By JEFF LORD
Summer is a time for play, a time for fun and a time to get in shape.
For many, summertime is the most dreaded time of year. It means uncovering that body you have hidden so well under layers of clothes during the winter months. It means wearing shorts, t-shirts and the dreaded bathing suit and letting people see what you “really” look like.
Therefore, much of the added free time allotted students during the spring and summer semesters is spent exercising and getting their winter bodies back in to summer shape.
When asked what they did to get in shape for the summer, most students said that the warm weather allowed their recreation and physical activities to move from the indoors to the outdoors. Walking, hiking and swimming were all tops on students’ summertime exercises of choice.
“My husband and I like to take walks, go swimming and hike the Y,” said Allyson Reynolds, a 1996 BYU graduate from Iowa City, Iowa.
Kirt Christensen, a senior from Vernal, majoring in economics says that he is forced to run during the summer.
“I’m in ROTC and we’re preparing for advanced camp in Fort Lewis,” he said. “So I run about 2 or 3 miles every day.”
Some students had a different approach to summertime fitness.
“I’ve found that with the added free time I have during the summer, I have more time for silence and meditation which I firmly believe are the keys to good physical, as well as mental, progress,” said Creighton Tenney, a junior from Rockwall, Texas, majoring in broadcast communications.
Aside from his mental preparation, Tenney felt that outdoor activities were also beneficial. His sport of choice was tennis.
Alison Fife, a graduate student from San Diego, Calif., majoring in linguistics, had an interesting method for getting in shape during the summer.
“I’ve heard that kissing burns 45 calories for every thirty seconds,” she said.
That’s good news for her husband Chad, a senior from Seattle, Wash., majoring in English. He added that aside from working out with his wife, he liked being in the outdoors.
Walking to campus also seemed to be popular during the summer.
“I walk to school year round,” said Angie Millar, a senior from Nampa, Idaho, majoring in broadcast communications. “But during the summer I walk a lot slower because it’s so nice.”
Volleyball and softball are also very popular activities according to Andrea Stewart, an instructor at Powerhouse Gym in Provo. She said many students that come in either run or rollerblade to the gym, work out and then run or rollerblade back home.
Millar agreed, saying that rollerblading was very popular with her apartment.
“It’s really big with me and my roommates,” she said. “I live with eleven girls, so I’m sure it’s funny to see all of us blading down the road together.”
For many, the outdoors are the way to go during these warm months.
“I love anything outdoors,” Millar said. “I like to take advantage of it and stay outside as much as possible.”
