Staying Fit the UConn Way

Hi everyone, Jacob here,

With 17,000 Undergraduate students at UConn chances are there is a large proportion that enjoys working out and staying fit. No matter the time of day if one was to walk into the Student Recreation Facility there will always be students either playing basketball, scaling our rock wall, lifting weights or even playing ping pong. The options to stay fit are endless depending on your choice of exercise.

In high school I was never the type of student to be at the gym every day or any day for that matter. However, the summer before I went to college I got into weight lifting in a very serious way. My body and health became extremely important to me and I began to focus a lot of time on it. Finding time to work out during the summer was a lot easier than it was once I got to college. Between class, work and extra curricular activities I already felt fairly busy, but I knew I wanted to continue working out and staying fit. My home away from home at UConn became the gym.

My freshman year I lived in Towers Residential Hall, which for those of us who aren’t familiar with the geography of the UConn campus is one of the farther places on campus from the gym. Now I’m a sophomore and live in Husky Village which is slightly farther than Towers is to the gym.  Lucky for me we have a great shuttle bus system here at UConn which has stops at both Husky Village and Towers so getting to the gym was never a problem even if the weather was not ideal. As I eluded to, college students can be fairly busy and finding that hour timeframe to get a lift in or have a run is harder than you would think.

Once you get into the swing of things in a semester though and your schedule is set its always nice to have a consistent gym routine. Last semester I was always done with classes by three in the afternoon, so after class I would head to the gym get my workout done and head back to my room to shower and have my night to myself whether that be for homework or for some quality TV time. I found that packing my backpack for the entire day was the best method for me to have a productive day. I would bring clothes for my day, sometimes a change of shirt for the LVC if I had work and of course I would have my gym clothes and shoes also in my bag. This gave me the ability to leave my room in the morning and not have to return to change or get clothes.

At first as a freshmen I was slightly intimidated at the gym. Often football players or other athletes might be there working out on their own time and, well, lifting weights next to a football player can be a little frightening. That fear however vanished quickly as I realized I was not the only one who was not an athlete. In fact, the majority of students who go to the gym are not athletes because the athletes often have their own designated workout areas around campus. The gym became a place where I could always find a friend in case I needed a spot on the bench press or if I wanted to shoot around and play a quick game of “horse” before lifting.

The gym is open Monday through Friday from six in the morning until midnight. So if you’re willing to wake up early and get that workout in before your day starts then more power to you or if you’d like to go over at eleven at night then you are also more than welcome to. Staying fit at UConn is not a struggle at all, eating healthy and keeping a good routine seems to be the best method for me. I plan on continuing to work out and lift every day to stay in shape. Take it from someone who was never a gym rat to now turning into such, staying fit is a rewarding activity and the results truly do pay off. Check out our facilities from the comfort of your couch if you choose by taking a virtual tour.