Exercise Like You Study: Creatively and Often!
March 4, 2010 | Natalie
I like to think of myself as a runner. No – I don’t do cross-country or track and I can count the number of “fun-runs” I’ve done on one hand – but still, I run. It took me years to be able to say that. Through a high school volleyball career and a hate/hate relationship with running miles I didn’t think I’d ever be able to make running a lifetime habit. But with everything, running takes practice. It takes practice to love what you’re doing for your body and create (not to steal NB’s thunder) the new balance between love and hate.
I know from personal experience (and struggles) with running that perhaps the most common form of exercise is not for everyone. And it doesn’t have to be. Whether it’s an individual preference not to run, like many of my friends, or an injury that prevents you, like my mother and her knee injury, running is by far not the only way to get and stay in shape.
In high school it’s easy to find alternative forms of exercise: basketball, football, volleyball, wrestling . . . before graduation the options seem limitless. If you’re lucky enough to go on to play in college you don’t really have to worry how to keep in shape, but for many of us the end of organized sports means the end or regular exercise – but it shouldn’t.
It is pretty well known that intramural sports clutter the college community. These less-competitive teams offer students opportunities to keep playing their favorite sport without having to compete on the varsity level. For me, intramural sports are something I’m really looking forward to about college. I want to play on a low-key volleyball team and focus on loving the game instead of the ‘win or nothing’ attitude of high school varsity.
But maybe you’re not the typical athlete. Maybe the regular high school sports have never really cut it for you. A recent cross-country skiing outing with some friends got me thinking about all the different kinds of activities that not only keep you physically active, but are fun. From the awesome experience of learning a martial art (I participated in Tae Kwon Do for three years) to ice skating at a nearby rink, the possibilities are endless. One of my main goals for college next year is to take a kickboxing class.
Remember that you don’t have to be a runner to stay fit: find the type of exercise you love. Being healthy is never supposed to torture you.
I’d love to hear what kinds of exercise people are doing to create their own new balance.
I need a lot of motivation to exercise, so I have to get creative. When I’m jogging, weight-lifting and tread-milling, I like to imagine that I’m preparing myself for an immanent zombie attack. If those lurching hunks of rotting brain-craving flesh attack, I want to be able to run a mile without stopping, and swing a cricket bat (if I can find one) in self-defense.
Now that’s what I call “creative” exercising.