Many students, when they come to college, leave behind their past lives as high school super-star athletes and spend their time doing other things -- like eating nachos for brunch on Sunday mornings. Before, it was easy to join a team and have others hold you responsible for being physically active so you could run 100 meters without wanting to eject your lungs. Now, work and responsibilities get in the way of being able to work out or, if you are from the east coast, the random snow storms in March. Now that the weather is nice, everyone is outside running and taking full advantage of the sunshine. The struggle of trying to start working out again after four months of being a couch potato is all too real for me, my fellow college students and, apparently, the Pawnee Parks Department.
At first, you start off really motivated and think that you are in prime condition to exercise and that nothing can go wrong!
You set goals, tell your roommates about your new active lifestyle so they can encourage you to keep it up, and call your mom to let her know that you're now living a life she can be proud of.
You set your alarm for 8 a.m. so you can sneak a run in before class and tell everyone all day that you woke up early to run, so you can hear them tell you how impressed they are with your dedication.
"Yes, I know i'm an inspiration."
Exercising will inspire healthier choices! You may reassess your diet and maybe only eat ramen for one meal of the day, and only order Campus Cookies for yourself when it is completely necessary. Making small changes will lead to great success!
Campus Cookies are always completely necessary.
However, after the first attempted jog you begin to feel discouraged. When did running get so hard? When did hills get steeper and miles get longer? Why are you crying?
You try again, the next day, with similar result s- your body is fighting itself and your lungs are not doing what they were meant to. How did you get to this point? Was it that 2 a.m. Taco Bell run you made three nights last week? Who knows?
Spoiler: it was the Taco Bell.
After a few days of pushing through the pain, it starts to get a little bit easier! You are back at stage one: positivity! Maybe you can do this! Maybe you can be one of those people who exercise for fun! You were made for this!
However, after doing the same routine for a couple of days, you start to get bored. Those Jillian Michaels exercise videos on YouTube can only keep you entertained for so long. The motivation is starting to leave your body and you know it's only a matter of time before you give up completely.
Even though you are defeated, your legs are sore, and you are on the verge of a breakdown, you push through until the end of the week. You did it! You made it through one week of exercise! "Treat yo'self."
Stay healthy, my friends.
