Alternate routes on the road to fitness

As a college student, it often feels as if there isn’t enough time in the day. So much needs to be done between schoolwork, extracurricular activities and trying to maintain a social life that not much time is left for fitness.

To start, I made a resolution to choose the stairs over the elevator at least once a day when walking back to my dorm room.

This is one of the most obvious ways to incorporate fitness into daily life, but it is also one of the most unpopular.

Living on the sixth floor of Hedrick Hall made it a challenge at first, but after a few days, the stairs became easier.

To incorporate exercise throughout the day instead of just walking back from class, I wanted to utilize that extra time between classes.

This meant I needed something I could do when there wasn’t time to wait for a treadmill or elliptical machine at the John Wooden Center or if I didn’t want to be sweaty during my next class.

Drake Stadium was a good solution. Because it’s outside, students have to depend on the weather to make use of it, but L.A. weather is rarely an issue.

Fitness machines have predetermined levels of intensity, but working out on an open field allows you to construct a workout of any intensity level you feel capable of doing.

I found that strength exercises are a good way to workout without over-exerting yourself.

Strength exercises such as crunches, pushups and squats don’t require much cardiovascular activity. So, if you limit the number of repetitions to what you can handle without breaking a sweat, you can still look clean in your next class.

It didn’t take long to realize how much more focused I became in class after starting these midday workouts.

A study done by the Brain Science Institute found that people with increased fitness levels also had increased levels of productivity and decreased levels of stress. I had my much-improved class notes to back it up.

When not walking around campus, a large portion of college students’ time is spent sitting. We sit in class, in dining halls, while we study and when hanging out in the dorms. This gave me an idea: Could I exercise while I spend all this time sitting?

A call to a personal trainer gave me an answer ““ yes. She told me that contracting our muscles increases definition and improves mind-body connection, even when you’re sitting.

After that conversation, I started flexing my abdominal muscles constantly. Because this is something that isn’t explicitly visible, it can be done while in class, doing homework and walking around.

It took one day of testing out the flexing theory for me to be sore. I decided that if I was sore, then the flexing must be working, so I made a habit of it. After a few weeks, I saw more definition in my muscles.

I sought out ideas of exercises so that I could multi-task while studying once midterms rolled around. Midterms and finals make it difficult to take the time to walk to the John Wooden Center and commit to a full workout.

Just because I couldn’t afford the time the John Wooden Center required, I knew I couldn’t be inactive during the entire process of preparing for tests.

Consequently, I found an alternate use for heavy textbooks: I used them as weights.

It sounds silly, but at least it’s resourceful. To be honest, I believe my architecture book isn’t far off from an 8-pound dumbbell.

I can’t say I’ve tested it on a scale, but it definitely feels heavier than my roommate’s 5-pound weights. I save the book weights for the privacy of my dorm room, but I still do everything from leg lifting with them while I type to bicep and tricep reps while I read.

Incorporating fitness all throughout the day has benefitted me by increasing my energy and giving me an improved self-image. So next time you’re sitting around waiting for your next class, give one of these ideas a try!

How do you get your daily dose of exercise? Email Davis at [email protected]. “Shape It Up” runs every Friday.