By OSAM SAKAMOTO
Columnist

How often do you exercise a week? Unless you are a student athlete, the opportunities and time you exercise may be limited. Maintaining opportunities for physical activities can increase quality of life and make your days active.

Let me challenge you on something. Could you agree with me saying, “Exercise is not a big deal at all. Slack off!”? I guess not. Exercising is very important regardless of your age and occupation. It helps you to maintain health by burning energy. The human body contains a large amount of fat, an energy source, and we want to metabolize it.

As a means of refreshment, physical activities also support us in handling stress. Playing video games is also known to relieve stress, but your best score on “Call of Duty” or accomplishment in any other video games does not pay off and make you sleepy afterward. By exercising, we are stay fit and increase muscle mass while we are also promised a good night’s sleep.

The Wellness Center can help us to get these benefits. Racquetball is a fun way to get started. If you are not doing well lately, go hit a ball instead of hitting a bar! Weight-lifting is another hot option in which we can challenge ourselves. Indeed, it is worth it to spend time on that because giving your 120-percent effort eventually strengthens you. Even though it is the quickest exercise to get a well-built body, it can be difficult if you have just started. Having many methods to lift, some people might get overwhelmed. Making gym buddies is a wise idea: they can teach you step by step. Otherwise, if you do not want to get soaked with sticky sweat, yet care for fitness, swimming in a well-maintained environment is the way to go. You might want to protect your eyes from burning by wearing a pair of goggles. In the case we get totally chilled out in the swimming pool, the gym covers us: they have an indoor hot tub and spa. Moreover, fall is a great season for outdoor sports. Walking or jogging in the cool weather refreshes the brain and provides exercise at the same time.

In order to pursue these, time management is always an essential key to be successful at improving our days and selves. College students are especially multitasked with schoolwork, social activity and work. Establishing a well-planned schedule will make a big difference.

Commitment is also a bridge to our goals. For instance, if your ultimate goal is to be masculine just like Arnold Schwarzenegger, chances are very low without effort, or else the dream is little bit extreme. Lowering a hurdle, staying fit can be easily done by planning few short sessions a week and working out for the long term. Keep it up by occasionally rewarding yourself once you made a plan and started training.

Oops, it is already time for me to go lifting.