Needless to say, everyone is familiar with the post-secondary school legend of inevitable weight gain: the freshman 15. Like many, I stayed in shape during high school by being a student-athlete, but unfortunately, only about seven percent of us will be playing at the college level. As a collective, the class of 2022 has to figure out how they, individually, are going to remain healthy. We all come in beautiful shapes and sizes, so consequently, our methods will be different. Hopefully, you'll find something here that suits you.
Working out doesn't necessarily have to be a visit to the gym. During my sophomore year of high school, after I took a tour of Texas A&M's athletic facilities with my tennis team, I made a decision to start taking my role as a student-athlete seriously. Before that, the only time I'd burned 1,200 calories was when I left a DiGiorno in the oven. Before school let out, my coach encouraged us all to continue working out during the summer. And her most prominent piece of advice was to build lean muscle by doing more reps and less weight.
However, the Serena Williams in my head was screaming at me to do otherwise. That summer, a competitive friend and I were hitting the gym every chance we got and what started as an innocent journey to a better and more fit me became a shameless competition on who could do the most weight on any machine we felt necessary. For the first time since seventh grade, I gained weight! Even though that was a major feat for me back then, my focus is now on maintaining my weight as best as I can and toning my body. The gym can help with this, but sometimes exercising outdoors is a better way.
The Nike Training Club app (partnered with The Nike Run Club app) is a cool tool that not enough people know about. It curates workout plans for you based on the information you give it about how often you workout, how often you WANT to work out, the kind of equipment you have access to, and more. Whether you want to focus on core strength or you want to enhance your flexibility or go the whole nine yards, it works with you, almost like a coach. For anyone looking to start working out, this is a perfect app to download.
As for eating habits, that's a tricky topic. We're college students now. Unless you're being raised by Bill Gates or Oprah, money is never to be trifled with. With that being said, don't spend your first-semester buying junk food or eating fast food for every meal. Contrary to popular belief, shopping for healthy options can be a cheap experience if you do it the right way. But if groceries aren't your speed, your on-campus cafeteria most likely has healthy choices available for you. I know LSU does. The 459 and the five both accommodate food allergies and the LSU Dining website breakdowns many nutrition explanations and resources available to aid you in your fight against the Freshman 15.
