By: Lisa Freeley
I, along with many of my peers, participated in organized sports throughout high school. I played field hockey in the fall, ice hockey in the winter, and ran track in the spring. When asked to describe myself, the first word that came to mind was “athlete”. Being an athlete played an enormous role in my identity as well as my day-to-day life. Because of this, it should come as no surprise that my first couple years of college felt a little off. My favorite form of exercise was skating, but how was I supposed to do that after high school when the ponds are only frozen for about a week during the winter, ice time is expensive, and I no longer have a community of girls to share it with? Things were different and I had to adjust. College life requires a whole new method of dividing your time. My priorities shifted onto managing my class schedule, developing a career path, and making new friends.
My first year of college was entirely remote, so I got into the habit of going to the gym with a friend almost every morning before class. My second year, however, was spent on campus, fully indulged in college life, and waking up to lift every morning at 7AM was simply not an attainable goal. I found myself neglecting my physical health. To make matters worse, I had it ingrained in my mind that working out was only worthwhile if I lifted heavy, sweat through my clothes, and pushed myself beyond my limits. When I did decide to work out, I was so sore and exhausted that I would feel unmotivated to do anything for the next week that followed. I knew I needed to change my routine.
I recalled my high school habits, which frankly were unhealthy and draining, and felt jealous of the person that I used to be. Busy with my back-to-back schedule, I would often only have time for one meal, or I would purposefully eat just enough to scrape by. I remember reading that one banana supplied you with enough energy for 45 minutes of exercise, so my dinner before 8-10PM practice was two bananas. *This is simply not true, and you should absolutely eat a full, balanced meal before a rigorous workout!
Today, when I reflect upon those habits that I fell into during high school, I feel ashamed. Moreover, when I consider my early college self, desperate to somehow revert to that lifestyle, I feel immense sadness.
Truthfully, there is no easy way to navigate life after high school, and fitness can be an especially challenging area for those of us who transition from the structure of organized sports to being completely on your own. The reality is, I was never on my own. I now realize, there are so many others experiencing this same dilemma, and only I have the power to fix it. College is an opportunity to redefine fitness for yourself, which can be a fun and empowering journey.
Personally, I have found that signing up for fitness classes at the rec is a manageable way to weave exercise into my busy schedule. Classes occur at the same times each week, so it’s easy to create a routine out of attending classes that you enjoy. Additionally, the instructors consistently emphasize maintaining a judgment-free space and encourage you to take breaks and modify workouts as needed. UMass also offers club sports and intramurals, which can be an exciting way to either pick up where you left off in your high school sport or try out something new.
Of course, there are always those days when your workload begins to sort of suffocate you, and fitness gets moved to the backburner. On those days, I make a point to move my body in other ways for the purpose of getting my heart rate up and feeling good about myself. This may be as simple as walking to the furthest dining hall from your dorm. I live on the 21st floor of my building, so for me, sometimes opting to take the stairs gets the job done.
Ultimately, working out is not supposed to make you feel badly about yourself. Speak to yourself with kindness and understand that fitness looks different at varying stages of your life. By opening myself up to new forms of fitness, I discovered that rollerblading is very similar to ice skating, so when I come home from school, my friend/former teammate and I like to go down to the Cape and rollerblade the Canal Bikeway. I have grown tremendously since high school. I am a smarter and more confident person than I was in high school. To compare myself now to that person would be silly.
