Inspired by fellow HerCampus writer Catherine Ku’s article “Campus Fitness,” I decided to stop being lazy and start getting active. However, because I haven’t exercised since before Thanksgiving, this will be a hard commitment to keep. But with some willpower, some friendly support, and a couple handfuls of ibuprofen, I’m going to make it. And like any Princeton student, I’m going to be doing some research along the way to help fellow couch potatoes get off their butts and into a gym. The goal? Six weeks, three workouts a week, thirty minutes for each workout. It may not sound like much, but trust me, this will be quite the challenge.
4.1.11
I made it. Six weeks after I first threw down my Exercise Challenge, I am writing this last journal entry. The feeling is bittersweet. I learned a lot about fitness, my body, and (oh, so corny) myself these past few weeks, and I am very happy that I embarked on this journey. Just the other day, I discovered a new muscle in the back of my thigh and I’ve been poking it every few minutes. I can also do almost FIVE PUSH-UPS now! I learned that I can run over three miles without feeling like death the next day, that exercising is a great outlet for stress and anger, that I can exercise on my period, and that I can have a relatively fun time while working out. And I hope everyone who followed my saga was able to take something new away from my experience. Unfortunately, I can’t give this challenge a completely happy ending. I have a confession to make.
I only exercised once this week.
I know, I know, I technically failed the challenge. I can make a lot of excuses—I had three papers due, I wasn’t getting any sleep, I was still sore from Body Pump—but in the end, I skipped out on exercising those two times because I got a little complacent, perhaps even lazy.
After I realized that I had failed my six-week challenge, there was quite a bit of mental beating-up. I berated myself for not sticking to the plan, for being a slacker, for giving up right before the finish line, but after a while, I realized that although I lost this week’s war, I have not lost the battle that will be going on for the rest of my life. Because keeping fit and healthy is a lifetime’s commitment. Just because I arbitrarily made the challenge six weeks long, doesn’t mean that next week, I’ll go back to my old, slovenly habits. Au contraire, I was pushing for a new lifestyle, not just the triumph of completing a self-made challenge. Just because I had a setback, doesn’t mean that I’m allowed to throw in the towel and say “I did the best I could.” What’s one week, when I have thousands of weeks ahead of me? Now I have a new goal. Exercise four times a week for the next six weeks. I won’t be writing down my experiences, but I will still be trying to better my health by staying active. And I hope that you, my lovely reader, will strive to do the same.
This week, instead of a lesson, I’m going to give you guys a few goals that will help you stay active for the rest of your life. After all, it’s much easier to set a string of small goals than to have one enormous goal that has no time limit.
• 1 week challenge: Do a new activity, or use a new machine at the gym every time you exercise this week.
• 2 week challenge: Add weights for two weeks! Maybe use hand weights during your power walk, or do three sets of bicep curls before you work out. Increase weight or number of sets as the week continues.
• 3 week challenge: Raise the intensity! Instead of working out at the same pace or level, intersperse spurts of intense activity throughout your usual workout. For example, if you run, go at your usual pace for three minutes, then sprint for two minutes, and then repeat for the rest of your run.
• 4 week challenge: Along with your current work-out, try to do as many push-ups as you can handle every day, adding one extra push-up with every new day for 4 weeks.
• 5 week challenge: Every week, pick one part of your body that you want to work on and add some activities to your usual routine that will tone and strengthen this area (just a reminder: you cannot choose one area to lose fat specifically—fat loss happens indiscriminately to your entire body). Say you want to work on your butt one week—incorporate squats, or use the Stairmaster. Embarrassed by your lack of upper-body strength? Work on push-ups, chest presses, and pull-ups for a week.
• 6 week challenge: Train for a race, or a triathlon, or a half-marathon (be realistic though; if you haven’t worked out in a year, six weeks is not necessarily enough time to be fit enough for a half-marathon).
Feel free to use some of these goals, or none of these goals. In fact, I encourage you to make up your own fitness goals, as long as you fight hard to complete them. At the same time, don’t be too hard on yourself if you slack off for a day or two. Just remember, it’s never too late to start getting active.