Press "Enter" to skip to content

Getting Back on Track5 min read

Becca Gardner, MBA Class of 2015

Coming from a southern family of psychologists and psychiatrists, there are two things I can always be sure that the holiday season will not have in shortage: psychoanalysis and carbohydrates. Saying “no,” to my mother’s biscuits is met with the same horror as when my dad tells her she can’t keep a stray dog she picked up on the side of the road. If it wasn’t already obvious, I’ll go ahead and confirm for you that my trip to the family farm is always a far cry from any detox in Canyon Ranch. Unfortunately, if there is one thing in the world I am better at than eating biscuits, it’s justifying the dreadful deed. Per usual, I told myself that upon returning to New York, I would get “back on track.”

Now I am going to tell you why my plan failed.

Since I have already headed down the path of overused jargon, I will describe my relationship as both “all or nothing” and “a fair weather friend.” When I am healthy, I am really healthy. I spent this past summer studying yoga in the Berkshires where I slept exactly eight hours a night, meditated for 2 hours a day, and even left my computer behind for two months. Sadly, this fall I learned many life lessons. Among the most disappointing: beer pong is not a cardiovascular sport, there is a direct correlation between the time spent “networking” at West 3rd Common’s and my BMI, and Artichoke pizza – a new staple in my diet – is probably is not as healthy as flax meal seaweed mush I subsided on this summer. By “a fair weather friend,” I am simply suggesting that it is easy to be healthy when it’s convenient. I definitely have worked out more when there was a gym in my apartment, particularly when transit outside requires a sleigh, Sherpa, or masochistic sense of determination. It is easy to say “no” to a happy hour when there isn’t one, and of course I ate carrot sticks instead of Fritos when mom packed my lunch for school.

Unfortunately, we are in business school and an all or nothing relationship with health and a need for it to always be convenient is just not our present reality. Yesterday, when volunteering at City Harvest I learned that 2.8 million New Yorkers are “food insecure,” meaning limited uncertainty to nutritionally adequate foods. While sometimes this might feel like a statistic you can relate to, we do in fact have the resources available to support a nutritionally and physically wholesome lifestyle, even in Greenwich Village. So the real question is, how we maintain a healthy lifestyle amidst a chaotic and not always conducive environment?  If the solution was simple, I wouldn’t be writing this article, but trying to patent the idea and start my own company. I have, however, found some general strategies that may support you in getting “back on track,” whatever that means to you.

1. Make an investment – Buy a package of classes, a gym membership or some new exercise gear. Sometimes the guilt factor can be more effective than you would think

2. Find a partner in crime – Roommate, boyfriend, girlfriend, study group member, anyone. Finding someone that you actually enjoy spending time with, but who will create more accountability around staying active can get you out of bed when the alarm isn’t cutting it

3. Beer has calories – And so do all the things you probably feel a little less guilty eating after that beer or the things served with it. Having a plan before you go into a networking activity can help you resist the temptation of having four plates of cheese and wontons, or forbid ending up once again at Artichoke Pizza

4. Find alternative activities – “Amity Hall,” rolls of the tongue much more gracefully than “Let’s go to Brooklyn and climb a rock wall after we go home and change.” BUT these activities can be fun, and with a little extra coordination, can serve as a wonderful alternative to the natural migration to West 3rd street

5. Have a routine – It is so much harder to go to the gym the first, second, and even seventh day, but trust me, it gets much easier. Having a set time and activity that you make a habit, like brushing your teeth or taking out your contacts will remove a lot of the effort and strain around incorporating activity into your life

In attempt to help you establish a routine, the Stern Health and Fitness Club (HFC) has identified and created several opportunities below. Throughout the semester, we will offer these types of experiences to help you get “back on track.”

The Stern HFC will be offering its first ever half marathon clinic. Our target race is the Brooklyn Half Marathon taking place on May 17, 2014. We already have a number of people registered for the race and this event quickly sells out. Our group will run together 2 times a week with an aim to complete the race upright and feeling great. Beginners to advanced welcome, please contact Emma Fisher @ emma.fisher@stern.nyu.edu if interested. More details to come over email and Facebook in the coming weeks. Training begins February 19, see you then!

Join HFC for beginner circuit workouts this Spring. We will be holding sessions twice a week at Coles.  Each session is open to the first 5 people that sign up.  We guarantee you will have fun, get a good sweat, and learn exercises that you can do on your own to stay fit.  We will mix some cardio and some light weightlifting for a high energy, full body workout. Look out for an email with times and sign up information. We hope to see you in February!

Yoga at Stern! Beginning mid-February, weekly yoga classes will be offered AT STERN, putting those recruiting spaces to a use that will hopefully be a little less stressful than what you were accustomed to last semester. Details will be advertised on the HFC Facebook page.

Mission News Theme by Compete Themes.