In high school, I never really needed to make time to work out. I had been on a variety of sports teams that always helped me stay in shape. A majority of my sports practiced in the summer as well, so I didn’t have to worry about staying in shape over the summer. However, when coming to college, if you aren’t playing an organized sport, it can become hard to work out regularly.
College is a whole new experience and on top of schoolwork, clubs, and a social life, it is hard to find time in a schedule to sleep, let alone work out. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my few years in college, finding time to work out is essential to staying healthy, alert, and feeling good throughout the week.
One major thing I’ve noticed is the extra energy I receive for the day after working out for just a short amount of time. Before I started working out regularly, I was feeling tired and groggy throughout the day. I always needed naps, and I just wanted to sit around all day and do nothing. Now that I work out almost every day, I have found that my stamina has skyrocketed. After working out for just 45 minutes, I find myself with so much more energy to get all of my daily tasks done and even a little bit extra if I’m really feeling energized. Because of the energy I am receiving from working out, I don’t even find myself needing coffee to stay awake anymore.
Not only does working out help with staying energized and awake, it helps you stay healthy. We all know that the Freshman 15 is a thing. I can happen to anyone. Being exposed to the dining halls with an overwhelming amount of junk food can seem awesome at first, until you start putting on the pounds. If you just take a few days out of your week to work out for 30 minutes, you can burn calories and keep the unwanted extra weight off. Not to mention, you can build up some muscle too, and just feel healthy overall.
If you’re someone like me, working out isn’t something you think you’re actually going to enjoy. But once you actually drag yourself off your bed and away from your Netflix binge, I can guarantee working out can make your days and your life so much better.