5 “Hot” Dates to Improve Your Health

Tired of the same old weekend routine? Wanting to get out of the house and spend time with your loved one? Need ideas to spice up your love life? I have some great ways for you and your date to work up a sweat in this cold weather season and simultaneously improve your overall well-being through physical activity. Staying physically active has various health benefits for you and your loved one. For instance, it promotes good mental health by improving mood, reducing anxiety, and protecting against depression. Here are some fun and fit ideas to connect you and your loved one and to boost your health this weekend!

1.) Hot Yoga– Literally, this is one “hot” date. It will help you and your sweetheart to forget about the chilling weather and make you feel as if you’re on vacation. Hot yoga typically takes place in a room set around 90-105F. The heated room helps one to better stretch and acts as an excellent cardio workout, because it makes you sweat! In a 90-minute class, you can burn up to 1,000 calories. Further, the poses coupled with sweating will detoxify your muscles and organs. Additionally, hot yoga is known to reduce symptoms of depression, including seasonal depression. Hot yoga is a growing trend. In response to hot yoga’s increasing popularity, a new hot yoga studio, 2hot recently opened in North Chicagoland. This weekend, be sure to check out your local hot yoga studio for a guaranteed “hot” date.

2.)Indoor Tennis– Grab your rackets and head to a local indoor tennis court. Tennis is a great way to connect with your partner. Further, it has excellent effects on one’s mental state. According to a study conducted by Southern Connecticut State University, tennis players have higher scores in vigor, optimism, and self-esteem. Additionally, they have lower scores in depression, anger, confusion, and anxiety. So, get your game on this weekend. Every game begins with love!

3.) Ice Skating– Ice skating serves as a classic winter date. It is fun, romantic, and can provide you and your better half with an excellent workout. Skating coach and coordinator of the skating programs at the University of Calgary, Kristin Kunze, emphasizes the muscles that are strengthened through ice skating. Ice skating tones major leg muscles, the butt, and the core. It is also a good way to burn calories.

4.) Take a Stroll Outside– Pick the sunniest day of the weekend, bundle up, and go for a walk! Walking with your honey is a romantic way to enjoy the day. Walking outside has various health benefits. Sun exposure allows the body to absorb Vitamin D, which is extremely good for your health. For instance, Vitamin D helps the body to absorb calcium better. Additionally, fresh air boosts your immune system, which is especially beneficial during the cold weather season.

5.) Cross country Skiing– You and your sweetheart can enjoy beautiful scenery on local trails, while working up an incredibly satisfying sweat. Cross country skiing utilizes every major muscles group, making it one of the best cardio workouts for burning calories. In 60 minutes, a person can burn over 1,000 calories.

Work up a sweat this weekend with your loved one through one of these active and fun dates! Sweat your way to more love, health, and happiness.

Emma Gilbertson is a writer interested in dating and health and fitness from the Midwest. For more health and fitness ideas check out her blog at check out her blog at egilbertson.wordpress.com or follow her on Twitter @emmanikole29.

Homeschooler in the Real World

Emma Folts, a sophomore at Wheaton College, shares her experience about her transition into college and how homeschool has both helped and hindered her.
How has your homeschool experience benefitted you, especially in your transition into college?
I think the one thing that homeschooling did that was really helpful as I entered college was that it taught me time management. As a homeschooler I had the same freedom as a college student has to put things off during the day and go see a friend instead. Since I had that experience, I knew the cost of that.
Also, personal responsibility and accountability with assignments. I feel like a lot of the other students had more expectations for gentler grading and that the professor would give them retakes or extensions, but that wasn’t something that ever happened to me in school. That learning curve wasn’t added because I never had it the other way. I think another thing was that because I was homeschooled, I was familiar with the format of teaching and then studying on my own.
Did you see any issues with your transition socially?
I think that homeschooling had two ramifications for me socially. One was helpful, one was hurtful.
It was really helpful because as a homeschooler, I had spent a lot of time realizing and developing who I was as a person and learning to recognize people who were being themselves, and those were the people I sought out as friends. Friendship as a homeschooler takes a lot more investment. I knew I was choosier with my friends which made me a lot less anxious and a lot more content.
The only real negative impact of the social bit was that I was really used to getting to choose the time I got to spend with people. As a homeschooler I spent a lot of time with people, but that time was controlled by me. As a college student, I found that you can’t really control the time you spend with people and alone time is not really available. Learning to deal with that was a lot harder than anticipated.
Any last comments on homeschool and how it has affected your college experience?
I think homeschooling is really helpful, however it does take a slightly increased amount of advocacy with your peers when you’re entering into college. I think a lot of people come in with certain assumptions about homeschool, especially students. You’re going to get a lot of, ‘oh my gosh, you don’t seem like a homeschooled person!’ [You can’t] take that too personally and explain your experience so that friends can understand it’s an important piece of you, though it might not look like the homeschooling that they’ve seen.
My encouragement to anyone who is a homeschooler transitioning into college is to realize the benefit that you have having been homeschooled, and to realize that the bit of advocacy and explaining that you need to do with your peers is totally normal and that it’s not a big deal. Once they understand your experience, it’s not something I’ve experienced being looked down on for.