I have noticed a distinct inversely proportionate relationship between exercise and temperament. The longer I go without exercising, the shorter my temper becomes.
With a short temper, I have less patience with myself and others. I have a lower attention span, become more easily frustrated with tasks, and am much less productive.
This condition exists in addition to an already stress-creating lifestyle that most Americans share in common. A highly demanding work load, outrageous gas prices, revelations that we’re being fed toxic chemicals…the list goes on and on. In fact, many of us actually live off stress—if we aren’t running like busy bees and bunnies, we feel useless.
What’s the best way to relieve stress? Pretending it isn’t there might work for the mind (temporarily), but you can’t fool the body. Stress gets stored in the cells, contributing to muscle tension, headaches, high blood pressure, cravings, and more.
For stress, exercise is the best. It literally clears it right out of the system.
Here’s another relationship: The busier my schedule is, the more I need to exercise, and yet, the less likely I am to make time for it. This is a wacky business in and of itself. To compound it all, the sensation that I am not exercising when I should be is another stresser.
Stress begets stress. Rather than engage in this positive feedback loop, I must become more creative in how, when, and where I exercise.
A college environment makes this easier: thanks to walking. Walking is wonderful exercise, and something a student might take for granted. It is a low impact, total body work-out. I can take longer routes when I walk from class to class, or to meet friends. I can take the stairs. When I have breaks in my schedule, I can walk around parts of campus I don’t normally visit. And this under the weight of my backpack, which naturally weighs about three hundred pounds.
That’s not all. Student registration fees include free gym membership. This is a pretty big deal—the gym (of which there are several on campus) offers weight training and bicycling and basketball and ping pong and treadmills and elliptical machines. For about thirty bucks I can sign up for a quarterly fitness class; which are too numerous to enumerate. Visit recreation.ucsd.edu for a class schedule.
The intramural sports teams are another great option. They are competitive, fun, and played by people who (hopefully) aren’t going to have a conniption if I drop the ball.
With so many options for exercise throughout the day, it’s really a no-brainer.
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