Challenge yourself with MoveU NewU!

We’re in the third week of January, which means that the New Year's resolution high is beginning to fade. Gym shoes are beginning to gather dust, meanwhile cookie jars are gradually being replenished. If this sounds like your reality, you are not alone! The motivation to keep up with your fitness goals feels hard to hold on to. I mean, when you feel like you’re living in Antarctica and your nose hairs freeze after all of ten seconds, nothing is more enticing than a warm bed and a hearty dose of Netflix. Unfortunately, this means gym time takes a backseat. To combat our decline in motivation (read: laziness), MoveU has an awesome initiative called MoveU NewU to help achieve those fitness goals, even when we really, really don’t feel like it. The MoveU NewU challenge is running all the way through February 15. The way it works is that you’re given a “passport” and need to complete three activities. Once you complete these, you drop off your passport and can be entered to win a bunch of different prizes, including an Under Armour prize pack! There are a variety of different activities you can choose to participate in, including seminars on healthy eating or fitness, as well as drop in classes and weight room orientations around campus. Last week, I went to the Gym Fundamentals session and learned some basic moves to incorporate during my workouts.

There were only four of us in the session, but I actually really enjoyed the more personal atmosphere. The instructors were super friendly and tailored the session to what each person wanted to learn. They started off with some warm up moves using a resistance band. I’d never used one before and I was surprised by how effective they were! Basically, you hold onto the band and pull your arms apart to stretch different muscles in your arm and get your blood flowing a bit. Next, we moved on to some basic exercises to target the major muscles. She had us all do some squats and push-ups and then came around and told us how to adjust so we were doing it properly. I really appreciate when instructors help correct your form--apparently I’ve been a push-up wrong my entire life (not that I’ve been doing all that many, but it’s the principle of the thing!) We also did shoulder presses using dumbbells, dead lifts and rows. I’d learned all of these moves before, but I didn’t realize that my form had been a little off for all the moves. I was glad I had the chance to get a refresher on proper form--subtle changes in your position can really impact the effectiveness of the move and protect you from injury! She also told us that she recommends doing 3 sets of 10-15 repetitions depending on the movement and if you target your legs, arms, back and core, you’ve got yourself a full-body workout!

I was really happy I attended this session. It gave me the chance to check in with my own gym habits. The instructor told us that we should always remember never to compare ourselves to other people in the gym and that the only person we need to compete with is ourselves. If we push a little more than we did the day before, that’s the most important thing. So, I encourage all of you to push yourselves just a little bit more than you did yesterday—The MoveU NewU Challenge is a great place to start.