At the library last week, my friend Sarah climbed four flights of stairs and nearly ed out from panting so hard. It’s amazing how the activities least intended to be exerting can become exercise before your very eyes.
The never-ending assignments and essays that infest the month of March can interfere with trips to the gym for many students. Although it is ideal to take daily time off to exercise amidst the stresses of studying, for some people, this is unfathomable. If you find yourself studying and in need of an energy boost, but don’t think you have time for a jog or a squash game, be creative. Although Sarah hadn’t planned on exercising on her way to the fourth floor, her shortness of breath shows just how you can make working out work for you—and your study schedule.
The following is a list of ways I’ve come up with to fit working out into your routine. Because small breaks in your study also help with concentration, following these suggestions should help to enhance your physical and mental activity.
1. When walking to campus, don’t take the short-cut.
2. If you take the bus to campus, get off a few stops early and walk the rest of the way.
3. If you’re running late, amend suggestion 1 or 2: jog (from home or from the bus stop).
4. If you’re studying at the library and have to go to the washroom, go to the one on the next level up; or, if you’re feeling ambitious, on the fourth level up. You might need a towel.
5. Rather than sit at Common Ground for an hour during your lunch break, take 40 minutes to walk downtown and back.
6. When you start to lose your concentration, get up and walk around each floor of the library. (This is also a good way to see where that cute guy or girl you’ve noticed likes to sit. Just make sure not to stroll past the same tables twice in one day; there’s a fine line between walking and stalking.) 7. If you study at home, do some cleaning around the house. (My triceps still hurt from mopping the floors yesterday. Of course, that could also be because of the layer of filth that decorated them) 8. Bring your study notes to the PEC and hop on an exercise bike; it’s a great way to kill two birds with one stone.
9. While sitting down, flex your gluteus muscles every now and again. My housemate, Joe, says this works wonders.
10. Prevent hunchback: pull in your chin like a turtle every so often; this strengthens and stretches the muscles at the top of your back. People around you might look at you funny, but short-term pain brings long-term gain.
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