Work your mind and body with MCC physical education classes
Leslie Philip
New Year’s resolutions usually turn out to be a bust. Whether you promise to get better grades or vow to start eating healthy, 2010 is a clean slate. It is all about making a lifestyle change and a conscious effort to adjust the habits that manage to kick your butt every year.
This year you may find yourself saying you need to buckle down on your studies or focus on getting the girl of your dreams.
Make it happen.
The physical education program at MCC offers all types of classes from Zumba to Yoga Sculpt.
Any age can join a class and students can work at their own pace throughout the term. The instructors motivate their students each time they enter the classroom, by pushing them to a new physical and mental level.
After my fifty-minute blood pumping kickboxing class in the west gym, I spoke with instructor Pam Barker about the benefits of working out and how it can affect a person both physically and mentally.
“Cardio exercise helps you physically in that it burns calories, lowers blood pressure, increases bone density and strengthens your heart,” Barker said.
As we walk to the campus fitness center for her one-on-one training sessions, we discuss some of the workouts she teaches in her kickboxing class and how “strength training improves the amount of lean mass, decreases body fat, and boosts confidence in appearance.”
Once we reach the fitness center, Barker sets her bags down and smiles.
“The mental benefits of strength training and cardio training are your overall well being and setting goals for yourself can make you meet and fulfill challenges for personal motivation in life,” Barker said.
The buzz you achieve from a powerful workout in the gym is the same feeling you can obtain in the classroom or by scoring the winning goal in a lacrosse game.
There are no course requirements for this achievement; all you have to do is want to succeed.
When you get on that bike in your cycling class, push yourself those last few miles up the hill just like you make studying for that sociology exam a priority and take a little time each night to review notes.
Just by setting goals and believing in yourself, you can reach your dreams and shake a few pounds in the process.
