When first entering into college, I thought I was going to have so much time to do whatever I wanted with my new found freedom. Wrong.
I’m having a hard enough time balancing doing my homework and getting enough sleep, and it doesn't help that it’s hard to fit going to the gym into the equation as well. Don’t get me wrong; I love working out. It helps me relieve some of my stress. But it causes me more stress sometimes trying to fit it in.
When I went home a couple weeks ago, I received many compliments of how ‘in shape’ I was and how it was impressive that I was finding time to exercise. As much as I appreciated the compliments, I was very confused. Why were people saying these things when the last time I went to the gym was a month prior?
I figured out that after being up here for a while and having more responsibility, I realized that I had made subtle changes in my daily routine that is allowing me to elude the ‘Freshman 15’. For example, I walk everywhere I go. Unless I’m running late for a class halfway across campus, I try to leave my dorm a little bit early so I have enough time to walk there. It allows me to be on my own schedule, plus who knows when the TransLoc app actually will work. So instead of stressing over the fact I just missed the bus, I add a little more exercise in my day.
Another thing that I do (more unwillingly than anything else) is take the stairs. My dorm only has a service elevator available on move-in and move-out days, which wouldn’t seem as big of a deal except for the fact that I live on the fourth floor of my building. Even though it’s a pain sometimes to walk up four flights of stairs, taking the stairs is a good way to input some extra exercise into your day (and no, do not just take the stairs down, but up as well).
Now I’m not saying this completely substitutes exercising at the gym, unless you want to do some reps with dumbbells while you speed walk to class. Nor am I discrediting taking the bus, driving or riding a scooter. However, these are ways you can stay healthy and get a mini-workout.
When you’re walking to class though, I suggest not wearing a pair of shoes that gives to blisters. I learned that the hard way.
