It is time. The dreaded finals week is upon you. You’ve worked so hard, studied until your eyes hurt, and worked on your speeches until your tongue is ready to fall off. You are so ready that everything else has become unimportant. Nothing else is as essential as this week. Abandon all routines: this is the time to buckle down and get yourself ready for the tests of a lifetime.
Wait, abandon all routines? All of them? Even your exercise time? Oh no. That’s too important to give up, is it not? Studies show that exercise is our best friend. It can help us focus, it keeps us fit, and it has been proven to sharpen our mental abilities, such as memorization and time management. It’s the perfect aid during this week, right? How will you ever find time to exercise, though? Well, depending on your schedule, there are different ways to make it work. Here are the best times to fit in your workout routine during finals week!
If you are someone who likes to space out their classes and give yourself an hour or so in between each, then this is your ideal routine. Exercise in that given time, even if you have some studying to do right after your class. To make things easier, combine the two, but if you don’t think you can manage, then don’t strain yourself. Spend twenty minutes walking or jogging if you can’t make it to the gym, and if you can work your way down to the equipment room, find something easy to do that won’t risk injuring you. Exercise is important, no matter how you do it, so make the effort and find the time.
Exercise, as stated before, can help improve memorization. So, while you’re working out on the treadmill, recite the Declaration of Independence for your history final. While you’re doing lifts, name the muscles in your body for your anatomy class. Coordinate your exercise routine with your studying, and find a way to make both of them work at the same time. Even if you can’t read your textbook the entire time, match an exercise pattern to a specific class. When you do lunges, repeat the parts of the brain and their purpose, one for each lunge. If you exercise while studying, you are more likely to remember what you’ve studied.
Cool down. The words sound so welcoming, and rightly so. After a long day of test-taking, exercise can be your best friend. It will help you relax more than you believe! If you take the time in the evening, after every other person has left and you are the only person in the gym, put in twenty or thirty minutes before your evening shower. Take the time to clear your mind, and avoid thinking about what tomorrow’s finals will bring. This is your moment to relax and realize that you’ve made it another day. Exercise at the end of the day to let your body rest after the fact that you’ve done the best you can for the last 24 hours, and to prep for the next.
In opposition to the former point, it may be more beneficial for you personally to work out in the morning, before you hit the books one last time. Your exercise is your wake-up call, and it helps you to get ready for the day. If that is the case, then by all means, work out first! That workout will be the best thing to help your body fire up and let the pleasant ache start before you sit down for the rest of the day. If you want to save a bit more time and help your memorization skills, exercise while studying to improve your chances of passing your finals with flying colors.
Your finals usually do not last as long as a typical class time, with some exceptions. Some classes just require a final paper that you can work on outside of class, and others are shorter tests with extra allotted time. The best advice is to use this awkward schedule to exercise. If you have a paper due, hand it in and run to the gym for workout time. If you have a test that doesn’t take as long as a normal class, take that extra half hour to exercise after you’ve finished your test. Find the time, even if it’s a spur-of-the-moment action, even if it is only twenty minutes a day that you didn’t plan for. Exercise can be your cool down from your crazy tests.
Yes, you read that right. As important as social interaction is for your personal benefits and as much as it may help you relax a bit after your finals, take some time away for yourself. Exercise in the first hour of your hangout time, or leave early to get into your workout before your day is over. As much as you may want to joke around with the others, excuses lead to more excuses. If you don’t find the time to exercise even at the risk of losing a little time with your friends, then you may not have the self-discipline to continue making the time for your routine. Force yourself to leave for exercise. Your body will thank you later!
Everybody has those nights where they just want to stay in the house instead of going out. Let’s be honest,…
The transition from high school to college can be scary. You're told that orientation is supposed to provide you with…
Hooking up in college can be one of the most confusing, yet liberating, aspects of your love life. Between your…
College is a place where one is supposed to make many lasting memories. It is the place where one often…
When you’re an incoming freshman you’ll have a variety of people telling college is about who you know and what…
Oh Liberty. It's a special college with its own little quirks. It takes its students on a roller coaster of…
