Meet your Campus Recreation Blogging team! We wanted to share with you a little more about US - our favourite activities, foods, and what we think it means to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle!
Marika Robillard
Tell us a little bit about YOU!
My name's Marika Robillard and I'm a fourth year student in Orthophonie (Speech-Language Pathology).
What's your favourite way to be active outside?
I love going on hikes! My favourite place to explore are the Laurentian trails or all the little trails hidden throughout the city.
How about your favourite indoor activity?
Yoga is definitely my favourite way to stay active indoors. There are a lot of variations you can do based on your ability and your mood and you can do it pretty much anywhere.
Whats your favourite healthy snack?
Smoothies are the easiest way to get greens and protein, and are great for people like me who aren’t the best cooks. I usually just blend some fruits with kale and protein powder and I can take it with me to class!
We talk a lot about living a healthy and balanced lifestyle-what does that mean to you?
It means doing your best in your daily life to be active, eat healthy and stay mentally well. Realizing that you’re not perfect and won’t always make the healthiest choices is a huge part of that too.
Do you have any advice for your readers on how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle?
Try to be active in general on a daily basis rather than trying to be super active all the time or doing really intense workouts 3 times a week, but not doing much the rest of the week. This means trying to incorporate activity into your daily routines like your everyday commute, hanging out with your friends and family and taking quality alone time.
Stephanie Bell
Tell us a little bit about YOU!
Stephanie Bell, Concurrent Education- Major in French, Spanish & Geography, 3rd Year
What's your favourite way to be active outside?
I love to run. Whether it's negative 30 or plus 30. Laurentian Campus offers endless trails and new routes for me to discover. I’m in third year and just last week I found a new trail. It’s my biggest way to alleviate stress and to get moving.
How about your favourite indoor activity?
Cheer has been a huge part of my life here at Laurentian for 3 years. By nature I'm a dancer so if i'm not renting out our new Alphonse Studio, I'm in the gym with my girls working on some stunts. Lifting weights are good but people tend to more challenging. The gym is always good too. I usually get up at the crack of dawn and hit the gym before it gets crowded. Also, something that few people know about me is that i’ve played rep hockey for 8 years before University so I also love putting on a pair of skates and hitting up Ramsey lake or an odr (outdoor rink).
Whats your favourite healthy snack?
Smoothies! I don't know if I could live without my smoothies. Apples, frozen fruit, greek yogurt, a shot of lemon, ginger and apple cider vinegar, juice and occasionally peanut butter. Super weird but super tasty...or I think so at least!
We talk a lot about living a healthy and balanced lifestyle-what does that mean to you?
Healthy living and a balanced lifestyle is one of the hardest things i’ve tried to achieve. In university it isn't always easy to balance exercise, diet, social life, cheer and school. I’ve learned that everything in moderation is key, treating yourself is good without jumping in the deep end and goals take time. Healthy living is a lifestyle change not a quick and easy fix overnight. I’m still learning everyday how to balance clean eating and regular exercise but I know i’ll get there.
Do you have any advice for your readers on how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle?
Just do it and just keep swimming! I love my mantras but they actually work. Life gets crazy, life gets busy, life get chaotic. You just have to set your healthy lifestyle goals and go for them. Make time for bettering yourself because and everything else in your life will fall into place. Focus on being a healthier you and the happier you will follow.
Mackenzie Dempster
Tell us a little bit about YOU!
I'm Mackenzie! I'm a second year Communications Studies student here at Laurentian.
What's your favourite way to be active outside?
I really enjoy hiking! I love being outside in nature, breathing in fresh air and feeling the sun on my face. There are so many amazing trails hidden around Sudbury and on a beautiful day I love taking my son and my nephew on a nice, long walk.
How about your favourite indoor activity?
That would definitely have to be yoga! As a mother, blogger, and student, my day is usually busy, busy, busy from the time that I wake up to the time I go to bed. Yoga is a way for me to stretch out tense muscles and to alleviate the stress of the day while keeping my body and my mind strong and healthy.
Whats your favourite healthy snack?
As strange as this may seem, I love salads. It's the perfect way to combine so many different ingredients as variety is a key factor in my meal choices! Fruits, vegetables, meat, nuts-you name it, it all works together. Top it off with some homemade dressing and you have yourself a pretty rad snack!
We talk a lot about living a healthy and balanced lifestyle-what does that mean to you?
Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle is something that is very important to me. Personally, I feel that a healthy and balanced lifestyle means taking care of your mind and your body. It means getting in even just a few minutes of daily exercise, eating foods that will fuel you instead of drag you down, and keeping your mind happy and clear. I find meditation or journaling to be a healthy way to keep your mind free of stress or anxiety. When you take care of yourself regularly, you'll find that it becomes less and less of chore, and more of a choice that you never want to give up. It becomes a part of you.
Do you have any advice for your readers on how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle?
My only advice that I have for readers is to do what makes you happy! If you hate running, or dieting, than stay away from those things. We only get one life, and there's no sense spending it miserable. There are so many different and fun ways to be active and to stay healthy-find one that works well for you and stick with it! Healthy is the new happy after all!
Leanne Sweeney
Tell us a little bit about YOU!
Leanne, 3rd year Outdoor Adventure Leadership/ Concurrent Education
What's your favourite way to be active outside?
I love to explore the trails our campus, and Sudbury in general has to offer. I enjoy hikes and trail running!
How about your favourite indoor activity?
The campus recreation fitness classes are my favourite way to be active inside! It is a fun and accepting group environment. There are also a variety of classes so you can switch it up!
What's your favourite healthy snack?
My favourite healthy food has got to be chickpea salad. Easiest and quickest lunch/dinner! 5. What does living a healthy and balanced lifestyle mean to you?
We talk a lot about living a healthy and balanced lifestyle-what does that mean to you?
To me, living a healthy and balanced lifestyle consists of trying to your best to get sufficient sleep, exercise in some way everyday, eating a relatively well-balanced diet, as well as taking care of your mental health!
Do you have any advice for your readers on how to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle?
One piece of advice for readers on how they maintain a healthy and active lifestyle? Exercising doesn’t necessarily have to mean going to the gym. Being active includes a variety of different activities; find something you enjoy doing!