Coming to Skidmore, I went from being extremely active for 5 years with club field hockey, to having no idea how to maintain this activeness in college. My solution: going to the gym. I figured it would help balance my stress, and also be a good way to keep active. I didn’t realize that soon, the best part of my day would be when I get to go to the gym. I found a new passion, and was even able to make new friends and form new connections just from going to the gym.
The first few times were definitely overwhelming. Especially when you walk in, look down the steps to the weight room, and just see a ton of men down there lifting these immensely heavy weights. It can seem incredibly intimidating, and you will feel like they know everything, and you know nothing. But seeing this will soon turn into fuel to know more about the gym, how to create your own workout split, and which exercises target which muscles. Before long, those same people I saw as gym geniuses, became my friends.Â
I even started going to the gym with someone I was already friends with, and the gym pushed us even closer, to the point where I consider her to be one of my best friends. Going to the gym gives us a chance to hangout, while also bettering ourselves.Â
Somewhere along the way, I understood why my dad was a fitness trainer for so many years, because I had found that same fitness passion within me. Whether it is lifting, cardio, or trying to incorporate different workouts in my split, the gym is something I look forward to. Going to the gym also gave me structure, where whenever I was done with classes, I would go to the gym, then the library, and it helped me manage my own health, and also work, at the same time.
If the gym has been on your mind, and you’ve been hesitant to go, just go! This is your sign, and you never know how much you may really enjoy it.