3 . Trying to motivate yourself to exercise can sometimes feel like a fruitless attempt. Here are some tips on setting your mind on getting active, and getting fit.

Make your fitness goals known. Tell your family, friends and co-workers about your fitness goals and encourage them to ask you how your goals come along.     1    

Make an appointment with your doctor. Ask the doctor about your health condition and how becoming more physically fit can help you become healthier.     2     A government study found just three hours of advice by doctors over two years helped improve couch potatoes’ physical fitness.

    3     If you’re new to exercise, it’ll be better to have a fitness professional set your goals rather than doing it alone. That means setting the weights on machines for you, determining how long you should walk or run, or giving you a time limit for the running machines.

Consider healthy living, not just workouts. Even if you spend three hours a week in the gym, what of the other 100-plus waking hours each week? Fit people keep energetic during their entire day.     4     You can simply stand up and walk around whenever you get on the phone and always take the stairs, not the lift.

Do it for charity.     5     If you fall into that category, then find a way to use your charitable nature to motivate yourself to exercise. For example, donate & 1 for every mile you walk. Or commit to several fund-raising events that involve walking, biking, dancing, or a sports match.

4 . In 1665, Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest painters in Netherlands, completed his masterpiece “Girl With a Pearl Earring.” On an April day 357 years later, Janine Strong slowed her bike to stop, paused her fitness app, and watched as the snaking line of her cycling route drew the shape of Vermeer’s masterpiece over the streets of Brooklyn.

Ms. Strong creates what has come to be known as “GPS art” — a practice that uses the Global Positioning System mapping capabilities of modern phone apps to create digital drawings with an athlete’s route. It has grown with the widespread availability of satellite tracking for use by ordinary people. In fact, the idea has been around since before the popularity of smartphones for fitness like Strava released in 2009.

In 2003, The New York Times Magazine told of how Jeremy Wood got the idea for GPS art. Mr. Wood said while he was using a GPS tracker on a flight and the plane flew in a holding pattern above Heath-row Airport, he was attracted by the pattern appearing on his Garmin GPS device. In recent years, technology has advanced enough to create visual maps in real time using a phone or smart watch.

“I get bored cycling on the same path in the same streets,” Ms. Strong said. “Creating GPS art gives me more reasons to hit the pavement, which makes cycling a lot easier. I always have a big smile on my face when it works out and I upload it and it’s done,” she added. “It’s a very satisfying feeling.”

To complete her digital vision of “Girl With a Pearl Earring,” she biked almost 50 miles around southern Brooklyn, carefully checking Strava to make sure each turn, circle, and straight line was achieving the shape of earring and head covering of Vermeer’s original.

6 . Many people lead busy lives and think they barely have time to work out every day.     1     They are short workouts that often involve high-intensity(高强度的)exercises. Here we explore some reasons to do micro workouts.

Require Less of a Time Commitment

Committing to exercising for a certain amount of time per week can be difficult, especially when you do not have the time or motivation to work out for an extended period. Microworkouts are good alternatives. They take up only 10 to 30 minutes of your day. Many people spend much longer scrolling through social media each day.     2    

Make Scheduling Workouts Easier

It can be challenging to commit the time needed to exercise every day,but it can also be hard to fit a workout into a tight schedule. However, a study suggests that it may be possible.     3     For example, walking your dog, using the stairs, parking farther away from adestination, or walking during your lunch break are all ways you can try.

Need No Equipment

Investing in expensive home gym equipment can be a real burden. When you decide to domicro workouts, though, you don’t need a bunch of equipment.     4     For example, you may choose to do steps on your stairs, run on the spot, or even do some star jumps. Since youcan choose what type of workout you’d prefer to do, it means that you can exercise wheneveryou please.

    5     Now that you know all about micro workouts, you can add them to your day.Get as creative as you please and think about the types of movements that suit you. You neverknow-it might just boost your health and wellness.

7 . Young Writers Awards

About the Contest

Bennington College has a unique literary tradition. We’ve had twelve Pulitzer Prize winners, three US poet laureates, four MacArthur Geniuses, and two of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people. In celebration of this, Bennington launched the Young Writers Awards to promote excellence in writing at the high school level. Students are invited to enter with the following work:

•Poetry: A group of three poems

•Fiction: A short story (1,500 words or fewer) or one-act play

•Nonfiction: A personal or academic essay (1,500 words or fewer)

A first-, second-, and third-place winner is selected in each category. We welcome participation of both US and international students.

Awards & Rules

First-place winners in each category are awarded a prize of $1,000; second-place winners receive $500; third-place winners receive $250.

•No charge for entrance. Fees for accidents caused by participants are required.

•All entries must be original work reviewed, approved and guided by a teacher. We will use your teacher as a contact for the competition should we have any questions. For homeschooled students, please contact one to assist in your writing even if you have experience in such competitions.

Young Writers Awards finalists and winners are also qualified for undergraduate scholarships at Bennington. Young Writers Awards finalists who apply and gain admission to Bennington will receive a $10,000 scholarship every year for four years, for a total of $40,000. Young Writers Awards winners reaching the standard will receive $15,000 every year, for a total of $60,000.