It often seems the older we get, the busier we get, and it’s easy to put exercising on the back burner when this happens. Understandably, several people have written in asking about ways to balance work and school schedules to make time for exercise.
It’s hard to cover this topic well in one column, because it really is an individual decision. What works for one person may not work for someone else — we all have different schedules and exercise tastes. What is most important is to find what you like and go with that. If you get sick of it or find it’s no longer enjoyable or motivating, start doing something different.
Physical activity should be just as high a priority as your schoolwork or job, largely because it is crucial for you to do well at both. But while prioritizing exercise is important, you don’t need to always “schedule in” exercise. For example, I walk about 20 minutes to campus each day; then about the same distance to work in the afternoon and all the way back home again. At the end of the day, I have gotten in over an hour of walking. This equates to about 250 or more calories burned.
The thing is, if I took public transportation, my commute would likely be just as long — maybe even longer on days when the Metro or shuttle is being unreliable. On these days, if I can’t sneak in a run or trip to the gym, I don’t stress about it, because I’ve already gotten in some good cardio for the day.
All too often people get into auto-pilot, going to the gym, cycling their legs on a machine while flipping through a 3-month old issue of People Magazine, simply to make themselves feel better about having worked out that day. I’m guilty of having done this for sure.
Over time, I have realized unless I am going in with a clear focus for my workout and unless I leave red-faced and sweaty, I sort of just wasted a lot of time making a big deal about going to the gym. If your days are jam-packed, you have to aim to economize your time with the intent of being as active as possible, as often as possible. If the gym helps you do this, by all means you should go. But if it isn’t convenient or you find it causes you to mindlessly go through the motions without challenging yourself, it’s probably not worth your extra time. You might even subconsciously realize this, which is why a lot of people just stop going to the gym — because they aren’t seeing the results they want.
If you are delaying or avoiding exercise because you have too much work, try to remember that physical activity will increase blood flow to your brain; increase your energy levels and enable you to focus better and get that work done faster.
Scenario 1: You sit in front of your computer working all day, thinking about how you hope you have time to exercise at some point. Then you never end up working out, because you are mentally exhausted by the day’s end and also have no time. Scenario 2: You wake up and get moving, incorporating physical activity into your day without taking up any extra time. You work better and more efficiently, because the exercise has energized your mind and body, and you actually end up with more time at the end of the day for extra rest.
Now these situations may seem oversimplified, and they are. But I have lived both of them out, and my point here is that staying active doesn’t have to mean sacrificing your schoolwork or other jobs. In fact, it often does the very opposite.
Try to turn your otherwise mundane activities into opportunities for exercise. Climb up five floors to your dorm room. Time how long it takes for you to race up the Metro escalator, then try to beat that time the next day. Get a bike or loan one from AU (visit au.agilefleet.com to join this program) and use it to get from place to place, saving money on public transportation and decreasing your carbon footprint. Take breaks in between studying, turn up your favorite music, dance around and laugh at yourself. This last one might sound ridiculous, and maybe it is, but it will help keep you awake and burn calories, too. Do things that increase your heart rate and just have fun with it. Not only will you save time, you will likely engage new muscles you probably wouldn’t have used on the same old machines at the gym.
Cheers to keeping our bodies active.
You can reach this columnist at kbarrett@theeagleonline.com.
