5 Ways to Fit a Workout Into Your College Schedule

Take the stairs. Period.

Sometimes, it seems like the elevator is just asking you to use it. Dorm halls and classroom buildings are required to have stairs as a safety precaution, but climbing up to that 7th floor dorm is a great way to get some exercise in. It’s almost like using a stair machine at the gym, just 20 minutes a day of walking up and down stairs is a great way to work out those glutes and thighs. If you do it quickly, you may also increase your heart rate and get a good cardio workout in, too. Be innovative and use the environment that makes up your school (your dorm room, hills, stairs, etc.) to develop new exercise routines.

Join a Fitness Club

Most colleges and universities have some type of fitness club or gym where exercise junkies come together and work out. Clubs are pretty easy to fit into your schedule, so try a power lifting club, cycling club, yoga club, etc. These are great options for relieving some stress while socializing with people who share a favorite activity with you. Maybe, they meet once a week or maybe they meet every day, but in the end, something is better than nothing! Smaller schools may be limited to their choices but maybe you can start one up yourself! (This would look good on your resume, too!)

Get to bed earlier and get up earlier for the gym.

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.” Socializing and partying are all fun and games until your grades start to drop and your weight starts to go up. There is a time and place for that stuff but it should not affect your academics and physical fitness. School comes first, but being healthy helps you stay alert when absorbing all that information from class. Plus, while most other people are still sleeping in the morning, you will most likely have the gym all to yourself. Waking up and working out in the morning also helps boost your metabolism. Your body needs energy to get you through the day so make sure you get that post-workout meal in, too. 

Work Out During Study Break

You have been studying in the library for hours and you start to feel yourself dozing off. All of that blood in your body is starting to sink to your feet and not enough is getting to your brain. Stand up and do some exercises. Get some push-ups and sit ups in or do some burpees or jog in place. Set personal goals and try to beat them in the little study break you have. Do 20 pushups at one study break and in the next one try to get 25. It’s a double whammy–you are getting your workout in and studying at the same time. After your small and intense workout, go back to studying and see if you can recall the information you were just learning. Test yourself academically and physically!

Be a Pro at Time Management

As I previously mentioned, school and health come first and if you are wasting time doing other things or nothing at all, you may fall short of your academic and physical goals. Buy a planner and schedule your week out and find the areas where you have free time. Dedicate that time to things most important to your success. Even if you have 20 minutes of free time, use it to your advantage. There are plenty of workouts out there on the web that are under 20 minutes and some of them are intense. Take advantage of whatever free time you have because it goes by quickly!

Jeffrey Meyers is a sophomore at Penn State. He intends to major in Kinesiology with an emphasis on athletic training.