Erin Jones

Amanda Konkle

English 104-057

24 November 2008

Exercise in College Students

            Stereotypes, misunderstandings and assumptions; all are factors that change the way we view the people who don’t fit into our own lifestyle. We have ideas about these people and the lifestyles they live and we begin to consume the things about them that are told to us. They can be true or false, but because it’s not the lifestyle we live and we don’t know, we make assumptions.

Regular physical activity during the childhood years is reinforced through mandatory physical education classes in pre-school, elementary, and even some in the beginning of junior-high.  Unfortunately, many young people don’t continue regular physical activity when the school stops requiring it.  As we mature into adolescents and some make our way to college, this lack of exercise starts to take effect.  For many of us, including myself, moving to college means no more sports; no more physical activity that is given to us as an opportunity to stay healthy.  We are now left with two choices: choose to take advantage of the resources the college provides us with, such as the free gym, or decide to not do any type of physical activity.  For me the choice was easy, I was not going to work out.

I played sports for my high school for 6 years, ending with my senior year. Going to college was a break for me; I saw it as a time to relax and not worry about the stress and physical expectations of the sports. After moving to Lexington though, I have heard many different things from other students who didn’t view college life the same way I did. They believed that exercise was necessary to maintain a healthy life and the benefits they knew about motivated them. Many of my friends started going to the gym daily or at least every other day.

Many people believe that when teenagers come to college, they become lazy and gain weight from eating fattening foods, with the allowance of their new found freedom of food choice, and lack of exercise.  In fact, “recent studies show that on average, most freshmen gain 5 pounds” (Freshman 3).  This shows that more students are working out than people actually think, since the most common saying about college students weight gain is the ‘freshmen 15’. I believe that students are realizing that obesity is a major problem, not only in Lexington, but in the U.S. and are starting to do something about it.  

Exercise and physical activity are extremely important and valuable for long-term health and well-being. While many people start physical activities because of the long-term benefits, it’s the short-term benefits that keep them motivated to continue.  For example, the fact that studies have actually showed that working out can help with relieving stress and even mild depression.  Long-term “regular exercise can help you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis, and can improve your mood and help you to better manage stress”  (Freshman 2).   All of these benefits are definitely motivators for working out.  College students are starting to understand these benefits and are starting early to ensure healthy lives.  In the long run, working out helps you physically and short term, helps you mentally.

After seeing that many of my friends were making an effort to go to the gym instead of sitting in bed, I began to see their attitudes about things change as well.  Here I was lying around in bed along with taking naps every time I got the chance and still I felt tired all the time.  They, on the other hand, were working-out everyday and had the energy to go out and do things.  They would also get up for their early classes with no complaints. When I received the opportunity to learn about a different lifestyle, exercise in college students stuck out.  After finding out exercise can help not only the obvious physical part of life, I was interested in learning how it could affect your mental state as well.

First, I decided to ask some students here at the University of Kentucky why they did or didn’t work out.  I wanted to know what motivated them in their decision regarding exercise; whether it was choosing to exercise frequently or not at all.  Was it to make themselves look better, like I thought, or was there more to it?  

Corey, 18, is a freshman here at UK who lives in one of the residence halls on south campus.  He told me that he usually works out every day or, at least, every other day.  He also informed me about his motivations for going to the gym. “The results that I see and the people I go with to the gym make me want to go”.  He continued by explaining that the results took “several weeks” to show but he knows and feels that he’s healthier for going.  He also admitted that most of the time he actually likes going to the gym, but sometimes he feels like he has to.  He didn’t really explain why, but, the way I see it, he’s been doing it for so long that it would seem almost wrong for him to stop; as if he is accustomed to doing it. I took the time to explain to him the long and short term health benefits of exercising.  He noted that, even though he was even unaware of some of the short term benefits, “they (people who don’t exercise) would enjoy the benefits if they knew about them, but most people don’t know the small things” (Interview).   

            I also wanted to understand the other side of this view.  So I decided to interview a student who had very different ideas regarding exercise than Corey.  Adrienne, 18, is also a freshman here at the University of Kentucky.  She explained that she never really goes to the gym and how she feels like the “long trip of walking to class” is like her daily work out.  She told me that she has actually gained some weight since she has been in college.  Her reasons for not exercising were simply because, “I’m busy and too tired most of the time.  And when I do go it’s only once or twice a week and I get frustrated when I don’t see quick results”.  She went on to tell me that she chooses not to go because she doesn’t “want to go alone”.   Like before, I told her about the health benefits of exercising and she went on to explain that, “I don’t think people realize that there are psychological effects from working out and I think they only know about and want to for physical reasons” (Interview).  

