Being a college student, I completely understand how busy life can get sometimes. Whether you are trying to balance work and family, school and social life, a good nights sleep or good grades, we often find ourselves overwhelmed and don’t think too much about our well being. We are so caught up in achieving our goals (which is important, don’t get me wrong), our minds are jumbled with stressful thoughts and worries. What we should do is take a little time for ourselves everyday, just to check in, calm our thoughts, and re-evaluate our priorities. I do my daily “check-in” through exercise. I usually do fifteen or twenty minutes of cardio, followed by a pilates class. What I love about my exercise routine is that the cardio allows me to get out some stress, while my pilates class allows me to calm my mind by only having me focus on my breathing. It’s science – exercise has been proven to release endorphins, which are chemicals in your brain that make you feel happy. One study shows that a mood boost typically occurs five minutes after moderate exercise, and can even help long-term with depression. I notice that sometimes I will try to make excuses for why I don’t have time to workout (too much homework, too many extracurricular meetings), but I always try to tell myself that even a short exercise can help boost my mood. You can take a quick walk jog, jump rope session, whatever appeals to you! Personally, I love my Workout for Women app which provides quick exercises that you can do in as little as seven minutes! Many people will make excuses for why they can’t do something, but you only need one reason for why you can something.
Here’s me and my roommate after our first spin class- look at how happy (and sweaty) we are!
Notice that while I am discussing exercise, I never mentioned about doing it for the way you look in the mirror. While exercising to change your body is great and is a perfect reason for exercising, it absolutely does not have to be the only reason you exercise. Allowing yourself to focus on what you are doing in that specific moment is a huge benefit of exercising. If you are exercising for both your physical and mental health, then that’s great! If you are just doing it to clear your head, that’s great too! It’s all about what you want for yourself.
Even back in CT, we’re all smiles at the gym!
While I’m no fitness coach or personal trainer, I try to emphasize how beneficial exercising can be, not just for looking great, but for feeling great too.
Happy exercising!
Xo,
Alex