Over the three days I did three different forms of activity. The first day I played a game of ultimate frisbee in the park with some friends. Now frisbee doesn't exactly sound like an activity difficult enough to qualify with its easy floating about but I definitely proved my self wrong! One would be surprised how fast the arms tire from constantly running to catch the frisbee, throwing the frisbee, and even "laying out" to stretch for far away passes. Considering we did this in winter I expected to be cold but our bodies adjusted to provide enough heat over the course of the activity, motivating us to continue running and being active. The second day rode my bike for an hour around the Andy brown park trails. It was fun even if the wind was extremely cold. It was nice being able to look at the scenery and just ride. On the third day, I went to a jazz dance class with my mom. I have to say that this was my favorite activity partially because of how fast it went by and partially because of the fact that it was indoors. All of the activities were extremely fun and the hour flew by so fast. After each my mood was great and I rely more energetic. I feel that exercise is important for cardiovascular health because it stresses your body and challenges it to work harder and improve.

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  21. Over the holiday break, I attended three yoga/ pilates classes at the YMCA. I have taken yoga classes before, but I never stuck with it. Over the course of a week, I attended a Pi/Yo, Yoga, and Power Yoga class. The Power Yoga was definitely the most challenging class, but it was the last class I took so I was used to some of the movements and sequences in yoga. I really enjoyed the experience and will hopefully continue to take a weekly class during second semester. Exercise is important for cardiovascular health. By participating in physical exercise for at least three days a week, your chances of getting a heart disease decrease by 20%. Exercising strengthens your heart and reduces heart disease risk factors. It also lowers blood pressure.

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  22. Over the holiday break, like everyone else, I did the NFL 60 challenge. I went to the aquatic center every other morning and did various things. The first day, I started out for walking on the treadmill for about 30 minutes, then transferred over to the elliptical for the last 30 minutes. I liked starting out on the treadmill because it didn't seem like you were working out, but once you got on the elliptical you got used to the higher heart rate. The second morning, I rode my bike around White Rock Lake for an hour. This was probably my favorite day because I got distracted by the boats and the nature. I didn't realize it had been an hour until my alarm had gone off. The third and final morning, I decided to go on a run around my neighborhood. Exercising for an hour really got me liking the idea of exercising each day. It helps your heart a lot and lowers your chances of heart disease. Being active in the mornings really woke me up, and got my day started. I was a lot more productive and I could definitely tell a difference.

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  23. During the winter break, I decided to do the challenge with my mum. We walked on the sidewalk of the canal near our house everyday for an hour, for three days and we had a great time. We haven't done that since the summer, and it felt awesome to pick up from where we left and we felt more better and healthier. I am hoping to start going to the gym more on a daily basis. Being active and staying fit is important for the heart as well as the body, because it strengthens the heart and prevents heart disease.

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  24. I have worked out for an hour everyday for over a year now, and it's very easy to see the difference in your body shape and energy levels. For exercise I do 4 different things mainly. I have a personal trainer, and I do a lot of cardio and weights with her. When I'm not with her I either run, swim, or do insanity workouts. I always feel happier and better very time I exercise, even though some days I really don't want to do it!

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  25. I chose to do this challenge because I already try to work out just about every day. Saying this, I still needed to make alterations to be working out for a full hour. The first day I did interval running on a treadmill. I would run 3 minutes and then I would walk a minute. Because I got really tired of running after about 30 I just I switched to the elliptical machine. This was still really hard because generally after 30 minutes or so of cardio work I'll go to the weight room and use moderate weights. The second and third days I was pretty sore so I went on bike rides with my friends. Both days we bike for about an hour and a half! The first day we biked 9.01 miles and the second day we biked 8.36 miles. It was actually really fun! Exercise is important in your everyday life because it helps you blood flow! This then leads to a stronger heart!

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  26. Almost two months ago, one of my friends and I decided to get fit. I have belonged to the Texas Family Fitness Gym for over 3 year years but I only used it every once in awhile. We committed to going to the gym every day, for at least an hour a day. Over Christmas break, we followed this plan religiously only skipping 2 to 3 days over the 2 week period. In addition to this workout schedule, I kept a relatively healthy diet. This included substituting water for other drinks or fruit for chips or salty things for snacking. I would say this is out of the ordinary because it is hard to get motivated on your own sometimes, but with a workout buddy it is easier. Exercise is important for cardiovascular health because it improves your heart’s health and allows your body to use oxygen better. It also improves circulation.

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  27. Over Christmas break I decided to take walks around this one trails nearby with my dad. We would walk the entire way and around the trails which was approximately 4-5 miles in total. And on our way back we'd stop by to get smoothies. I realized that exercising did not necessarily have to be chore, incorporating some physical activity in one's daily routine does not only improve their health by exercising your heart and preventing many cardiovascular diseases along with heart attacks, but it also served as a stress reliever from their normally hectic schedules.

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  28. I exercise each morning in lariettes for two hours. Because of that, i've never been good at motivating myself to working out outside of school. Over the break, I decided to do that. On January 1st, Emma Eells, Mary Kate Marshall and I went on a 2 hour walk around andy brown west and andy brown east. We walked all the way from her house down parkway to the coppell aquatic center. It was so fun and wasn't challenging at all! We were tired once we finished of course, but it was much easier than I expected it to be. The next day, I walked my dog around my neighborhood and up to coppell middle school east and mockingbird elementary for an hour. I was a little sore from the day before but I enjoyed it as well! The weather was pretty and it felt great to be outside. For the third day, I did the same as the day before but this time my mom joined me. This experience taught me that it's not difficult at all to integrate new workouts into my already daily routine. I hope to keep up walking regularly, I really enjoyed it! exercise like this is crucial to cardiovascular health to ensure that your heart is strong. Also, this activity helps with your blood circulation throughout the body.