It was amazing to me to see how completely different both of their beliefs were. Both were brought up in completely different lifestyles and was reflected in their interview. It was also interesting how both of them believed that if people knew about the benefits they would probably exercise more often .

            I really wanted to understand how these students, like Corey, who work out on a daily basis feel, so I decided to try out this lifestyle for myself; to experience it firsthand. I decided on an hour and a half of aerobic workouts once a day, not including the walking I do to and from class or the other small things I do in between. Aerobic activities are what most people picture when they think of exercising. They are any activity that gets your heart rate up whether it’s walking, riding a bike, or even dancing.

“Aerobic activities (also called cardio workouts or cardio exercise) are an efficient way to burn calories while strengthening your heart and lungs. They’re great at relieving stress and mild depression and may help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and fend off certain cancers” (Platoni 2).

Aerobic workouts aren’t done to build muscle or to get strong; they are used to stay healthy and fit.  This type of workout, from my observation, is what most college students are doing to make sure they stay in shape.  I chose aerobics not only for that reason but because it focuses on improving your health.  Every exercise that is done through aerobics is made in order to make your body and mind healthier.  To me, aerobics is the most important part of exercising and is necessary for everyone to stay healthy.  I chose to spend my hour and a half like this: ten minute

warm-ups with a walk/run on the treadmill for 15 minutes, elliptical machine for 20 minutes, stair stepper for 20 minutes, different stomach and arm sets for about 20 minutes and, finally, a walk/run cool-down on the treadmill for 15 minutes.  Fifteen days of working out would definitely be a change from the lifestyle I live, but I was determined to understand a different one.

I never had the motivation to work out and I never needed to be pushed to exercise because I had sports that were doing it for me. I didn’t realize that there were many factors that were recommended to motivate students to begin exercising. In an article from the USA Today magazine entitled “Encouraging College Students to Exercise”, the Women’s Health Weekly Editor explained reasons for college students choosing to avoid exercising. These include: 

“In addition to social support, another factor that was related to regular physical activity was exercise self-efficacy–the confidence students had in their ability to participate in exercise regardless of obstacles…A key to boosting exercise self-efficacy is providing opportunities for exercise in attractive, non-threatening settings. Colleges need to remove the barriers to students being physically active” (Encouraging 4)

This, I believe, helps explain why many, not most, college students who don’t work out don’t go to the gym. The reasons the author gives in this source are excuses I used every time I tried to talk myself into going to the gym. It’s too cold outside, I don’t have my iPod, even it’s too far to walk; all of these were reasons I would give myself for not getting up and going. The way the University is now it’s hard to say no. They have been repairing and improving our gym in order to fulfill these factors. The gym has lockers to put your clothes in if it’s too cold outside to wear only shorts, they have televisions along the whole front wall of the gym and it’s right next to campus, which isn’t even a five minute walk.

            Although social support and self-efficacy are major reasons why students don’t work out, I knew there had to be more.  I know from my interview with Adrienne that one of her reasons was that she was just too busy to go to the gym.  With school, I know a lot of students choose to focus on their school work rather than worrying about their health, so does time have anything to do with it?  I was interested in finding out.  According to Linda Geyer, a professional personal trainer, “lack of time is the most common excuse for avoiding exercise”.  She believes, like evidence has shown before, that exercise has a “profound effect on a person’s mental and emotional health” (Geyer 1).

She goes on to talk about how any activity can be “combined” with exercise; for example reading and lifting weights. I believe that students do complain about not having time to go to the gym but make time to watch television or read. Both of these can easily be put with a treadmill or a bicycle, both of which are offered at many gyms. Since health is an important part of life, I think universities are trying to make their gyms more convenient and prevent students from saying they don’t have ‘time’.

