So you're sitting on the dorm room couch watching television with absolutely no motivation to start doing anything remotely physical. So what do you need? Motivation, duh. I will admit that it is not always easy to find this, especially when you are surrounded mostly by people who are also sitting on the couch or glued to the computer screen (aka my freshman dorm).
One step out of this that I would probably recommend over almost all others is to join a team. This obviously does not mean that you need to suddenly become an NCAA athlete and join one of the legitimate school teams, for this is impossible for most of us. Intramural teams or even clubs on campus can provide the needed encouragement boost that we need to get started in taking care of our bodies again, but we actually have to go sign up rather than just walking by the flyers in the student center. Motivation is primarily provided by other people, and sometimes the more the better. If you have teammates who will be asking you why you missed practice or a competition over the weekend, you will undoubtedly think twice about missing the next time. If not, there is probably another blog somewhere that you need to read regarding the fact that we do indeed care about what other people think before you continue reading this one.
Anyways, this is not the only type of encouragement you receive from a team. The excitement of competing with others alongside you who are somewhat dependent upon your performance for their success can be very beneficial in your pursuit of athletics. For those of us who competed frequently in high school, it is easy to forget about the competition high we once knew, and joining some sort of team brings this back suddenly. When you are really into what you are doing, it makes it much easier to show up and work your butt off when needed. And all this can happen during college!
So check out the sports or club teams on campus that can provide these things for you. Seriously, go to https://recreation.ucsd.edu/Intramural-Sports/General-Info.html. If by some random chance you don't go to the same university as me (yeah I know there's a lot of colleges out there), use this link as a guide to show you what kind of options are generally available for students, then go to your school's recreation website. If this whole team thing is just not going to cut it for you, do not give up on this blog. Alternatives are coming soon. The pursuit of athletic recovery in college is not always a quick and easy road, but it is a great road to jump on with some teammates.
I certainly faced fears that I would be stuck in the slump for all of college, or at least for a very long time. My high school career consisted of cross-country, baseball, and track, and I have never returned to the shape that I was in during my senior year. Close to 1,000 miles of running, weight lifting, and all sorts of drills for track and baseball brought me to a fitness peak. I am sure many of you remember this time as well. However, the peak was soon devastated by the fitness-destroying force we know as college. It was like a meteor that not only chipped off that peak but also destroyed most of the mountain. I remember running a few times for the first couple weeks of school, but once homework and midterms picked up, it was all over. Suddenly a hardcore college dork, I found myself studying for hours and playing Guitar Hero (not that either of these things are bad in and of themselves) and not caring for my body enough. I certainly was aware of it but not doing much about it.
You wake up with four minutes to get to class, and you have that extremely important paper due. What do you do? Grab the paper, grab some clothes, and walk awkwardly fast to class. You're walking so fast that you feel stupid, but that eight pager certainly won't be submitted late. As you get to the classroom, you're completely exhausted and can barely catch your breath as you drop your assignment on the table next to the TA, who is probably wondering why you look like you just ran a marathon.
Did I just run a marathon? Hmmm…no I walked for four minutes.
Varsity soccer for three years and track throughout high school, but I feel like I’ve been sitting and staring at a wall my entire life -- a very unfit wall for that matter. What happened? Oh that’s right, I’ve been doing homework, playing video games, and sleeping for the last six months since college started. And now quickly walking to class is a struggle, imagine if I tried to run…..... Sound familiar?
Those old people have told you it’s not that hard to stay in shape in college, you just have to be disciplined, blah blah blah. But you know it’s not that easy. At all. People who are already in shape have no issue discussing how it is not so hard to get into shape, but being in this college athletic slump, you are not in shape and have little motivation at the moment to ever get into shape. Are you bound to be stuck like this forever? I think not, stay tuned. There is light at the end of this collegiate tunnel, and the journey through the darkness can actually be quite enjoyable with the right approach to college fitness.
