Maybe it’s the sticky humidity here in Florida, or maybe it’s my summer-break mentality, but I definitely don’t have the energy and dedication to going to the gym that I would like.
At school, I’m active pretty much all day, which is not the case when I’m home. Between walking to class, walking home from class, and running late to meetings, I manage to get a work out in without even going to the gym. And then, when I do go to the gym (four to five times a week), it’s incredibly close to my apartment. At home, the gym is about ten minutes away from my house, as opposed to my five minute drive at school (I know, I know, the difference is marginal, but it’s enough to make me decide against going). Yoga classes here are at 9:30 AM, where the classes at school are at 10:15 AM. For a morning person, that forty-five minutes can feel crucial.
Furthermore, at school, while I do like to cook, I often favor quick meals (read: scrambled eggs, simple sandwiches, cereal, spoons of peanut butter…) over properly cooked entrees. This is often the case not only because I am often busy in the evenings with meetings for my pre law fraternity and homework, but also because I can just be really lazy. At home, simply because I’m with my parents who eat proper meals because they’re adults, I tend to eat more.
All in all, this is a vicious cycle that I have found myself in every summer since I started college. This workout lethargy is attacking me particularly badly this week because I’m super sore from yoga (plow pose is not for the faint of heart) and feel like I should skip afternoon workouts in favor of LSAT studying (read: life will be much better after June 9th).
Working out is a great thing and I love it 98% of the time (just kidding…probably more like 90%). It keeps me healthy, gives me an outlet for stress, and helps me balance out my love of food with my desire to stay fit. But sometimes, like right now, it becomes an unnecessary stress. It’s important to remember that skipping one or two workouts is NOT the end of the world. It will not make or break one’s health.
I write this mostly for myself, because this is something of which I must constantly remind myself. Life is a balancing act, and summer seems to be no different. Even if I don’t have term papers to worry about and classes to attend, there are still things that need to get done–things that make a gym routine difficult to maintain 100% of the time.
This summer, I’m working on being flexible in two respects: one, physically in yoga, and, two, in my (workout) routine.
Yoga, Paws, & Pre-Law 