Although these are reasons why students don’t go to the gym, I was interested in finding out why they did. I felt like the idea of enjoying exercise was a distant and unreachable one, but I didn’t consider all the benefits. Different types of workouts benefit different parts of the body. Aerobic workouts mainly improve your “heart and lungs”, weight-training improves “muscular strength and flexibility,” and stretching exercises “improve overall mobility and coordination” (Collins 4). Aerobic exercises that I described before, such as walking, “reduces your risk of having a heart attack or stroke, developing diabetes, or premature death”, while weight-training exercises “improve metabolic rate, coordination, balance, muscle strength and overall physical condition” (Collins 7). All of these exercises are completely different, but best of all they improve your health. Though I knew all the benefits now, I wanted to know what motivated people to keep going.

As I continued to search for answers to my question, I crossed an article called, “The Relationship of Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Reported Exercise Behaviors in College Undergraduates”. This article listed three stages that “motivate individuals to engage in health-promoting behaviors” which are listed as “individual characteristics and experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affect, and behavioral outcome” (Grubbs 77). These three stages, I believed covered every aspect of motivation for exercise.

Grubbs defines the three stages like this: The first stage, the individual characteristics, provides the “baseline experience from which individuals choose to engage in health-promoting behaviors”.  This basically means that the main reason people are motivated to work out is because of their own personal reasons.  This could mean anything from psychological needs to physical needs; for example physical performance, appearance, and personal accomplishment. Studies have shown that both health management and appearance were the most important reasons to exercise for young people and as they got older, disease and stress management, weight control and personal enjoyment became more motivational.

The second stage, behavior-specific cognitions, identifies “self-efficacy, activity-related affect, interpersonal influences, and situational influences” as reasons for motivation.  This means that people choose to exercise because of perceived benefits.  These benefits are things such as outcomes from prior experience or that are observed in others.  This stage states that the main reason for exercising is that there is a “high probability of achieving a positive outcome” (Grubbs 77). She goes on to explain that there may be barriers to these such as time constraints, family responsibilities, and embarrassment.  But like I discussed earlier, all of these barriers can be brought down by exercising at home and during other activities.

The last stage, behavioral outcomes, was influenced by both the first and second stages. In this stage, the individual “makes a commitment to a plan of action and identifies strategies for carrying out and reinforcing the behavior.”  Grubbs believed that it was important to understand the factors behind attaining positive health outcomes.  This stage basically deals with the reasons for why people chose to achieve positive health outcomes.

 All of these stages explain why people are motivated to exercise. There are different reasons why students decide to be healthy and work out, but all students are different so it’s hard to explain them in only a few categories as this article did. I think she chose to put her descriptions into three stages because each one describes different attitudes towards exercising. The first deals with self motivation, second with outside motivation, and third with thinking motivation.  Each one sets up a different reason for motivation but all achieve the idea that we must be motivated by something in order to exercise.

After experiencing and researching this lifestyle, my views about exercising have changed dramatically. I now like to go to the gym. Not only did I feel better about myself because I was actually doing something instead of lying around, it made me feel physically better.  After my ‘fifteen days’, I feel more energized then usual and I don’t want to just lie around doing nothing. My thoughts about people who chose to exercise are already starting to change as well. At first I thought people exercised just trying to look good or lose weight. I didn’t realize that it makes you feel better outside and inside. Even if it’s just walking on the treadmill, I think that college students shouldn’t view working out as a chore. It’s important for every college student, even those outside, to motivate themselves to exercise because in the long run it’s worth it.

            The first few times may be hard to get used to, but after that you start to feel better. Because “nearly two thirds of the adult population in America is classified as overweight”, I believe it is important that all college students start to view exercise the way I do now (Racette 250). As Susan Racette explains in her journal, “it’s important to understand the role that the college environment may play in this epidemic, and to consider institutional strategies that might encourage college students to pursue healthy exercise and eating habits and maintain healthy body weight throughout college.”  Promotion of this healthy lifestyle early in college can have long-term benefits throughout our adult life that would help to reduce the rising amount of these unhealthy factors such as physical inactivity, overweight, and obesity in our society.

            In all seriousness, keeping your mind and body healthy is just as important as gaining a strong education. Both are needed in order to continue to live your life the way you want to. Exercising makes me feel fit, alive and ready to take on anything that is thrown at me. I know that exercise will benefit and improve every part of your life no matter where your major takes you. Attending college is a great way to guarantee a successful future and so is committing yourself to a regular exercise plan. As Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “to be successful in academic studies, a person should give about two of them every day, to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong” (Jefferson 85)

Work Cited

Collins, Anne. “What are the Facts?” Health Benefits of Regular Physical Exercise. (2000-2007). 13 Paragraphs. 15 November 2008. < http://www.annecollins.com/health-benefits-of-exercise.htm>.

