Team 6: Julianne Andrade, Omair Khan, Trisha Pilgrim

Scott Wible

ENGL395

Difficulties with Getting Active: The College Perspective

There are a lot of components that go into a persons well being. The University of

Marylands Health Center shares 8 dimensions of wellness that contribute to a students overall

health. These dimensions include; social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, financial, vocational,

environmental, and physical wellness. Because of the variety of stresses students face while at

the university, there are many resources in each of these categories directed to help students

improve these areas of their health and wellness. We will be focusing on physical wellness and

the problems associated with maintaining physical wellness on campus. After interviews with

UMD students, we were able to find common trends or underlying issues as to why students

have a hard time reaching or maintaining physical wellness. Although many students know the

benefits of physical fitness, they lack the motivation, they may not have the time or time

management skills to make it a top priority, or they are not sure how exactly to get started or

have the proper skill set or techniques to work out effectively and safely.

Before we try to understand why not making time for physical activity is such a problem,

its important to be clear about all the benefits, even some that people dont always think about.

The Mayo Clinic lists some benefits that although apply to everyone, are especially helpful in the

life of busy and stressed out UMD students. One of the most well-known benefits of exercise is

controlling weight, whether it be losing weight, maintaining weight, or gaining muscle mass.

Exercise also combats health conditions and diseases, including heart disease, high blood

pressure, and depression. By releasing endorphins, exercise can improve overall mood and

boost energy and it even promotes better sleep (Mayo Clinic). College students, especially

students at UMD, struggle with a lot of stress factors with school work, mental illness, social,

and financial concerns. Not only does physical activity have clear physical benefits, it has
mental benefits as well that many students dont know about or even consider when finding the

time or motivation to make time for exercise.

While the benefits of working out are often more-or-less clear, many students lack the

motivation to actually work out. This lack of motivation can stem from a variety of sources,

depending on the particular person. For some people, the discomfort of working out, especially

in front of other people, is enough to deter them from exercising. Going to the gym, or any doing

other kind of physical activity, can be draining, and often-times students will choose the comfort

of hanging out with their friends, or staying in their rooms, over getting up and exercising. Dr.

Sherry Pagoto believes our desire to avoid any experience of discomfort is the real reason

people do not work out. One interviewee, Tori, explains that although she would like to go to the

gym and knows she should, it is really hard for her to make it out of bed and actually to the gym.

She kept on emphasizing that she knows the importance of going to the gym and that she

knows what positive effects it would have on her health and her body. However, in the moment,

its more appealing to watch netflix after class or hang out in her room with friends. This goes

along with what Dr. Patago believes about avoiding discomfort. In the moment, going to the gym

is a big discomfort for Tori even though she knows the long term benefits. The long term

benefits just do not seem tangible. Dr. Patago illustrates in this article that challenging

discomfort, fully experiencing it, and pushing through it can cause the discomfort to dissipate

entirely over time. This simple step is one that, when done, opens up worlds of opportunity.

Stepping out of ones comfort zone can lead to UMD students discovering new passions among

the countless opportunities offered in college, such as rock climbing or attending Zumba

lessons.

For other people, however, it isnt the discomfort that hinders them, but rather the lack of

incentive. When working out to get in shape and look better especially, exercising does not lead

to rapid results, which can deter people from maintaining regular workout sessions. It takes time

and dedication, as well as commitment. One of our interview subjects, Michael L., elaborated to
us that his is a constant battle between the immediate benefits of working out, and the benefits

of not. The way he motivates himself to go for runs, swinging the internal conflict in favor of

working out, is by rewarding himself for having worked out. Little incentives, he says, are what

push him to remain fit. Examples he gave include treating himself out to some ice cream or a

slushy after working out. Another interviewee, Sara M, also believed that rewarding herself for

working out helps her achieve her exercise goals. Sara emphasized, however, that while

rewarding herself helped, one of the most critical aspects of working out was maintaining a

regular routine.

Many students do not work out because they feel as if they just do not have the time.

