After eating buckets of popcorn and binge watching an entire season of a show in one day, think about what happens to your body, especially after sitting down for such a long period of time. It is important to stay active in order to prevent health problems in the future. Five fun activities you can do alone or with friends to keep in shape are: hiking, swimming, jogging, biking, and yoga.

Hiking

Hiking is an activity in which you will not only be with your friends, but also get a workout. By climbing up steep hills, you strengthen your core, which helps improve balance. Hiking also works out your hamstrings, quadriceps, and glutes. In addition to strengthening your body, hiking helps prevent certain diseases, such as diabetes, breast cancer, and heart disease.

Senior Krish Sanghi hikes with his friends every weekend.

“One of the best things about hiking is having the opportunity to hang out with your friends while enjoying a beautiful time out in nature,” Krish said.

Some places to hike in the Bay Area are Mission Peak and the Stanford Dish Hike. Adarsh Battu, another senior who participates in the weekly hikes, suggests going to Windy Hill Open Space Reserve and Castle Rock State Park.

“Windy Hill in Portola Valley has a really awesome view point and is a good hike.” Adarsh said. “Castle Rock also has a lot of rock formations that are nice to see.”

Both Krish and Adarsh hike with their friends almost every weekend.

Swimming

In the hot sun, swimming is another way to pass time. Not only does swimming burn calories and help tone your body, but it also increases your endurance, which may come to your benefit once school sports begin. Swimming does not solely have to be done in a pool; swimming in the ocean or rivers can give you just as good of a work out.

Upper School English teacher, Dr. Benedict Spencer-Cooke comments about where he likes to swim.

“I like to swim in rivers and the ocean and those kinds of things. I’m not so keen on just plowing up and down a pool,” Dr. Spencer-Cooke said. “I feel at one with the water.”

He encourages students to swim when possible.

Jogging

Jogging is one activity in which you can do it any time of the day in any weather. You can run around your block for however long you want, and whenever you want, something that may not be possible with other sports.

Alayna Richmond (9) comments about her experience with jogging.

“I think that jogging is a practical way to stay fit because I can do it on my own time and just listen to music and run until I’m tired,” Alayna said.

You can jog both indoors and outdoors. If it starts raining, you can head to the nearest gym or get a treadmill. Jogging also helps lower blood pressure, burn calories, and increase your stamina. Running is a simple way to stay fit.

Biking

Going for a bike ride anytime is another way to remain active. If your friends are over, you can take your bikes out to the nearest park, or simply ride around your neighborhood.

Andrew Irvine, the Upper School Chemistry teacher and Head Coach of Harker Girls’ lacrosse, stresses the importance of being outdoors, biking and remaining active.

“If you can push yourself to bike up a hill, you can push yourself to get that extra work done, to get that homework done thats really challenging,” Irvine said. “It’s an analogy for life.”

Biking helps maintain your body in a healthy way. It increases stamina, tones muscles, and even improves the heart. These qualities help you lead a healthy lifestyle, preventing diseases for your long term health.

Yoga

Yoga is an exercise that is much different than other activities. It is another way to calm down and center yourself. By doing breathing exercises and various stretches, you can improve your body–if you do it on a daily basis, you’ll notice some changes: you may be more relaxed, sleep better, or even get sick less often.

A practitioner of yoga, Shivani Awasthi (9) talks about why she thinks yoga is important.

“I think yoga is a really great exercise and I would encourage more people to do it especially in Harker,” Shivani said. “It really calms you down and destresses you.”

Yoga is an exercise that does not require you to leave your own house, making it very practical.