“Encouraging College Students to Exercise”. USA Today Magazine 130.2676 (Sep. 2001): 9. 4 Paragraphs. Academic Search    Premier. EBSCO. William T. Young, Lexington, KY. 9 Nov. 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=5139021&site=ehost-live&scope=site>.

“Freshman 15 Facts”. Freshman Fifteen College Weight Gain. 7 Paragraphs. <www.freshman15.com>.

Geyer, Linda. “Not Enough Time to Exercise.” Deep Fitness. (2004-2008). 4 Paragraphs. 13 November 2008 <http://deepfitness.com/3631/Not-Enough-Time-to-Exercise.aspx>.

Grubbs, Laurie, and Jason Carter. “The Relationship of Perceived Benefits and Barriers to Reported Exercise Behaviors in College Undergraduates”. Family & Community Health 25.2 (July 2002): 76-84. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. William T. Young, Lexington, KY. 9 Nov. 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6756471&site=ehost-live&scope=site>.

Hall, Corey. Personal Interview. 13 November 2008

Jefferson, Thomas and Albert Bergh. The Writings on Thomas Jefferson. Washington D.C; The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Association, 1907.

Jones, Adrienne. Personal Interview. 13 November 2008

 Platoni, Kari. “Fitness and Nutrition.” A Healthy Me. (28 October 2008). Consumer Health Interactive. 11 Paragraphs.  <http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/topic13885#s19>.

Racette, Susan B., et al. “Weight Changes, Exercise, and Dietary Patterns During Freshman and Sophomore Years of College.” Journal of American College Health 53.6 (May 2005): 245-251. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. William T. Young. Lexington, KY. 9 Nov. 200 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16857789&site =ehost-live&scope=site>.

Grubbs defines the threes stages like this: The first stage, the individual characteristics, provides the “baseline experience from which individuals choose to engage in health-promoting behaviors”. This basically means that the main reason people are motivated to work out is because of their own personal reasons. This could mean anything from psychological needs to physical needs; for example physical performance, appearance, and personal accomplishmeant. Studies have shown that both health managemeant and appearance were the most important reasons to exercise for young people and as they got older, disease and stress managemeant, weight control and personal enjoymeant became more motivational.

The second stage, behavior-specific cognition’s, identifies “self-efficacy, activity-related affect, interpersonal influences, and situational influences” as reasons for motivation. This means that people choose to exercise because of perceived benefits. The benefits are things such as outcomes from prior experience or that are observed in others. This stage states that the main reason for exercising is that there is a “high probability of achieving a positive outcome” (Grubbs 77). She goes on to explain that there may be barriers to these such as time constraints, family responsibilities, and embarrassmeant. But like i discussed earlier, all of these barriers can be brought down by exercising at home or during other activities.

The last stage, behavioral outcomes, was influenced by both the first and second stages. In this stage, the individual “makes a commitmeant to a plan of action and identifies strategies for carrying out and reinforcing the behavior”. Grubbs believed that it was important to understand the factors behind attaining positive health outcomes. This stage basically deals with reasons for why people chose to achieve positive health outcomes. (http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6756471&site=ehost-live&scope=site)

I go on to explain more of my opinion about it and give some examples. I think this is more clear then what it was before and will add to the paper greatly.

1. How often do you work out? C-Every day or every other day.       A-Never, walking to class is my work-out.

2. Have you noticed any change since you started? If so, how long until you did? C-Yes, several weeks after.   A- No, I’ve actually gained weight since I’ve been up here.

3. What motivates you to work out or not work out? C- The results that I see and the people i go with to the gym make me want to go            A-I’m busy and too tired most of the time. And when i do go its only once a week and i get frustrated when i don’t see results.

4. Do you enjoy going to the gym? C- Sometimes i do but sometimes i do it because i feel like a need to.        A-No, because i dont want to go alone and it’s too far.

5. Do you think if students knew about the health benefits of working out that they would exercise more and why?   C- Yes, the would enjoy the benefits if they knew about them, but most people don’t know the small things     A- Yes, I dont think people realize that there are psychological effects from working out and I think they only want to to physical reasons.

