Ah, and so it goes, every weekday morning where I wake up to my alarms at 6:15, 6:20, 6:30, and 6:40, put on some workout clothes, and head to F45 at the Rec Center.
Or… that’s how I wish my mornings would go.
Most of the time, I forget to either a) register myself on JH Rec in time and end up on the waitlist or b) I sleep through my alarm(s). Sometimes, it’s both. And if I’m still on the waitlist in the morning, then what’s the point of even trying to get there early when I might be the 6th walk-in and won’t be allowed into class? It’s just too much effort for too much uncertainty.
And there’s the infamous excuse: “I’ll just study instead”. Yeah, right. Sometimes, this actually does happen and those are the good days. Others, I nap for an hour instead. There goes studying.
The main takeaway here is that life happens and working out gets pushed to the backburner. Mental and immune health, sleep, academics, and a social life are, in my opinion, more important and have a more beneficial impact on your overall health than working out sometimes. I’m not saying that exercise isn’t important and that you should never workout ever, but if you feel like it’s causing you more exhaustion or anxiety, don’t bother because that isn’t the point of exercise.
It’s really easy to feel guilty for not working out for a few days or a few weeks (…) because life gets busy. I didn’t work out for a week before and a week after my first round of midterms, and to be honest, it wasn’t that good of a feeling. I felt like I had done something wrong, or like I had missed an important meeting every day. If you’re ever feeling that way, here are some thoughts to decrease your guilt about not working out.
1. If you sleep 6 hours a night for 10 nights straight, your attention span will be the same as if you pulled an all nighter. AH!
I need to remember this more because at the end of my senior year in high school, I would wake up at 5 or 6am to workout before class, but go to sleep at 12 or 1am. That meant I only get 4-5 hours of sleep each night- how did I even survive? That’s not healthy at all, and if working out at any point in your day means you sleep less, then just don’t work out because your lack of sleep will cancel out the benefits of working out. Let your body rest and heal before you exhaust it even more.
2. Working out is stress on your body, don’t double the stress you’re already feeling.
College is difficult! We have midterms basically all of the time (at least I do) and it’s important that you stay on top or ahead of your assignments so you don’t make yourself more stressed or become sick and then have an even more difficult time. If you feel that your brain hurts from studying so much, or you have an exam the next morning, study for a little bit more and then just read tip #1 again. The gym will still be there after you ace that exam.
3. Immune health > physical appearance
If you’re sick and go to the gym, you’ll be the vector for whatever sickness you have. You don’t want to be coughing all over everyone and everything! That’s no fun and will only make other people unable to workout as well. “Pushing through” a workout, especially when you have a cough or the stomach bug, is not a good idea, but it all really depends on how you feel. Check-in with yourself and think: how can I spend this next hour to make me feel a little better than before?
Working out is fun and makes you feel empowered and confident, but that doesn’t mean you need to do it to feel that way. Other things can be more important or just something you would rather do- that’s okay! Hang in there, study and get good grades, but don’t forget to stay healthy in the process.