It’s gotten to the point for me that my friends don’t even ask me to go to the gym with them anymore. It’s not that I don’t appreciate the importance of fitness and a healthy lifestyle – I do – I just can’t stand the gym. When you hear gym-goers complain about the people who “clog” up the gym the first couple weeks of school or right after New Year’s, that’s me to a tee. The thought of reading subtitles to one more episode of Seinfeld while I’m struggling on my incline just makes me want to order a pizza. That being said, there are other ways that us college girls can still stay in shape and avoid that dreaded freshman fifteen.
1. Intramurals – Whether you were a varsity athlete in high school or not, there are many different sports offered at Bentley. Co-ed or intramurals come in many different levels of competitiveness. From softball to ultimate Frisbee to hockey, intramurals won’t take up a lot of your time, and they’re a blast to do if you’re with the right people. Also, who can hate a free t-shirt?
2. Dance – While I’ve never personally taken a cardio dance class unless you count my short lived glory days when I was five, I guarantee you there’s not a single girl on this campus who can truthfully tell you she doesn’t like to dance. Bentley offers different dance classes on campus in the Health & Wellness Center like Zumba, and also a weekly Latin dance class in the Blue Line. One of the most fun things you can do is put yourself out there and yes, sometimes embarrass yourself a little bit. Or in my case when I dance…a lot.
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3. “Independent” Sports (Yoga, Gymnastics, Swimming, Karate) – The great thing about independent sports/activities are that they are unique just to you. Your progress and success doesn’t depend upon the skill or dedication of another person (like in a GB group project…). If you aren’t looking to go off campus, we offer yoga classes and the pool is open at certain times if you are looking to grab a lane and swim. On the other hand, if you’re willing and you have the means to go into Harvard Square or off campus, trying activities like gymnastics or karate could be just the thing you need to shed those extra couple pounds you picked up on Chicken Nugget Thursday. It’s never too late to try!
4. Last but not least…suck it up. This may seem like a bit of a contradictory tip compared the earlier portions of this article, but I think it just has to be said. I have to tell myself this when my friends convince me by some miracle to go to the gym with them to do weights (which I think is much more tolerable and challenging than any of the cardio upstairs). If you can’t make it to an intramural or an outside sport, sometimes you don’t have a choice but to just get over it and go to the gym. Yes, it sucks. You probably look like a mess with your sweat-smeared mascara in front of the football team, and all you want is to just lie on the floor and eat Currito, but hating exercise is better than no exercise at all. If you’re at least with some friends and you have a solid playlist to keep you going, the gym may turn out to only suck a little bit.
Image Sources:
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m7h4sjr7zT1qccuk1o1_500.gif
http://www.fitandfreeemily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/zumba-class-2.jpg
http://www.lewisglobalkarate.com/resource/images/high_kick_male.jpg
http://www.vitamin-ha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Vh-256142297526855605_iYOB6aNs_c.jpg
http://recsports.ufl.edu/images/uploads/Frisbee.jpg