It’s that time of year again when college students decide to make their New Year’s resolutions to get in shape. Then there are others who want to work out, so they can look good in a swimsuit over spring break.

I, like many of them, am going on spring break this year. So after hearing numerous complaints from my friends about the crowd there, I decided to go pump some iron at the Student Recreation Center.

As I pulled up, the first difference I noticed was the lack of parking. It was just madness trying to find a spot, and it certainly did not help that half of the spots have now been changed to staff parking. Maybe a lot of professors are going on spring break this year too. They must have requested extra spaces over there near Lantz Arena, or maybe the University Police Department did not take into consideration students’ overbearing need to go the Rec during the spring semester. After finally finding a spot and walking quite a distance to the building, I felt like I already had a workout, but I decided to venture on.

I swipped my card, put down my stuff and decided to go to the machines. All the bikes were full, and people were standing near the treadmills already waiting in line. After walking around twice, I realized machines weren’t going to be a possibility. So I headed for the track where I had to run sideways to beat the crowd.

I noticed a lot of the same regulars from last semester were there, but lots of new faces were working up a sweat. I ran a few laps and then ran into some friends who joined me at a walking pace. They advised me the ‘good hours’ to go the Rec were at 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

Yeah, maybe if I were nuts. It would be nice to be in shape for spring break, but I certainly would not lose sleep over it. I felt like I was falling for some sort of work-out curse, and after doing a few sit-ups in the corner of the mat, I decided enough was enough.

I left the Rec Center an hour later after only completing a mile walk/run and some sit-ups. I definitely did not have a good workout. Thank goodness I have until March because at this snail’s pace, I will never be in shape!

If you do have patience, eventually the New Year’s resolutions will die, and the Rec center crowd will thin out a little. Maybe they’ll even change those staff parking spots to student spots again.

In the meantime, try a variety of workouts recommended on various Web sites. They include warm-up stretching instructions and nutritional information and routines to try to get in shape for spring break.