Getting Exercise While In College

Have you ever heard of the freshman 15? This is a myth that all students gain 15 pounds from eating and not getting any exercise in the first year of school. Don’t let this happen to you. If you are living on campus, chances are the college has a gym or workout room that is available for students. This is something that you can find out by calling the Admissions or Registrar office. You can also try calling the Athletic Department or Student Services. If by chance the college does not have a work out room, they may have a swimming pool and when classes are not in session there may be recreational swimming.

Every college has a track for Track and Field; this track would be great for walking or jogging. Either is great exercise and chances are the school gym could be open for basketball, open volleyball games and more. If you happen to go to a school where none of these are available (this would be very rare), you can try walking or even jogging around campus. Try walking to classes and not driving, take the stairs and if you have a dorm room off campus, then try waking to Campus rather than drive.

Now, if you live off Campus and you commute to school you have more opportunities. There are some gyms that offer college student discounts, gyms like Bally’s or Lucille Roberts offers a 10% discount if you show your student ID when you sign up you get the discount from the first month and every month. In college you often have a choice of what type of PE class you want. Some colleges offer Bowling, Basketball, Swimming or a General Class. If you are serious in keeping up with exercise, try to choose the class that has the most athletic program.

At least you will be getting some exercises. Check in the student paper, there may be other students who want to form walking groups or a group to work out with. Take advantage of it, it can be really hard in college to find time to work out with classes, homework and for those students who work, it can be impossible to find time to get in 5 minutes of exercise. If you live in the dorm, ask your roommate and some of the other students in the dorm if they want to join a gym. Some gyms offer larger discounts if you have more than 5 students who will sign up with you.

If money is an issue then you can do your own exercise program. Try walking around campus if you live on school grounds. Ask about an on campus gym when you enroll in school, you can also ask your student advisor. If you live at home, try walking around the block or taking the bus to school, the exercise will come from walking to and from the bus stop. Any little exercise is better than no exercise.