It’s September and we are almost a month into school, which means that we are past the honeymoon stage. You know what I’m talking about- when you start off at SMU, you tell yourself there is NO WAY you’ll gain the “Freshman Fifteen,” promising to yourself that you’ll totally be in the Dedman Center everyday. The gym is free after all, right?
Flash forward three weeks later and you are sitting on your bed, eating Doritos and telling yourself that hefting your bag full of textbooks across campus counts as a workout. You have used the gym once. You aren’t even sure how to use all the stuff in there, and honestly, you are too afraid to ask.
Here’s where we come in.
Get going!
Grab your headphones and water bottle, and make sure you don’t leave behind your dorm key and ID card. Don’t worry about your stuff while you get buff, because there are cubbies for you to put all your junk in. Does your work out call for a yoga mat, foam roller, or something else random you can’t find? Ask the person at the desk in the bottom floor and go for the workout!
Run, Forrest, Run!
There are a lot of ways you can get your cardio in, the easiest way being by running. The moment you descend the stairs to the bottom floor, you’ll see lines of treadmills, ellipticals, and steppers. Use the treadmill to get a really intense run going, the elliptical for less resistance and more toning, and the stepping machine if you really feel like killing it. There are also bikes, and a track on the upstairs level, so if you like running in the AC but hate staying in one place, you should head up there.
Bonus- most of the machines are facing TVs, so you can watch HGTV or cooking shows that they have going while you run. Even more bonus- most of the ellipticals are facing the weights on the back wall, so this is a good time to scout for cute boys!
Courtesy of SMU Young Alumni
On the Up and Up
If you love rock climbing, the TAOS Tower and the HUECO Bouldering Wall are great for you. The Climbing wall is open most weekdays from 4-10 p.m., is closed Wednesdays, has Fridays from 4-8 p.m., and weekends from 1-6 p.m. So go ahead and ask how it works, and get climbing! You don’t need to be an expert to get fit by scaling a huge fake rock tower.
Courtesy of CCRD Engineers
Just Keep Swimming
If you wanna do a couple laps in the pool, you can. The Aquatic Center has fitness classes that cost $3, but is also open for free most of the time during the week. Swimming laps is really good because it doesn’t have the pressure on your joints that running does, and no one can tell for sure how sweaty you’re getting. Yes there are showers. No, they are not that bad.
Stretch it Out
If you want to stretch you can! There is space on either side for stretching and crunching. Just go to the mats, grab a yoga mat if there is no space, or get one of the stability balls if you’re really going hard. There’s also the True Stetch Cage, which looks basically like a big cage. You can’t miss it, and it tells you all sorts of stretches on the plaque. Just don’t overdo it too early!
Group X
The name makes it sound very sketchy, but it is not. Group X is the way you get all the fitness classes on campus, from yoga to pilates to zumba. A single class costs $4, but you can get a pass for more. The instructors definitely know their stuff, so GO FOR IT.
Do You Even Lift, Bro?
The weights along the back wall of the bottom floor probably look the most intimidating. It’s mostly boys there, and I always worry that they are judging me hard. They’re not. They are too focused on what they are benching to even notice you. So pick up some weights, start slow, and talk to one of the personal trainers if you are really worried about it. Don’t hurt yourself trying to do too much, and don’t let a bunch of jocks freak you out of getting as “swole” as you want.
The Machines
The workout machines are very scary looking, but they are not a big deal. Most of them have diagrams that will show you how to use them. If not, find someone friendly looking- at SMU some nice girl is bound to show you how to use the outer thigh press. You don’t have to go ham right away, and you shouldn’t, but the machines are a good way to start toning. You can do abs, arms or legs, all on machines that will show you what to do.
When in Doubt, Ask it Out
Do not be afraid to ask about things. As I have mentioned many times, you can just ask, and someone will tell you how to use gym stuff. You are not going to look like big dumb loser just because you aren’t sure how to use the elliptical. Go ahead and ask someone. Nobody is judging you because they are all focused on their own workouts!
So go for it! You want to be buff, YOU GET BUFF! You got this collegiettes! Take that walk over to the Dedman Center for Lifetime Sports and jump on whatever work out you want to do no matter how dumb you may think you look. Soon you’ll look like an old pro. Everyone has to start somewhere, and your somewhere is by getting off your tushie, putting on your sneakers and heading over to Dedman!
Image Courtesy of CCRD Engineers