Blog Post #2 — Lifetime Fitness

• Why is fitness important to you at this time in your life?

Fitness is important to me at this time because I was recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism, and I would like to use exercise and other ways to obtain general fitness (diet, stress management, et cetera) to manage my symptoms. Fitness is also important to me because I feel that working out would help me improve my self-esteem.

• How will you implement a consistent fitness program while in college?

I will do my best to set realistic goals for myself. I will start with a program that is probably a little less intense than I would like it to be, but it will be something attainable that I can stick with. I will gradually increase the intensity and frequency of my workouts. I will also try to find ways to exercise that are more enjoyable for me so I actually look forward to the activity.

• What resources and setting are you likely to use?

Because COVID-19 is still so bad in my area, I will most likely do strength training workouts in my apartment. I live in an area with a lot of trailheads, so I will definitely make use of those. I am also really close to the mountains, so I will probably go hiking if the trails are open. I am going to buy some resistance bands, but otherwise everything will be bodyweight.

• What are some barriers you might face and how can you plan for them?

Mental health has always been a struggle for me, which can keep me unmotivated. On bad mental health days, I will try to get active in some way that doesn’t require too much effort, such as taking a walk, stretching, or doing yoga. I also experience stomach pain as a side effect from my medication, which definitely impacts my ability to exercise. Hopefully, if I balance my diet correctly and never exercise on an empty stomach, I will be able to keep going.

• How do you plan to address the principles of fitness into your fitness routine — please address each.

1. Cardiovascular Endurance: I will definitely focus on cardiorespiratory endurance. This has always been an issue for me. I do not like running, so I will find other ways to work on this. I enjoy hiking and riding my bike so I will probably lean more towards using those to improve my cardiovascular endurance.
2. Muscular Strength: I don’t have any weights, so it will be a bit hard to measure this for me. One of my goals is to improve my upper body strength, especially in my arms, so to measure that progress I would like to progressively make my way to be able to doing a full push-up by the end of the semester.
3. Muscular Endurance: I would like to improve endurance in my abdominal muscles to help support my lower back. I have always had issues with lower back pain, and having to sit so much for online school has only made it worse. I am hoping that having stronger abdominal muscles that have more endurance can help counteract the effects of sitting so much.
4. Flexibility: One of my goals is to improve my flexibility. I will set aside time dedicated just for stretching at least 5 days per week. To be more specific, I have a goal of being able to do splits by the end of the semester. A long-term goal is to improve the flexibility in my back.
5. Body Composition: Overall, I would like to decrease the amount of fat and increase the amount of muscle in my body, but it’s not the most important thing for me. As long as I feel healthy and strong, I’ll be happy with my routine.