Dump the finals food and start getting summer fit
With summer just around the corner, many students are working into shape.
“I have lost 10 pounds,” said Bobbi Jo Baker, an undeclared freshman. “Motivation is what got me started. Habit is what keeps me going.”
Baker said health and beauty can go hand in hand, but beauty can often be a higher priority than health.
“There’s a lot of pressure on women to look good so I want to be fit and healthy, but also look good,” Baker said. “I think it’s definitely a negative portrayal from the media. It affects the minds of us, as women, as well as the men. It’s good for women to want to be fit and healthy but not to be so obsessed with how society wants us to look.”
Getting out of shape during the winter is something that happens to many people, but Baker works out daily to keep herself fit.
“We all get out of shape in the winter from all the holidays and lack of exercise,” Baker said. “I have been doing crossfit and going to the gym every morning, eating right, and going hiking once a week.”
Long Utah winters can make students more aware of their bodies in the spring compared to warmer states.
“In Logan, I definitely have more of a drive to work out in the spring,” said Pualei Furtado, a senior majoring in exercise science. “The weather is nicer and I just feel more alive and motivated, but I am from Hawaii, and there I don’t notice a difference depending on the time of year.”
Being part of the USU women’s basketball team has affected Furtado’s exercise and dieting habits.
“I continue to do many of the same workouts I did when I played basketball to ensure that I am staying in good shape,” Furtado said.
Having good habits can make staying in shape easier, she said.
“I don’t think it’s difficult if you make it a routine and priority,” Furtado said. “I think it’s more difficult if you stop working out and try to get back into it.”
Confidence in the ability to get a healthy body gets some people motivated to exercise.
“I don’t want to look skinny, I want to look ripped,” said Riley Rawlings, a sophomore majoring in wildlife science. “I decide what I look like, so it’s up to me if I go work out and look good or look like a wuss. I know it’s in my control.”
Working out every day of the week doesn’t work for everyone.
“I work out four times a week is all,” Rawlings said. “I go to Planet Fitness for about an hour and a half.”
Running the basketball leagues at Sports Academy helps Chris Herman, a junior majoring in electrical engineering, stay in shape.
“It gives me a lot more time around the proper facilities and other people that are in shape,” Herman said. “For me, that always gives me a little more motivation.”
Cardio and weight training workouts are some exercises people are using to get into shape.
“Do a lot of high-tempo workouts,” Herman said. “That gets the cardio up to burn fat, and a resistance workout at a higher tempo will give better muscle tone, so you basically keep muscle size and lose fat. So a lot of running, swimming with some crossfit-type workouts for the resistance.”
Good and bad experiences come throughout the process of getting healthy.
“The positives are that I feel better and that I have more energy,” said Alisha Trivitt, an incoming undeclared freshman. “It gives me something to look forward to and also helps with self-esteem. It helps me be more responsible. The negatives are, of course, I’m hungry, and that it’s very time consuming. It’s very hard.”
– haileehousley@aggiemail.usu.edu