Physical fitness is an essential aspect of everyone’s life since it has a direct relation to mental health and well-being. During the times of pandemic, it is important for everyone to live a healthy lifestyle and remain physically fit in order to combat diseases more easily. Not only does physical fitness help us from diseases but also it uplifts our mood and makes us happy. There are multiple ways to increase physical fitness, but for my CAS experience, I have chosen gym as a way to do so. Going to the gym provides numerous benefits ranging from improvement in the cardiovascular system to better brain function and mood. Similarly, regular gyming results in increased strength which can be useful in many day-to-day activities.
LO1 (Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth)
In order to begin my Gym training, I identified my various points of weaknesses in order to target it while I continued with the training. The points of weakness included endurance and some targeted muscle. Similarly, I also targeted some points of strengths. Knowing about the strengths and weaknesses can help in balancing the effort. For example I can work more on my weakness and little on my strengths as it is already keeping up with the expectation. Throughout my training I worked on these weaknesses which improved my endurance and strength.
LO2 (Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process)
Like any other sports or physical activity, gyming also takes time to master and show results. The most challenging aspect for me was continued dedication that must be put into gyming and more importantly time management. I undertook the dedication required as my strength to improve my endurance and physical fitness ; however, time management was always challenging. With deadlines and exams coming in school , I found it difficult to invest my time in gyming. I undertook the challenge of time management and decided to work on it so that I could balance both my studies as well as my physical health. I worked on the skill of self- management wherein I created a schedule to give myself time for both gyming and studying for exams. I also fixed the number of days and hours I would dedicate to gyming so that the remaining time can be put into studies.I gradually mastered self management skills which helped me balance my lifestyle. It is essential that we undertake challenges so that we can seek the greater outcome wherein we develop ourselves to deal with greater challenges in the future and learn from any mistakes.
LO4 (Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences)
As mentioned previously, gyming requires utmost dedication and perseverance to get results and thus commitment towards this activity is necessary for achieving satisfactory results. Since everyone’s body is different, different levels of hard work is required. What makes this activity challenging is that while we may show dedication towards gyming, sometimes the results won’t appear easily and thus we should not give up as great things take time. I showed commitment towards this experience by visiting the gym 3-4 times a week and working on various aspects of my body such as legs, upper body and endurance.
LO7 (Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions)
Good health and well-being is meant for everyone regardless of their race, ethnicity, culture, physical condition etc. It is thereby necessary to maintain an ethical atmosphere while you workout. There may be people who are stronger than you or people who are trying their best to get in shape, thus we must always respect that and not demotivate or bully anyone who is at least trying to work towards his/her goal. During my journey I made sure that I gave utmost respect to my coach as well as other people who went to the gym by ensuring to never speak wrongly about their physical state instead appreciating their efforts.
In conclusion, this experience really helped me develop a better lifestyle. It not only made me fit but also it helped me enhance learner profiles such as principled and balanced.These learner profiles were developed by balancing my schedule by the implementation of self-management skills and demonstrating workout ethics towards the people who visited the gym. This experience brought me a sense of accomplishment and made me learn the true meaning of hard-work and dedication one must put in to improve their lives.
