Colin Fricker, a rising second-year student in the College of Medicine, contributed the following article as one of the educational initiatives sponsored by the NEOMED’s Student Wellness Committee as part of their peer-support series on the eight dimensions of wellness. The eight dimensions that this student-and-staff committee supports are emotional, environmental, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical, social and spiritual wellness.
The concept of eight dimensions of wellness comes from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a U.S. government agency.
How to Make the Most of Exercise This Summer
With the end of our official school year, many of us (including me) plan to stabilize our exercise schedules. As future health care providers, we all know that exercise is important for personal well-being and can be useful for stress management (anxiety, burnout, etc.), but it’s difficult to fit into our busy schedules during school.
Here are a few tips from my own experience to make fitness a little bit more feasible over the summer.
Try new things to see what you enjoy
Contrary to my previous perception of fitness, exercise does not have to be going out and running a marathon! There are many creative ways to be active, including going to dance lessons or participating in team sports like volleyball and ultimate frisbee. NEOMED has student organizations, including a swing dancing club and a self-defense and grappling club.
If you haven’t ever tried weightlifting, I would personally recommend it! It’s time-efficient and there are exercise machines with instructions in most gyms, so don’t worry about not knowing what to do.
Do whatever exercise you can do
If all you have time or energy to do is walk around campus or stretch with five minutes of yoga, then do that! Brief exercise is better than no exercise; don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.”
Find a gym buddy
Working out with a friend holds both of you accountable to an exercise schedule. It also makes exercise a social activity to look forward to, rather than a chore that you dread.