Staying home during this long and dreadful quarantine is putting a damper on both physical and mental health for most people. Suddenly, everyday physical activities such as going to the gym, playing sports, or exercising with friends have been taken away from society, leaving little to fulfill that balance again in our lives. Recently, many have been starting to try new fitness challenges that advertise that they can get you in perfect shape during this stay-at-home fiasco. One that has proven to be very popular is YouTube star and fitness blogger Chloe Ting and her “Two-Week Shred.” This challenge has become quite popular among teenagers during these past few weeks. Sophomore Isabella Sferrazza said, “I’ve seen this challenge all over TikTok and other social media platforms. I honestly would love to try it if I really stuck to it.”

Curious about this challenge and eager to get back for action, I had been waiting to try it. This challenge has been shown to give women and men that desired “perfect body.” This, of course, is not realistic. I did not do this just to lose weight or look anything like Gigi Hadid but, instead, to get my mind and soul back into fitness again. Sophomore and three-sport-varsity athlete Kyla Nembach is also conducting the workout program, and she said, “By taking away sports from my everyday life, I’m finding it hard to fill the time with something that will keep me in shape for hopeful future seasons of sports. I believe this might be good for me.” I myself am a competitive volleyball player and dancer, and because of the pandemic, I am not be able to fill my life with these events for a little while. So, instead of moping around, I decided to work on improving my mental and physical health. Here are my daily updates from that recently completed 14-day challenge. This might show how everyone can become just a little more mentally prepared for anything!

Day 1: Today is the day after Easter, which means a lot of candy is tempting me. I did the two workout videos for the first day with my mom, and it was fun to just be with her and to do something healthy for the both of us. The first video was challenging and really made me sweat, but it felt good after being done. The second video was by far more up to my speed, working on the core and finding that inner sense of strength. It was a good day!

Day 2: Today was not as nice as the first day. I had to challenge myself after working on homework and SAT prep to finally work out at 9:30 p.m. It was the same two videos as yesterday but with an optional third (which I did). I was not really into it tonight but continued to push myself through it, which is at least a good thing.

Day 3: I made it to day three! Today, I went for a long bike ride with my friends (social distancing, of course), which made me work up an extra sweat before my workout. Today, there were four videos, the most out of the whole calendar, so I was not too excited. It feels really empowering after I finish the workout and keeps me motivated even late in the day.

Day 4: Today the workout was not too bad. It gets easier as you go. I did it late at around eight o’clock. It is a nice way to complete a day by pushing through and persevering towards a goal.

Day 5: BREAK DAY!!!!! This break was well-needed, and I surely put it to good use. Fitness is all about mentality, and sometimes, you need to give both your mind and body a rest.

Day 6: Today I was not prepared to get out of bed, let alone do anything that has the word exercise in it. I did the workout really late at night because I was determined not to quit. And for that, I am proud of myself!

Day 7: Finally, we are a week in! Today was another really hard day to get motivated to exercise. I did the four-video workout with my sister, and it really made us both sweat. Overall, I had fun, and being halfway through it, I have noticed it has really made a difference mentally and physically for me during this age of social distancing.

Day 8: Today was kind of an easy day for me. It was only three videos, and my body is starting to get used to the workouts. Overall , it was a pretty great workout!

Day 9: Another rest day!! I cannot wait to spend my day sitting in pajamas and not working out!

Day 10: A late night and a hard workout! I forced my brother to do tonight’s workout with me, and it was almost what I would call fun. The workouts are getting easier to bear, and my body and mind feels stronger than before.

Day 11: Honestly, today was a little bit easy. There were only two videos, just like the first day, and my body was ready to go. It felt really nice to be able to have an easy workout and a relaxing day afterwards.

Day 12: Again, I forced my brother to do the workout with me today despite many protests. Working out brings such a sense of motivation into these repetitious, dull days ahead of us. It’s just nice to take a break from the couch-sitting and put my mind to something beneficial for my health.

Day 13: This workout was done very late in the evening unfortunately. I am very excited to almost be done with the workout program and very happy I stuck with it. Three videos was enough for me tonight, but at least I got myself up and moving before a midnight snack!

Day 14: It’s the last day! These last four videos honestly flew by because I was so happy to be done. I am so proud of myself for completing each and every day of this workout program. I am hoping the dedication to something other than online schoolwork really shined itself through and improved my mental and physical health.

Overall, I feel Chloe Ting’s “Two-Week Shred” program was a positive motivator for me, not only for the superficial reasons of losing weight or getting abs, but for the sole reason of having something to keep me motivated. In the days of social distancing, a teenager’s mental health is inevitably in trouble. We are subject to an endless array of undisciplined days filled with the sameness of Netflix, over-sleeping, and online assignments. Sophomore Kate Dooling commented, “I enjoyed doing this challenge because it helped me prioritize my time and get me off my phone for a little bit. It was fun and seems to be really good to stay in shape.” As an athlete, I am personally having a problem of knowing what to fill my time with and how to keep myself in shape. Having something to motivate one to get out of bed and do something for one’s own self is important to sustaining mental health while staying at home.