Sometimes it feels like my life is just a series of repetitive actions: get up, go to class, get food and maybe spend some time studying. As I do these actions, my mind gets burnt out. Some days, just the thought of having to get out of bed and go to class feels defeating. But as students, we are drilled with the idea that we can’t take a day to revive our mental energy.
Since starting college, I have found a few things I can do that bring me joy outside of the classroom; one being the gym. When I was a sophomore in high school, I started powerlifting, something that brought my love of being on a team together with lifting weights. Since then, I have fallen in love with the gym and the people who share the same passion as me.
As we get farther into the semester and the workload gets heavier and heavier, the sense of academic burnout only grows. As the spring semester starts, the weather continues to be debilitating, and can be a factor when it comes to causing academic burnout. Many of us are cooped up in our dorm rooms, unable to go outside, which in months like this can feel almost like a prison cell. The more time I spend in my dorm, the worse I feel, and the less I’m able to achieve. Sometimes the stress can be too much for one person to handle on their own.
I handle this stress from my classes by setting up a workout routine. When I work out, I feel free from having to think about school, work, friends and family.
Every day I set aside an hour to just go work out, almost like I scheduled myself a gym class after all of my other classes. I’ve learned it’s easiest for me to study after I’ve given my body and brain an opportunity to calm down.
The time I spend in the gym is for me to tune into my favorite song or podcast and relax. Now, I know not everyone has the time to just stop everything and spend a day at the gym, but we can incorporate a workout into our daily lives to keep the stress at bay.
By adding it into my daily routine, I’ve found that I don’t get burnt out as often since I allow myself to be human – I allow myself to have a break.
Getting Into the Gym
Though the gym may seem like a daunting place to a lot of people, there are things you can do to slowly build your comfortability and drive to go to the gym. The best way that I have found to get myself, or my friends, into the gym is by walking on the treadmill.
I am an avid “You Should Know Podcast” watcher, so sometimes I just walk on the treadmill while I watch it. You can usually get a good idea of the less busy areas of the gym while walking, so you can scope out a quiet corner to do a short workout once you’re done.
Another great way to get into the gym is to bring a friend; you can start the process together and push each other to keep going. Having someone to go to the gym with can also make it more appealing as you’re not the only new person in the gym. Plus, partnered workouts can make the atmosphere fun and uplifting.
Motivate Yourself to Go Back
Even once you’re in the gym, it can be hard to continue to have the motivation to get yourself to come back. One thing that worked for me was participating in the 75 Soft Challenge, where you follow a set of rules inside and outside the gym, including doing a 45-minute workout every day for 75 days.
This challenge is a great motivator as you have a set amount of time each day and a number of days before you complete the goal. Doing this can also help you develop new eating habits, which can help you physically feel better on a day-to-day basis. For those of us who struggle to drink a healthy amount of water, this can help with that too.
Additional Benefits of Going to the Gym
In addition to helping with burnout, going to the gym has also given me many friends who give me a reassuring smile as we walk across campus between our many classes. The connections and relationships I have made in the gym uplift me when I feel like I’m not doing anything right as a student.
I am still human, and I definitely feel moments of burnout no matter what I do to try to manage it. We are all allowed to have days when we give up and just do nothing, but we have to push ourselves to keep trying.
Give yourself some grace, because you’re doing your best. The worst thing you can do to yourself is give in to the negative thoughts that come with burnout. Though I am a student who sometimes loses the battle against my assignments, the gym is one place where I feel like I’m always winning.
Each time I go, I feel myself regaining my confidence to do hard things, which in turn helps me with my classwork. Academic perfection is a goal that is incredibly difficult to achieve, but by chunking up the work – like the process of getting into the gym – the task can be mastered with consistency and we can achieve our academic goals.
Leave a Reply