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  29. Since the new year started, my family has made an effort to be healthier. My mom has started cooking nutritious meals and me and my sister have started working out daily. On the first day, we went on a run from my house to Andy Brown park and around the lake. We ran on and off for about 45 minutes and felt great about our experience. The next day, we went to the gym to see which we would prefer. We ran on both the elliptical and the treadmill for about 15 minutes each. While my sister preferred the outdoors, I enjoyed the gym atmosphere more. So we decided we would switch off. The next day, we chose a new route and this time just walked throughout neighborhoods with my dog. Our walk lasted for about an hour and a half and was a good break from the more strenuous workouts we had done the previous days. I found it surprisingly easy to find time in my schedule to exercise more than often. Although me and my sister have missed a few days, we are still dedicated to working out as much as possible. I think it made it a lot easier to be consistent with an accountability partner. Finding time to work out is important, as it supplies you with more oxygen and increases blood circulation to your heart.

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  30. Over the winter break, I decided to do the NFL 60 minute challenge. I am usually lazy during winter break and I realized that I should change my normal routine and do something more productive. So for the first day, I decided to take my dogs out for a walk. Since my dogs are always locked in the house it would be a great time for us to bond with each other! I took one of my dogs out and walked around around my neighborhood around 7 in the morning. After 30 minutes, I brought my dog home and took the other one and ran for the other 30 minutes. It wasn't exactly easy because they weren't trained to walk outside, but seeing their excitement made me feel glad that I took them out. The next day my friend and I decided to work out and we agreed to run outside. For an hour we ran from our neighborhood to CHS and back. It was a bit cold and I dropped my phone several times because i couldn’t feel my fingers, but it was worth it. I had full of energy and did not feel sluggish compared to last break. And on the last day my family and I went to the gym and did a set of workouts. It was a great experience with my family. Through these activity will keep the heart in a healthy shape and will decrease the chance of obtaining high blood pressure and many heart diseases. Also it will help you have a chance to bond with others and relieve stress.

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  31. Over the break, during New Years,I wrote out my resolutions and things i want to accomplish this year. One of them being, daily exercise. As a student we have a lot of things in our plate, but exercise is indeed very important to sustain a healthy lifestyle. So, for three days i decided to do some exercise. Since my dad usually goes on walks/runs in the nearby park I thought it was the perfect opportunity to join him. It was a fun experience and I honestly enjoyed it more than i thought i would. The second day i did pilates at home by watching an instructor on t.v. I would recommend this anyone who likes yoga and zumba, because it enhances many things in your body such as flexibility, posture and overall an enjoyable way to get your cardio going. The third day i decided to go on a run. Since im not a strong runner i alternated between running and walking. Running really helps to get your heart pumping, and tones your muscles. For the whole week i felt like i had a lot more energy, and it felt great. Cardiovascular health is very important, specially since so many people suffer from heart diseases. Its important to include some form of exercise in your daily life, whether it be for 2hours or just 30 minutes.

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  32. Over the break I decided to try this three day challenge! My mom is involved with crossfit and has been wanting me to try it for awhile now but I've just been too lazy/scared to do so. For the first day of this challenge I took an hour long beginners class for crossfit! It was very hard but definitely a great work out. For the second day I went to a 90 minuet long "hot yoga" class and it may not like much but I was talking to the instructor and it actually burns for calories than it would for me to go on a run which was crazy to me. For the third day of the challenge I did something simple and just went to the gym for an hour! I did simple things like a 3 mile run, sit ups, push ups, squats, etc. just your normal gym workout! I really enjoyed this challenge because after all of my workouts I just felt good and active! I think more people should try and do this because not only does it make your self esteem raise, it also improves your heart health. It's always nice to get some type of exercise in everyday!

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  33. Over the break I started a small personal training regimen in order to prepare for a larger one after the break. It was a simple regimen that take just about an hour a day and was continued for a week, it contained two sets of 50 curls with a dumbbell, 100 push ups afterwards, jogging for a mile, and finally 50 curl ups. While I did feel healthier especially for my heart, the intense burning pain was more of a negative, still probably worth it and it gave me a taste of what to expect over next break where I plan on doing this for the entire break and then continue doing so afterwards.

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  35. Over the break I joined a Nike app called Nike Training Club. This app organizes various activities. You can choose if you want to exercise for 30 mins or an hour. It is also organized my type of exercise. I chose an hour of cardiovascular exercise for four days every other day. I was guided through various activities such as jumping rope, lunges, jogging in place, and weights. This accelerated my heart rate and energized me for the day. I find this app useful for my daily life. The app provides water and rest breaks that keeps my body on edge and gives me a chance to recuperate.

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  36. Over the break my brother convinced me to do a 7 day "Ab Shredder" by P90X the workouts contained many motions that caused burning to the abdominal area. Such as bicycles, toe touches, v ups, etc.. After the 7 days it hurt to laugh my abs were so sore, I was happy I did it though because having a good core leads to quickness and other things that are beneficial. I hope to try another challenge with him soon.

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  37. A few friends and I stayed at ones house where we swam for the entire weekend, including Friday. We played video games as well but we swam (not play but actually raced) for at least 4 hours each day. Afterwards my body was really sore but I felt incredibly fit. Exercising is good for your heart because it helps prevent fat buildup in your body and helps increase blood flow.

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