More-often is the case, however, that the lack of proper time management, is the main culprit in

stopping them from working out. With busy schedules of classes, organizations, and numerous

other commitments, students find they dont have enough time to exercise. It often just comes

down to having a routine. As emphasized by both Michael and Sara, having a regular workout

routine helps tremendously in maintaining fitness. A routine allows the exercise to become part

of ones schedule, and according to Michael, makes it a lot more instinctual. However, without a

routine, students often engage in other non-exercise related activities instead. Repeatedly

choosing to pursue other non-academic activities instead of exercise could indicate a lack of

prioritization for physical health. In the collegiate setting, students often attend late-night social

events and participate in other activities that at times not only prevent them from maintaining

fitness, but also actually deteriorate their physical health. This prioritization of physical health is

essential to the well-being of students.

Aside from these reasons that deter students from working out in general, students are

perplexed and hindered by not knowing how to get started in the gym. Sometimes college

students fear going to the gym and not knowing how to use the equipment or how to plan a

simple workout. The lack of knowledge surrounding exercise and physical fitness definitely

keeps many students from becoming active. For example, in an interview with Christina, she
explained that she has wanted to be healthy, but because she does not know how to work out,

she does not bother. She explained to me that she went to Eppley Recreation Center to work

out and although she really wanted to work out, she felt intimidated by the large crowd of people

in the gym. In addition, she did not have a set plan of what her workout would be; she was also

unfamiliar with the gym set up and its equipment. During the interview, she also disclosed that

she really wishes she had a gym buddy so that she could go to the gym with a friend that knows

a bit more about working out than she does so she could start working out. Although she would

ideally love to have a personal trainer, she does not want to have to deal with the commitment

of one, nor does she want to have to pay outside of tuition in order to learn something she feels

that she should already know. Like Christina, many college students, especially those at UMD,

are daunted by the gym, so social anxiety and their lack of a skill set or familiarity keeps them

from taking advantage of their campus resources like Eppley, SPH, and Ritchie Coliseum. In

fact, many of these students are unaware of the many resources on campus they can use to

work out and become physically fit. To combat these issues, students could simply ask around,

join exercise or sport clubs on campus, and even go online to research exercise tips and

routines. However, many students do not even think of these possible solutions to their lack of

knowledge and skill set in the gym. According to James Clear a writer sponsored by Amazon,

the more specific you are about what you want to become good at doing, the easier it is for you

to train for success. Many students need to take that first step and make a SMART goal for

themselves instead of just hoping or wanting to be fit (SMART). The ambiguity and broadness

of such a goal makes it hard for someone who is new to the gym and working out to attain.

Instead, they should pick something specific and work towards it in anyway that they can.

Overall, working out or exercising on a regular basis has many great benefits. Some of

them are not common sense, but in general people know that working out is a good habit.

College students also understand that exercising is a good habit to have, but there are many

stressors and obligations that hinder or prevent them from making exercise a habit. As we
discussed, some students do not feel motivated enough to work out and need more incentive

than the raw, intrinsic benefits of working out. Others cannot manage their time wisely as they

try to balance school work, social lives, extra-curricular activities, familial obligations, and of

course day-to-day chores. The last common issue is just that college students do not know how

to work out whether it be creating a schedule or creating an actual workout. These problems

apply to more than just students at UMD. In fact, these problems extend to the general

population beyond college in working individuals with full time or part time jobs and families.

Regardless of what stage a person undergoes, these issues can interfere with their ability to be

fit, healthy, and active. However, the solutions to these issues are usually easy to find and

implement, making exercise accessible to most of the general population so that the population

in general can have better health overall.

 Works Cited

Clear, James. "How to Start Working Out When You Don't Know What You're

Doing."JamesClear.com. Amazon, 10 Feb. 2017. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

<http://jamesclear.com/start-working-out>.

"Exercise: 7 benefits of regular physical activity." Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar.

2017.

Pagoto, Sherry, Ph.D. "The Real Reason We Don't Exercise." Psychology Today. Psychology

Today, 10 Nov. 2014. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.

"S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting." S.M.A.R.T. Goal Setting | SMART | Coaching Tools | YourCoach

Gent. Your Coach, n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.