By February, winter may have lost its luster for some at UNC Greensboro. Cold weather can make it harder to get moving and stay moving.
Doctoral students at UNCG understand the mental barriers to exercise. “Our brain is always trying to save energy,” says Bryan Montero Herrera. “And going outside will require you to move more.”
Montero Herrera is earning a Ph.D. in kinesiology with a concentration in sport and exercise psychology. He and Chad Wessinger, also in the kinesiology Ph.D. program, are graduate assistants in the Physical Activity and Cognition Lab of Dr. Jennifer Etnier, Julia Taylor Morton Distinguished Professor and Department Chair of Kinesiology. They study the links between exercise and cognitive and mental health across the lifespan.
“We’re mammals, and we just want to stay warm,” says Wessinger. “These days, it’s easy to be inactive since we don’t have to go out and look for food. We have to manufacture reasons to be active.”
Their observations match what staff with UNCG Recreation and Wellness (RecWell) observe. There is usually a dip in attendance at the Leonard J. Kaplan Center for Wellness at the end of January. That’s one of the reasons they created the Iron Month Challenge, a free, low-stakes opportunity for students and Kaplan Center members to get active in February, with a chance of winning prizes based on how far they go.
Iron Month Challenge
The Ironman is a triathlon – swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and running 26.2 miles. RecWell’s Iron Month Challenge lets people set whatever pace works for them. Instead of a single-day event, students, faculty, staff, and other Kaplan members tally up the distance they walk, jog, bike, and swim throughout the month.
UNCG’s inaugural Iron Month Challenge began in 2024 to promote the Kaplan Center’s Natatorium. It gives members something to invigorate new year fitness routines and encourages connection and friendly competition.
“We want to break that barrier,” says Kellee Crumby, Coordinator of Aquatics at RecWell. “It may feel scary to walk in and see a bunch of people who clearly know what they’re doing. You may not feel like you belong. Now you have a month to compete in a challenge and build yourself a space.”
It costs nothing, and participants can start at any point during the month. “This program is low risk, high rewards,” says Eric Becker ’18, RecWell’s Assistant Director of Aquatics and Risk Management who earned his master’s in therapeutic recreation. “There’s so much to gain. You might win some cool stuff, and you’ll figure out what fitness looks like for you.”
Three Steps to Staying Motivated
Wessinger and Montero Herrera offer a few ways to make exercise more enjoyable. If exercise is not fun, they say, there are many ways to make it at least tolerable enough to find the motivation to get moving.
1. Add a Beat or Phone a Friend
A little rhythm may encourage movement. Montero Herrera is studying music’s impact on older adults with the iSTEP research study. While exercising, participants listen to tempo-matched, beat-accentuated songs selected based on their personal music preferences. The researchers use software to accentuate beats and to match tempo to the participant’s exercise pace. They want to know if accentuated music influences exercise behaviors and physical and cognitive functioning.
“People may have several barriers to exercising,” says Montero Herrera, “Lack of time, lack of facilities, sometimes lack of energy and motivation. But with music, people feel like, ‘This is cool.’ They feel the pump of the music.”
Students engaged in the Iron Month Challenge can choose whatever music works for them. Start with songs with a slower tempo, around 90 BPM, then move up to a faster rhythm. “With iSTEP, we have participants do something every two beats,” says Montero Herrero. “For example, when doing a frontal leg raise during resistance training, for two beats, they lift one leg up, then for two beats, they lower the leg down.”
Another way to make exercise more enjoyable is to make it social. Plan activities with a group of friends, start a group chat to schedule exercises, and hold each other accountable.
For this year’s Iron Month Challenge, RecWell added a channel in the Slack app, so participants can work on hitting their milestones together. “They can post pictures, stay connected with what other people are doing, or ask questions and advice,” says Crumby. “Someone can say, ‘I’m going to a cycle class. Anyone else want to come?’”
“We’re giving people that external validation as they go through their journey,” says Becker. “It’s not just about how to stay motivated myself, but now I have other people pushing me, helping me, coming along for the ride.”
2. Set yourself up for success
If you do not find exercise fun, at least make it tolerable. For example, Wessinger says if you are not a morning person, it might not be helpful to schedule a new routine early in the day. He says, “You should be realistic with yourself and find the times that work for you.”
Participants of the Iron Month Challenge can choose one of four challenge levels if they don’t think they are ready for the Ironman. They can work toward whatever distance they set over several days.
Crumby says they have adaptive bikes for people who need them, and that walking counts toward the miles for the running portion. Someone who does not know how to swim or does not have the stamina to swim laps can safely use the Natatorium’s activity pool. “It’s at most four feet deep,” Crumby explains. “We allow aqua jogging and water walking in the activity pool to count toward your swimming distance.”
Similarly, RecWell staff encourage everyone to check out the Kaplan Center, but if someone cannot work that into their day, they accept miles accrued at other facilities. “Go run outside if you don’t enjoy treadmills or indoor tracks,” says Becker. “Find your favorite trail. Bike to and from class. Any fitness you do in February counts toward this challenge.”
3. Invest in the long term
There is evidence that exercise has an immediate, short-term benefit to mental wellness. Studies have shown it increases a protein called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor). These protect brain tissue and enhance memory, with effects being felt for up to an hour after exercise.
That alone may entice a student to incorporate a morning or lunchtime jog into the day of a big exam, but Wessinger says the mental benefits of exercise are ultimately cumulative. Students should aim for developing a long-term routine that stimulates their cognitive health far into adulthood.
“One bout of exercise may give you a little bit of a memory benefit for an hour or two, but you’re not getting the long-term protective benefits,” he says. “Consistent exercise over time can improve cognitive functions, executive functions, and memory.”
Story by Janet Imrick, University Communications
Photography by Sean Norona, University Communications
