A good number of Cornellians played sports or participated in a physically challenging activity in high school. Whether it was playing field hockey or football, dancing or cheerleading, or something less common like horseback riding or fencing, many of us were physically active for the majority of our teenage years. But fast forward to our time at Cornell where, unless you play on a varsity or club team, you did not know how to be a NARP (Non-Athletic Regular Person) and not have organized physical activity. So, inevitably you gave in to the Cornell workout culture.
When I first arrived on campus, I was surprised by how many students enjoyed working out on a regular basis. It wasn’t just going to the gym for an hour here and there; it was more involved and demonstrated more dedication. Personally, I thought the constant hills and fifteen minute walks from one side of campus to another was enough, but I was truly mistaken. After realizing this, I immediately purchased my gym pass for the semester and proceeded to make almost daily gym visits. The classes fill up quickly, machines are almost always taken, and it begs the question: why?
This sometime seemingly incessant workout culture may stem as a mechanism for relieving stress. Many studies have shown that physical activity can easily take off the stress from daily life and stimulate the brain in a way that a lecture or writing a paper won’t. But I know for a fact that though many of my friends and I just work out to avoid homework or studying, sometimes we use it as a healthy way to keep our mind off of the stress our work may bring.
But when do these behaviors become incessant? When does the workout culture become unhealthy? It’s difficult to say. Although it may seem that everyone is always going on hour-long runs or working out in an obsessive manner, it may be the social groups that we are around and how we value health. It’s not necessarily always about our physical health but our mental health as well that contributes to why our community may work out more than other school campuses. Coming to campus, it was hard for me to only travel between classes as my physical activity, I always wanted to do a little more despite my 7,500 steps in a day. It’s difficult to only focus on school, and 90% of the time students naturally need some other version of mental and physical stimulation.
Personally, I have seen myself become someone who needs working out to stay sane during the week. Whether it’s going on a run to clear my head, or hitting the elliptical and listening to my favorite podcasts, working out allows for me to take a break from everything I am worried or stressed about, and just go “blank” for a while. It’s hard to say when the workout culture crosses the line from healthy to unhealthy, that is something only our bodies can truly tell us. However, it’s important to find safe activities, especially at Cornell, that can relieve or lessen the amount of stress we may endure during the school week. Every person is different, but if running or doing the ab workout helps get your mind off the difficult prelim earlier that day, then by all means do it!
