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Wellness > Health

Lose the Freshman 15: Making Exercise Fun

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A weekend stranded in the middle wilderness – away from my diet, my running routes and my tightly scheduled life – was all it took for me to realize just how much fun working out can be.
 
IMG 4048I spent this past weekend camping with one of the organizations that I am a member of, as it is a tradition for us to go on a weekend camping trip once a semester. (Which explains my two-day absence from blogging).
 
I was really excited to get away from the chaos of my life in Gainesville and just spend the weekend relaxing with my best friends in the woods. But, I was also nervous that a weekend away from an environment where I can easily control my diet and exercise would have a profoundly negative impact on said diet and exercise.
 
Mainly, I was just afraid that I wouldn’t have a chance to work out all weekend and that I would waste away my time in the woods snacking on junk food.
 
However, I am happy to report that I had nothing to fear.
 
IMG 4054Because thankfully, I was provided with ample healthy alternatives for meal times, which included bagels for breakfast, grilled chicken breasts for lunch and chicken chili for dinner.
 
And, I even found a way to get some exercise in, despite being literally stranded in the middle of the woods. And it was the best kind of exercise, because I felt good after doing it, but I also had a great time while I was doing it!
 
Early Saturday morning my friends and I were exploring our campsite after breakfast when we happened to stumble upon a beach volleyball court! One of my friends miraculously brought a volleyball with her (thanks, Tara!), so we were able to get a pick-up game of beach volleyball going at 9:30 in the morning.  
 
IMG 4155My team and I dubbed ourselves the Dream Team (DT6 for life, Andrew, Lauren, Tara, Kirsten and Nora!), and that we were. Even though we had never played together before, we were able to come together as a cohesive unit and we had so much fun playing in a little friendly competition against the other team.
 
We didn’t keep score and we didn’t enforce too many rules, but we sure did have fun together! We kept the atmosphere light and easy, and we were moving around constantly while we sweated profusely in the 90-degree heat.
 
Needless to say, we got a great, FUN workout in early in the morning. It was the perfect start to my Saturday.
 
Later in the day, I got the opportunity to exercise even more.
 
IMG 4161My organization also has a tradition of playing a football game every time we go camping, so we did just that this weekend.
 
We were kind of strapped for time, so we kept the game short and sweet. But again, it was so much fun! I was able to run around with my best friends, see some people get a little crazy (here’s to you, Zach, for playing shirtless!) and enjoy the great old game of American football.
 
And at the end of the game, I felt so pleased – I had a wonderful time playing the game, and I felt so good at the end of it because I knew that I had gotten even more exercise in for the day.
 
IMG 4162My weekend in the woods was so relaxing and refreshing. But the best part is that it wasn’t too damaging to my diet and exercise.
 
And, I was able to realize how much fun working out really can be.

Because I know that sometimes exercising can feel like a chore, especially on the most chaotic of days when all you feel like doing at the end of it all is going to bed. But if you take advantage of the company of your friends and explore some other methods of working out, it’ll stop feeling like a chore and start feeling like more fun!

So I highly encourage you all to take advantage of any down time you may have in the upcoming weeks to get a game of football, volleyball, soccer or whatever other sport you want going with your friends! Make a day out of it and make it fun.
 
I promise you’ll have the time of your life while doing it, but feel even better afterwards!
 
Have any ways that you make working out fun? Share them with me, I’d love to get them a try! Leave me a comment below, email me at sarakaner@hercmapus.com or tweet me here! 

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Sara Kaner
Sara Kaner was born and raised in Santa Barbara, California and first fell in love with journalism as a freshman in high school thanks to her wonderful Intro to Journalism teacher. A family move brought her to Fort Myers, Florida the summer after her freshman year of high school, but she continued to pursue an interest in journalism. She is in her second year at the University of Florida and is pursuing a dual degree in Public Relations and Psychology. She is heavily involved on the UF campus and dedicates most of her time to her various organizations and to her friends. She loves people, magazines, sports and social media, and she hopes to combine all three in her job someday. For now, she aspires to attend Law School and specialize in Media Law. She secretly aspires to be Chelsea Handler, but she's happy being herself for the moment, just as long as she can lose the freshman 15 this semester.