Personally, I have little-to-no athletic experience. As a second semester freshman, I have not tried anything of the sort at Temple yet. During the first semester I walked quite a bit so I never felt the need to go to the gym and exercise, but my attitude has recently changed. I received a pair of sneakers as a gift and knew I would feel guilty if I didn’t put them to good use. While this reason may seem materialistic or strange, it was actually a pretty good incentive to start working out.
I thought the easiest place to begin would be a group fitness class provided by Temple’s Recreation Center. This way, I could be guided through an effective workout without wasting my time using a machine wrong or doing an exercise that is not actually going to benefit me in the way I want it to. I chose “Flow Yoga” because after reading the descriptions for each of the classes, this seemed like the best place to start getting into shape. Then, once I have been working out for a bit, I can try the others.
One thing I knew I needed in order to feel comfortable in this new environment was emotional support, so I got together a group of six girls and we headed to an 8:30 p.m. “Flow Yoga” session. The first lesson I learned for these group fitness classes was that you should definitely arrive early because they fill up, and unfortunately we all learned this the hard way! The class was full and started at 8:30 p.m. on the dot, and we were turned away. This immediately showed me that the people going to these classes are certainly dedicated.
Although we were pretty excited to try this new class, we did not box ourselves into our expectations and instead made our own workout. We made the quick decision to still do some type of exercising — if we got dressed for yoga we were going to do some yoga! We set up shop in the Vantage gym and followed a video by a Youtuber Yoga with Kassandra. While taking the fitness class would have provided feedback on our positioning from someone more experienced, I think getting a small group together and following a workout together is a great way to start participating in fitness activities while away at college.
Even though we didn’t make it into the class, I am so glad we ventured to it because I got to see the gym and now my excuse for not going to the gym because I don’t know where it is is no longer valid!
While this may be shocking and quite different for some people, I had not worked out in a gym since before college. After this experience, I felt ready to continue going to the gym and felt a stronger desire to get in shape. I had forgotten the feeling of accomplishment you get after a good workout, so now that I have felt it again, I am ready to continue this college fitness journey!
Everyone who is going to the gym had to be a beginner at some point, so don’t let the gym environment intimidate you to the point of not trying it out. You might really enjoy how it makes you feel and have a new hobby or a fun way to get in shape. So, with my experience in mind, get out there!