Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body

     I’m too busy studying. Being in college, I need to really focus on my studies and my future. You’ve given me tons of motivation to change my routine and start exercising, but I have come to the conclusion that college needs to be a time of focus for me.

     Great! I’m glad that we’re on the same page. You should be putting your best effort towards your studies and staying focused during your time in college, which is why you need to be staying physically active. Now you are probably confused, but give me a few paragraphs to fix that.

     You’ve hear it before, THERE IS A STRONG LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BRAIN ACTIVITY, but you usually only believe it up to the moment when you have to make a decision between doing extra studying or working out. Then suddenly the idea doesn’t seem so appealing. So now I must convince you that this truth is actually legitimate and worth applying to your life. Here we go.

     The neocortex is a highly complex and important part of the brain which plays a leading role in our ability to focus and process information (yes, both of these are important in college). The purpose of this blog is not to explain the function of the brain in great detail, so I will not do that here. However, if you are interested, Wikipedia gives a brief breakdown of the neocortex (with a disgusting picture in case you weren’t convinced that this was part of the brain). For a thorough and convincing argument of the application of the neocortex and other parts of the brain to our phycial activity, check out this solid article. Scientists have shown that the function of the  neocortex is improved with physical activity, particularly aerobic exercise. Furthermore, studies have shown that there is a strong connection between stimulating the body and our ability to remember things. During physical activity, cells within another brain structure known as the hippocampus are produced more efficiently, leading to a more effective memory (yes again, memory is also important in college). Dr. Ratey makes it clear that he is competent on the subject, and you should certainly take what he says seriously even if you do not believe anything that I have stated.

     Straying slightly from the more complex scientific argument, I think it is important to see a practical side to this idea of “Mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). Check out this short blog on the success of those people who are committed to fitness in addition to the other normal aspects of their life. We see that exercise leads to a drive in our work environment (college for you) and motivates our overall progress. Also, younger students were clearly strengthened mentally by their physical activity. Whether it was a change in their neocortex or something else, the results of the study make it clear that the high schoolers became better students when they were motivated to work on their personal level of fitness.

     Stating the obvious, being active in college helps you to be a better student.  Let us close with some words of wisdom from Dr. Ratey:

“We need to change the way we think about exercise. We really need to understand that exercise keeps the brain functioning well, and then realize that it also happens to be good for the body. We tend to think about it the other way around, but in fact it readies the cells in the brain to be optimal. We are made to move and people aren’t moving anymore.”

THERE IS A STRONG LINK BETWEEN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND BRAIN ACTIVITY. It is true, and you need brain activity in college, believe it or not.  Now do you have time to work out?

I Need Some Help

     I can’t do it!!! I always have an awesome three weeks of working out before crashing miserably and not feeling like doing anything once that fourth week rolls around. I quit my team and got bored with my workout routine. I just don’t think I have the discipline to be consistent with this. What do I do??
     Two things are very important for maintaining a routine or sticking with a workout plan in college. The first recommendation I have to offer is to find someone to hold you accountable to your pursuit of fitness. Obviously, if you choose someone that already seems very self-motivated and has shown consistency in their own training, you are more likely to be motivated by them to push yourself a bit more. On the contrary, if you choose someone who has even less interest in working out than you do, you might not even make it to that third week. Having someone to keep you on your toes with your exercise and providing a positive example for you certainly cannot hurt. Seeing someone who is also in college just like you and has found a way to stay consistently motivated can certainly be very encouraging. Find someone to go with you and struggle alongside you as you jump back into your glory days and out of your college athletic slump.

      But I don’t like working out with other people!!! You don’t like working out by yourself either, so stop whining and find a training partner.

      The second recommendation I have is to come up with a very distinct goal in your workout plan.

      Thank you, Captain Obvious.

      You can call me Brad, and yes it does seem blatantly obvious that you should have a goal. However, many people come up with very vague goals, and some will not even form one at all. “My goal is to work out more this winter quarter than I did last quarter.” “I want a better body.” “I want to be more active.” Good things to work towards for college kids, but terrible goals.

     Think about these.  “I will attend seven out of the eight intramural soccer games this quarter.” “I will swim at the pool at least once a week and for at least five hundred yards each time.” “I will run twice a week and always total a minimum of six miles for the week.” Goals remind us of what we should be doing and give us a sense of accomplishment as we fulfill them. When we feel this, we are further driven to continue chasing the goal, or maybe setting new and better goals. College is filled with distractions, and it is vital to find ways to push beyond those on a weekly basis. So write down a goal or two, and think about someone who might be good at kicking you in the butt when you don’t feel like keeping that goal.
    Escaping from your athletic slump here in college is possible, but you must be pro-active in seeking ways to make that escape happen.

Variety and Creativity

     Athletics or any sort of physical activity can lose its luster when it becomes overly monotonous. Just this threat of deadly repetition and boredom in workouts can quickly cause us to run as fast as we can away from a fitness program of any sort. Actually, that doesn’t work. It causes us to drive our cars as fast as we can because we hate running at this point (but not for long, right?). Variety and creativity in  personal workouts can really help to mitigate those feelings of dread which overwhelm us when we think about doing laps somewhere or using the same weight machines week after week. I am quite possibly one of the least creative people in the world, which has made my pursuit of interesting workouts not necessarily easy. However, it has absolutely helped me to look forward to my athletic activities much more as  I know that I will not be doing the same thing today that I did last Tuesday. Being in college, you often do not have tons of spare time to travel to exotic locations for an exciting workout, but I promise that there are some great options within your reach. Take some time to think about it with your big college brain, and don’t run at the track four days a week. Don’t do the same workout in the pool every other day. For some people, I will even say don’t work out with the same person all the time. I will admit that some people are totally fine with doing the laps and repetition and thoroughly enjoy it, but for most who are just trying to get back into the rhythm, it can be draining and annoying.

     So how do I find alternatives to these standard workouts?
     Hmmm Google.com. “Good places to run in Orange County,” “Fun workout centers in San Francisco,” “Spots for open water swimming  in San Diego,” “City soccer leagues in LA area.” Whew, all that typing wiped me out. No not really, it’s quite easy. I can guarantee that there are some great workout spots in your area that you are unaware of (but Google can find them without straining too much). So take a look, find some variety. Woah there, why are you about to close your web browser just because you’re almost done reading this post? Click for a new tab, and go find a new workout spot.
     You can be very athletic and very college (you know what I mean) at the same time, but if you are bored out of your mind with your workout routine, you will not last long. Change things up and break the slump!

Getting Started

     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.

My Peak and Slump

     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. 

     Hey Brad, thanks telling me about your pity story of your athletic crash, are you going to share anything useful with me? Yes. Next week. Know that the slump can be defeated and college does not have to be a fitness vacuum!

The slummmmppppp - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70zxgX2fReU

What Happened?

     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.