Gym membership can be too expensive for students, but it’s still important to stay active. The good news is there are plenty of ways to add activity to your life, often in interesting ways. Even if your campus has a gym, you may find it easier to incorporate the following fitness strategies into your busy schedule.
1. Opt for the Stairs Over the Elevator
Whether you need to head to the third or even the eleventh floor, ignore the elevator and take the stairs. You can do this in your apartment building, on campus, and just about anywhere else you go. Once you start seeing the stairs as an opportunity rather than effort, they’ll stop being an annoyance and become a great way to burn a few extra calories.
2. Study at a Standing Desk
A sedentary lifestyle can lead to a variety of health problems. By studying at a standing desk, you’ll reduce the risks associated with sitting for too many hours, such as back pain, posture problems, and even heart disease. You’ll also find that you naturally move around more and stretch. There’s no need to invest in an entirely new desk — you can simply find a height-adjustable stand to put on your current desk. That way, you can spend just the amount of time you want standing, perhaps gradually building up to more hours.
3. Walk Whenever You Can
Think about all the activities you have on a weekly basis: classes, trips to the grocery store, meetings for clubs, study groups, hangouts at friends’ places. The likelihood is you can walk to many of these.
4. Bike
Slightly longer distances are ideal for biking. This is also a great solution if you don’t have enough time to walk or you need to carry a large number of items. Besides, biking is fun. If you don’t have anywhere you need to go but you want some exercise, you can always take your bike out for a spin.
5. Find a Parking Spot Farther Away
There may be times when you do need to drive, but don’t want to put in too much effort looking for the perfect parking spot. Not only is it a waste of time, you’ll often end up spending more when you park as close as possible to your destination. Parking a short distance away will give you the chance to add a couple short walks to your outing, which could even compensate for some of the time you spent sitting in the car.
6. Use Public Transit
If there’s good public transit available around your university, use this instead of a car for longer distances. This can be a great alternative when the journey is too far to walk or bike. The reason taking public transit is much better than driving is you’ll need to walk a bit from the bus stop or train station to your destination. Better still, you’ll save money and get to see more of your university town.
If you want to be able to walk or bike to campus, it’s best to search within a one- or two-mile radius for a room for rent. Edmonton students can find a home at 1Ten on Whyte — it’s just 1 kilometre from University of Alberta. There’s a great range of amenities on site, including a gym with state-of-the-art equipment that’s free for all residents to use. Book a tour today to see where you could be living.
