By: Anna Gevorgyan
With summer approaching, the panic of having the “perfect summer body” ensues, then and this question pops: “Will I keep up with the challenge or drop it quicker than the last New Year’s resolution?”
The beach body preparation becomes a trend at the end of winter and all the way through spring. Gyms get more memberships during this period than any other time of the year. Jillian Aga, 32, a receptionist at Lucille Roberts, meets all the new members, who are signing up for Lucille Roberts. When new members are asked for the reason they joined the gym, most say that they want to be prepared for the summer. Aga said, “Yeah, we get a lot more new members, but the thing is that they don’t follow through.” A majority of people who sign up for monthly membership quit the gym after the first month
It is a concerning trend, as working out can be a good way to escape the real world and prepare your body for the summer. Setting up a goal and working towards achieving it can also take away the stress of schoolwork and work problems.
John Jay students can avoid this issue by working out at the school’s fitness center on the sixth floor. The fitness room is available for all students attending John Jay.
Although the fitness center is small, some students like it. Savannah Davis, a sophomore who works out every day, is confident about her plan. She is motivated and ready to take on the challenge of the season by getting ready for the summer. Davis is happy with John Jay’s fitness center. She said, “They provide workout routines as well as free access to the gym.” Having free access to a gym is having one less excuse for not working out. During spring, when the weather is slowly getting nicer, girls begin to workout and prepare their bodies for the summer, which gets them motivated and excited. They buy all new gym workout accessories and post a couple of pictures of them working out with the hashtag “gymLife” or at least something similar to it. Then the trend slowly dies out. Usually, girls who were already in shape, stay working out even after the trend is completely gone, and everyone else’s gym attire is peacefully resting in the back of their wardrobe.
Working out is not the only essential to the “getting ready for the summer body” trend. A healthy diet or a healthy meal plan is considered a big part of the challenge as well. For college students, keeping up with a healthy meal plan is harder than it seems. The school is full of cheap junk food. A slice of pizza may cost $1.75 but a salad may be $10.00. In addition to the healthy food being expensive, preparing a healthy meal takes time, which college students don’t have. Julie Campos, a junior who is preparing for the Army, agrees that eating healthy for a college student is pretty hard. She works out in school almost every day. Campos said, “I’m not too confident on eating healthy because I don’t stick to a routine. And I also love eating junk food and take-out, believe it or not. Plus I don’t have time to be making stuff at home, so I just eat out because it’s easier.” Going to school in Manhattan, John Jay students are trapped in the city surrounded by not so healthy and tempting restaurants.
The increased focus on fitness forces most girls to follow up, and make a plan of their own. Mariel Zavala, a junior in John Jay, works out at the school’s gym Monday through Thursday with two of her friends. She said, “I’m feeling confident because it turns into a bit of a competition between us, and we encourage each other to keep going.” Girls are known to be ambitious when working out and setting a goal. They usually work out with friends, which may make working out easier and more fun. “It’s harder to maintain motivation when working out alone,” said Zavala.
Another trouble with students and eating healthy is the weather. While weather and food might not seem to have any connection, Mariel Zavala disagrees. She said, “It’s getting warmer out, which means going out more, making it difficult to be picky about what you eat.”
Bridget Sarco, a junior in John Jay who is also in with the working out business, found a way to lose weight fast. It’s not easy but it’s fast. She said, “Recently I’ve started replacing my meals with smoothies.” The idea of drinking all the meals one eats in a day may not be too pleasing, but it seems to be working pretty well. Alongside her diet, she works out and stays active. She said, “I’ve been doing the whole smoothie thing for 4 days and I already lost 5 pounds with the help of working out.”
Everyone is trying to find an easy way out, without realizing there is no easy way out. Most college students already feel tense and stressed and live life catching up with schoolwork. The general belief is that the harder you work the better it is. When the working out trend hits, it adds another task on the student’s to do list. Maintaining a workout routine and staying on track with schoolwork, while having a job on the side, is not supposed to be easy.
Karla Pimentel, a junior in John Jay, is keeping up her workout routine. While being in the army and full-time student, she is also an athlete, which gives her the advantage of being used to working hard. Despite her usually overloaded everyday routine, she thinks achieving a fitness goal should be tough.
“If it’s easy, then you ain’t doing it right,” said Pimentel.
