Living an Active Lifestyle As a College Student
College requires long hours of reading, studying, and doing homework. When you finally get some free time, all you want to do is sleep, hang out with friends, and watch TV. All of this turns into long hours of sitting, which leads to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and heart disease. If the thought of dealing with these health problems is not enough to get you moving, consider the financial consequences. You are already most likely racking up a lot of debt in student loan bills. The last thing you want is medical bills on top of that while you struggle to get out of debt. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to get more active in college, which will keep you in better shape and even help you study.
1) Read on the treadmill
College involves an extraordinary amount of reading for classes which is incredibly time-consuming. So go to your campus gym with your books instead of reading in bed. The movement will increase oxygen and blood flow to your brain so you will absorb more content than you would sitting. It also helps you burn calories, increase circulation throughout your body, and build muscle. Walking or incline training are great exercises to do while reading, studying, or even drafting essays.
2) Make study games
When studying for tests, quiz yourself. For every question you get wrong, do a push-up, sit-up, or jumping jack. Or when you finish another draft of an essay, celebrate by putting on your favorite song and dancing as ridiculously and energetically as you can. It is an easy way to keep exercising during finals while also motivating you to study. Exercising will also cut down on the stress that plagues most students during test times.
3) Work standing up
If your college has standing desks in the dorms or library or even tall tables that you can comfortably use while standing, then use them. Standing engages the muscles in the legs, back, and core. You will burn more calories and have a faster metabolism even though you are not taking time away from your studies. You can also work faster and better because you will not the foggy-headed feeling you get when sitting down for long periods of time.
4) Do Desk Yoga
If working while standing is not an option for you, then do exercises while at your desk. You can find videos for yoga and exercises to do at your desk which will release tension in your body and get the blood flowing a bit. At the very least, try to sit near the edge instead of using the backrest to support you. The way your core is engaged. Even though doing exercises at your desk does help, it is still not perfect, so remember to take frequent breaks to walk around, even if you are just exploring different sections of the library or walking down the hall of your dorm room.
5) Cook Your Own Food
This is not an option for all college students, especially if they are living on campus. Their dorm might not have a kitchen or their mandatory meal plan was so expensive they cannot justify buying food to cook when they already overpaid for cafeteria food. But if it is an option, it should be done. Most cooking is done standing and it is very active work. Whether you are chopping vegetables for a salad or trying to keep the smoke alarm from going off, you are engaging your body in movement. It is an easy and rewarding way to sneak in some exercise and activity. After a little practice, the food you make will taste better, be healthier, and cheaper than the campus food anyway.
For more information on living an active life while in college, please contact us.
