Sweat. Blood. Tears. Hours in the gym. According to Gabby Douglas, a world-renowned gymnast, this is the recipe for achieving gold medals. Like she has inspired many, I also want to inspire you through this advice column on exercising.

Any person’s health should be balanced along three major dimensions of a triangle called the Health Triangle: physical, mental, and social health. An unbalanced triangle is bad for health, but exercising is a unique way to manage all three dimensions. 

Physical health is when you are free of illness and injury. It can cover a wide range of areas which include a healthy diet, weight, strength, and more. When you exercise you strengthen your muscles, which helps you improve endurance and do your daily chores better. You are also able to prevent many illnesses such as; type 2 diabetes, heart disease, types of cancer, and more says CDC. Currently, at Clague, we are going into season 4 athletics which includes competitive swimming, volleyball, winter running, and strength and conditioning. You can sign up for any of these to get your physical health in shape. 

Mental health is how you handle stress, relationships, making choices, and controlling your emotions. When you exercise you relieve stress because you are just focusing on the task at hand which is exercising. Not only are you destressing yourself, but you also are clamming yourself down and clearing your thoughts in the process. With your brain refreshed and new, you can make better decisions and control your emotions. If you need any help or are having problems one person you can talk to is your counselor, or ask your counselor you give a mental health specialist. 

The last part of the triangle: social health is the way we react with people. Exercising improves our confidence and helps build relationships. Exercising with friends and family helps us enjoy exercising and being social with them. You can also celebrate exercise accomplishments with friends. There are penalty of nice, friendly, and welcoming people and clubs at Clague. Check out the Clague website to join activities.

Exercising is the best way you can improve your health triangle and keep it balanced.