Both of these students’ answers are very different but sum up what i believed their answers would be for the type of students they are. I think this will add some good perspectives to my paper!!

I found a new source through the University Library website that explains a lot about college students and their reasons for working out. It was an article from USA Today magazine entitled, “Encouraging College Students To Exercise”. It explained, ”In addition to social support, another factor that was related to regular to physical activity was exercise self-efficacy–the confidence students had in their ability to participate in exercise regardless of obstacles….A key to boosting exercise self-efficacy is providing opportunities for attractive, non-threatening settings”. This source, i believe, helps explain why many, not most, college students who don’t work out don’t go to the gym. The reasons the author gives in this source are excuses i used every time i tried to talk myself into going to the gym. It’s too cold outside, i don’t have my ipod, even its too far to walk; all of these were reasons i would give myself for not getting up and going. The way the University is now its hard to say no. They have cubbies with locks to put your clothes in if its too cold outside to wear shorts over, they have televisions on along the whole front wall of the gym and its right next to campus which is not even a five minute walk. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=5139021&site=ehost-live&scope=site>

There are many more sources that i have found that have helped me explain the impacts of exercise on college students not only thorugh first hand experience. I have found many research papers on test and questionnaries that scientists have conducted in order to get percentages on college students who exercise.

      Thinking about our five page draft due Monday, there are a lot of things i need to start thinking about to incorporate into my paper. After starting my field research my mind has changed on what i should write about but I’m not sure if it follows the criteria given. I would like to talk about exercise and how students deal with it in college. I think that therre will be information on this topic and might be more interesting to talk about. I will also try to find additional information on how it helps them in the long run and the benefits from it. Some key terms i will be looking for are work outs, college students and effects from working out.

I first want to describe in a little more detail what exactly my project is dealing with. Many people believe that when teenagers come to college, they become lazy and gain the ‘freshman 15′. I found on a website titled, “Freshman 15″, that “recent studies show that on average, most freshmen gain 5 pounds”.  More people are working out then people actually think. I believe that people are realizing that obesity is a major problem in the U.S. and are starting to do something about it. Not only are college students choosing to become healthier by working out, so are adults too. On nutristrategy.com, i found some interestingly facts about health and exercise, “Regular exercise can help you from heart disease and stroke, high blood pressure, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, obesity, back pain, osteoporosis, and can improve your mood and help you to better manage stress.” All of these things are definatley motivators for working out. In the long run, working out helps you pysically and short term, helps you mentally.

But now, i will outline what my plans are, for my immersion project, for going to the gym.  I plan to: walk/run on the treadmill for 15 minutes, elliptical machine for 20 minutes, stair stepper for 20 minutes, different stomach and arm sets and work/run down on the treadmill for 15 minutes.

Along with my immersion in this project, i also plan to interview a few students at UK. One including a friend who works out everyday for an hour or two and, second, my sister who chooses never to work out. I also may include an interview from one of my friend’s mom who is an athletic trainer. All of these will help show the thoughts about working out for students and the importance of working out.

Tomorrow will be my first work out day and i will let you know how it goes soon.

I found a website called, “A Healthy Me,” which talked more about what exactly aerobic workouts are. It read,

“Aerobic activities are what most people picture when they think of exercising. You might imagine a gym full of sweaty people huffing away on stationary bikes, or a room full of people frantically stepping up and down in time to music. While those are aerobic exercises, the truth is that any activity that gets your heart rate up is aerobic (“air using”), whether it’s walking with your baby, salsa dancing, or bicycling to work. And every little bit counts.

Aerobic activities (also called cardio workouts or cardio exercise) are an efficient way to burn calories while strengthening your heart and lungs. They’re great at relieving stress and mild depression, and may help lower your cholesterol and blood pressure and fend off certain cancers.

While running for 30 minutes will burn more calories than 30 minutes of walking, remember that you can choose to walk for a longer period and use roughly the same amount of energy. You don’t have to push yourself hard to benefit from exercise.

Regardless of your activity, you’ll want to exercise at a pace that makes you breathe harder and increases your heart rate. If you’re just starting an exercise program, you should work at a lower intensity than this and gradually ramp up your workout.” (http://www.ahealthyme.com/topic/topic13885#s19)

I start my immersion tonight and will update you afterwards.