Hello Students and Families!
I am McKenna Scheldt and I am currently a second semester senior at the University of Arizona. I am a public health major with an emphasis in health systems theory and practice. My current plan after graduation is to go into pharmaceutical sales. I am an intern for Edge High School this semester. With the uncertain times that are occurring in the world right now my fellow interns and I still wanted to connect and share our passions for public health along other various health topics and how we are coping with COVID-19.
Today I wanted to share with you all the topics of physical health and how I am staying active during social distancing.
Physical health is one of the eight dimensions of wellness. It is often thought by many to be the essential way to be healthy. That is not necessarily the case, though it is very important. Physical health needs to be paired with all other aspects of health to truly be healthy overall. One can be physically healthy and not emotionally healthy (or any other aspect of health) or vice versa.
Physical health can be maintained through muscular training, cardiovascular training, and flexibility training, or a combination of them all. A lot of physically fit individuals choose to work on all of these aspects of physical health. Muscular training is done by lifting weights and strength training, cardiovascular training is done by running, walking, biking, etc., and flexibility training can be done by stretching or doing yoga. These are all just some of the many options one can choose while trying to stay physically healthy.
I used to go to the gym several times a week before COVID-19 shut down my gym. I would run on the treadmill, use the elliptical or bike, lift weights, and use the mats and weights to do core exercises. Now I am working to maintain my physical health by walking my dog, running in my neighborhood, and doing at home workouts that do not require equipment. It has been a big adjustment for me, but it is really helping me with maining my health and wellbeing during this stressful time. Exercise has always been a coping strategy for me to deal with stress so it is essential for me to maintain my workouts.
Here are links to at home workouts that do not require any equipment. I recommend youtube and pinterest to find workouts to do at home. There are hundreds of thousands of free workouts available.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYD7f5b_qj4 Full Body
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBWQGb4LyAM Cardio & HIIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkVHrA5o23o Low Impact Full Body HIIT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smsxDlpGE9k Abs & Glutes
Stay healthy,
McKenna