ROBERT HUSKEY / Daily Titan
As a college student, I have come to learn that one of the most nerve-wracking times comes halfway through the semester.
This period is best known for midterms—not an exciting prospect for students, and I’m no exception.
Unfortunately, I cannot squeeze in all the information that might be on these important exams by cramming the night before since one can’t risk failing a midterm. These big tests are often are worth a huge chunk of the final grades.
This semester served as quite a challenge, as I had three consecutive midterms. Staying up late to study had me looking like a raccoon with dark circles around my eyes.
Midterms are also the reason I couldn’t dedicate an hour everyday to my P90X regimen, like I had been doing for the past two months.
Compared to working out to the Tony Horton exercise DVDs seven days a week, I had to temporarily cut it down to three.
I needed to make this change because my weekly schedule required much more effort due to the tests I had to study for. As I have mentioned in past columns, I’ve got a lot on my plate this semester.
My commutes, regular homework, writing articles for the Daily Titan, work and ASI events all had to come before my workout plan recently.
As a result of a busy schedule, I was deprived from sleep and suffered from more stress than usual.
Horton states on the P90X website that “stress depletes your energy, strength, and desire, while poor sleep habits affect your moods and immune function.”
This statement definitely describes what I felt the week before and during midterms.
Overwhelming amounts of stress really unmotivated me to do exercise during the weekdays because I had so much to accomplish. I felt as though there were not enough hours to complete all of my tasks.
On the P90X website Horton also said, “It takes a lot of energy to be stressed out. Allowing stress to overtake you means you’re having a tough time dealing with reality.”
This statement rings true to me as I was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that I had so much to do in such little time. I resorted to crying my stress away a couple times which actually helped.
My average of four hours of sleep each weekday also added to my depleted levels of energy and probably made it easier for me to get sick with a minor flu.
Keeping workouts off the weekday schedule this time around was not as bad as I thought it would be. Exercising on Friday, Saturday and Sunday still produced some results I did not expect.
Since the start of my P90X challenge, I have lost a total of 13 pounds. I have been consistently losing weight every week, which is something I am very proud of.
Although these weeks in particular might have not included a daily workout, my healthy eating habits have helped keep the off the weight that I previously lost. Eating the right combinations of food are making my metabolism work more efficiently even though I cut down to fewer workouts during midterms.
The past couple of weeks of sleep deprivation and stress were not fun to endure, but luckily I got through them with good grades and other positive results.
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