How Janae and Hana Stay Fit
Coming back to campus can be a big change, whether you’re a first-year or a senior. Oftentimes, adjusting to a new class schedule, catching up with old friends, and learning how to handle all the stresses of college take up so much time that fitness tends to fall by the wayside. But fitness is often just what college students need to destress.
College sophomores Hana and Janae understand just how important fitness is to a balanced lifestyle.
“Working out regularly is extremely important to me,” says Janae. “While I was touring colleges during high school, I looked for a school that would make it easy to keep up my exercising habits.”
For Hana, “being on campus makes it easier to work out.”
“The gym is free and it’s open at almost all hours of the day, so I can guarantee there will be a time to go that fits in my schedule.”
Besides the on-campus gym, campus Recreation and Wellness provides many ways to work out, accommodating everyone's favorite ways to stay fit.
“My favorite way to workout is barre,” says Janae; but, “there is literally something for everyone. You can work out on your own, have a personal trainer, take group classes, and even follow the running trails.”
Beyond campus, there are many places to work out in the areas surrounding Elon. Yoga studios like Feel Better Burlington and Downtown Yoga and Barre, gyms like Gold’s Gym and Anytime Fitness, and CrossFit centers like CrossFit 584 are no more than fifteen minutes away, making off-campus options extremely accessible to students. Hiking locations such as the Haw River Trail in Burlington, North Carolina (for students who like to stay close to campus) and Hanging Rock in Stokes County, North Carolina (for students who want to adventure further away) house beautiful trails that are popular amongst Elon students.
Whether you work out on or off campus, fitness is an integral part of both physical and mental health, especially for college students who deal with a variety of stressors on a daily basis.
Hana explains how, “I really do try to go to the gym at least four times a week. I feel happier, healthier, and just better all around when I have gone to the gym.”
For Janae, fitness is “one of the ways I practice self care and take my mind off daily stresses.”
While it may be hard to find either the motivation or the time to get active, it seems that Elon makes it easy for students and members of the community to exercise however they like.
“Working out is extremely important and vital to my happiness and success” Hana says.
Janae adds, “Once you get to know what campus recreation has to offer, the possibilities are endless.”
Hana exploring the wilderness.