eXeRcise BY Walking

Then, I started thinking about why I hadn’t started exercising like this sooner. I remembered the last time I actually did some sort of sporty activity – except for biking to school – was during quarantine. Remember how we all used to go on these walks because we wanted to get out of the house and weren’t really allowed to do anything else? Well, I decided to relive the good ole’ days! So, I put my headphones in and just started walking. Without having a set destination, you really start noticing your surroundings. I tried to keep a faster pace than I usually do because that way it felt like an exercise and not just me strolling around aimlessly. I walked for about an hour and a half, which seems like a long time, but it surprisingly flew by. Not only did it make me feel very active, it also helped me to reorganize some of my thoughts and got me motivated to do some schoolwork! By the way, I’m not saying I got lost or anything, I just had to use a lot of google maps to find my way back and eventually decided to take the bus.

What I really enjoyed about both these activities is that they’re very different from going to the gym. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with going to the gym though. It’s just that for me personally, I would be too lazy and to actually keep up with going a set number of times a week. But on the other hand, the fact that it’s so non-obligatory is what makes it very appealing to a lot of people. That’s why I think Bress is a perfect mix of both ways of exercising. Bress is the student sports club here in Breda. I won’t bore you with the details so for more information you can just go to time which made the dancing itself look kind of stiff. But at the end of the class, my mind automatically connected the order of the moves to the music, which meant I could have a little bit more fun doing the dance steps themselves. The hour flew by and by the end, not only did I feel like I had a great workout, but I also learnt a cool party trick. Whenever this song comes on, I’ll be able to surprise everyone and bust a quick move!

Bress.nl. They have a pretty big fitness hall, but also organize group lessons and offer a discount at a lot of different sport locations in Breda. For example, I went swimming at Sonsbeeck for €6,80 but if you have a Bress membership it only costs you €2 per visit!

(Also, that’s definetliy me in the picture!)

dancing at BRess

Hence, as a student that goes out clubbing often enough, I thought it would be fun to take my dance skills to the next level by joining a hip-hop dance class at Bress. Our teacher for the day was unbelievably nice and made me feel comfortable right away. As we started warming up, I noticed that I was starting to sweat within the first 2 minutes of the song. For some reason, you don’t really notice how much of your whole body moves when you’re dancing. This was kind of nice for me because it didn’t really feel like exercising, but more just having fun. Our dance teacher had choreographed this dance to Heat by Chris Brown because she got inspired by him when she went to his concert. As I was trying to keep up with all the moves in my head, it was hard to move my body at the same

By the way, if you want to know what i listened to on my walk, you can find the spotify playlist here!

HonestlY, tHe staRt Was tHe HaRdest PaRt!

Doing these different activities made me realize something. Starting is the hardest part! I know it seems obvious but getting out of my comfort zone to do all these things is what made me wary of it at first. But once I was doing them, I found it to be really fun! I feel like swimming especially really felt like a great way to exercise, without having the feeling of being forced to work out to get your money’s worth. It’s a very easygoing and flexible way to get moving.

While walking I felt like it was a great way to clear my head, which also made it easier to do some studying afterward. The hip-hop class was really fun as well, and the fact that it can be done at Bress makes it a great addition for someone who is already more into exercising. I’m honestly very happily surprised that I had this much fun sporting, especially since I’ve been feeling a little lazy and demotivated lately. Hopefully, my experiences will inspire you to do the same!