With the Spring Sports season over, Lakeside athletes do not have access to the same structured and rigorous workout regimen that the coaches provide us with. Because being isolated from friends and mentors can leave one feeling alone, maintaining a strong mental health is essential. It is proven that frequent exercise alleviates stress, betters one’s mood, and is a key ingredient to a healthy state of mind.

Obviously, right now Lakeside students cannot take advantage of the school’s state-of-the-art weight room or cardio-room, but there are still ways to use what one has at their disposal. The Physical Education department has been sending out body-weight and core exercises for inspiration. But another obstacle that Lakeside students face: motivation. When you’re staying at home with no driving factor, such as wanting to do well in the spring sports season, it can be difficult to muster up the enthusiasm to make yourself sweat and ache alone in your musty basement. Exercise is of paramount importance at this time, so attached below are a few tips on how to exercise, stay motivated, and enjoy the grind from the comfort of your home. 

1. Create a weekly rotating schedule. When your workout times vary from day to day, such as doing it in the morning some days and in the evenings other days, it is easy to push the workouts back until the last possible moment, possibly eventually saying “forget it I’m going to bed.” A schedule with a consistent workout window makes it so you don’t accidentally schedule a meeting or call during that time. It also allows you to plan your day around it, such as choosing when/what to eat and getting changed, stretched, and hydrated beforehand. 
2. The playlist means everything. Everyone has different tastes in workout music, so personalize your own! Some people enjoy jumpy electronic, old rock, hard rap, reggaeton, and everything in between. Find the time to compile multiple playlists of songs for different workouts, one for body-weight, one for jogging, one for hill-sprints etc. 
3. Find a group of friends, sync up your workouts, and motivate each other! Create a shared schedule and bond over how hard or easy the workouts were. Eventually, you all will see improvement and will be able to make the workouts harder together! It will almost feel like you are on a team again. 
4. Find a way to permanently track your workouts. It can be in the form of a physical calendar, a planner, a Post-It note, or anything else! If you have a goal of working out four times a week, tracking the days on a hard-copy can help you visualize how much you have done and also motivate you to check off another day.
5. Mix up the workouts. Instead of just doing push-ups and sit-ups, try spider push-ups and bicycles. Instead of just doing jump squats, try jump squat-lunge-lunge. Adding variation to your workouts will keep it fresh and force you to exercise new muscles. 
6. Lastly, my biggest piece of advice would be to talk to coaches. Don’t be afraid to share with them your difficulties with motivation and inspiration. They will be more than happy to give you new workouts and hype-up pep talks. They miss the sports season just as much as we do and would appreciate seeing our faces. 

I hope you all find this helpful! It doesn’t matter if you are a student athlete or just a student, exercise will be helpful in making your time in quarantine better. Stay healthy and stay safe!