The first day of spring has come and gone, and with the 70-degree temperatures of the last few weeks, Denver has finally pulled itself out of the winter slump and is welcoming green grass and warm days.
With spring weather comes two things. First, the prospect of swimsuit season on the horizon (only seven weeks till Memorial Day). But, never fear, because second is a new burst of motivation to get outside and be active to enjoy the beautiful weather.
Here are a few tips and ideas to get in shape this spring. Maybe you’ll even get to work on your tan while you’re at it (as always, remember to wear sunscreen).
Take your normal workout outside
The dreaded 4 p.m. hour when seemingly everyone at the Univer,sity gets out of class and heads to the Ritchie Center (resulting in a frustrating wait time for a treadmill) no longer has to define your weekdays. Fortunately, another option is simply doing your warm-up outside. Run around the neighborhood and end at the gym to do your weight room exercises, then run back home. Why run on the treadmill when it’s a beautiful day outside?
If you’re looking for something a little more adventurous, there are great trails for trail running only about 20 minutes away in Ken Caryl Valley. To get there from DU, take Santa Fe south from Evans to C-470 and hop off via the Kipling Parkway exit to Deer Creek Canyon Road. You’ll be able to take in the beautiful scenery of the area, like its expansive rock formations and common deer sightings,while getting in a great workout.
Swimming is another activity that no longer has to be done indoors. Instead of swimming laps in the pool, take it to the lake. The Grant Ranch Lake at Grant Ranch country club opens up for lap swimming with different length laps and is a great way to enjoy a new type of workout. A 6-punch pass costs $70 and a one time drop-in costs $20. Visit milehighmultisport.com for more info.
Take it to the park
Do yoga in the park instead of at the gym. Get a group of friends together and head over to Wash Park to enjoy the grass and some sun salutations.
Get a FitBit
Never heard of them? It’s a bracelet that tracks your daily fitness habits–like calories eaten and burned, stairs climbed and distance walked. It also tracks your sleep patterns. FitBit comes with an app where you can track your activities on your smartphone. This makes you more aware of your habits and helps you to get on track with your goal.
As college students, we try to live healthy lifestyles but are not always very educated in how to go about this and don’t know how to track our progress toward our health goals. A device like a FitBit is helpful in the constant goal to be healthy. Checkout fitbit.com for more information.
If you don’t want to spend the money on a new gadget, some great fitness apps are RunKeeper, which includes a GPS and charts of your activities over a period of time, and Moves, which tracks any walking, cycling, and running you do, and lets you view the distance, duration, and calories burned for each activity.
Sign up for a race
From a marathon to a triathlon to a 5K, any type of race is great motivation to get in shape. While the hot chocolate run and Santa Stampede of the winter months are fun for those more hardcore racers willing to battle the cold, the real race season starts now—and you don’t even have to wear your parka.
April 11 is the day of the Left Hand Brewing Company and Shoes and Brews CollaBEERation 5K and running expo in Longmont. Get some friends together and sign up for the Colfax Marathon too, which splits up into a relay.
Add exercise to fun with friends
Instead of driving to somewhere like Starbucks, ride your bike down the Cherry Creek trail to the Starbucks at Confluence Park, only about a 40-minute ride from DU.
To get to the Cherry Creek trail from campus, head north from Wash Park on South Marion Parkway bike trail (D11) and take it to Downing Street. This will take you to the Cherry Creek trail, which runs along Speer. To get to Confluence Park, take the trail west. Do keep in mind, however, that looking up directions online first is always a good idea.
Spring is a perfect time to get active again. Follow these tips and tricks to get outside and enjoy the spring weather, Pioneers. With just a few changes to your routine, this could be your fittest spring quarter yet.
