Exercise plays a large role in the lives of De Anza College students, but with the pandemic in full swing, many have had to find new ways to stay in shape.

Idean Azari, 19, economics major, said the pandemic has forced him to limit his workouts to body weight exercises.

“At the beginning of the pandemic, I didn’t have access to heavyweights, so everything I did had to be with my own body weight,” Azari said.

But Azari said that exercising without weights can be a great way for people to get in shape.

“Using your body weight, you can get a lot further than you’d think,” he said. “There’s a lot of good body weight exercises on free sites like YouTube.”

Temo Daza, 19, graphic design major, has also adapted to bodyweight exercises, like push ups and body squats. He said that the repetivity of these exercises is the most frustrating part.

“During the pandemic, I’ve been struggling to stay active,” Daza said. 

“Doing [the same exercises] every day was getting boring and it made me lose interest for a bit.”

But Daza said this hasn’t stopped him from continuing to exercise.

“Staying fit is a goal of mine so I disciplined myself and started to get back into the process slowly of exercising,” Daza said.

Elijah Tasker, 24, nursing major, found another pandemic-induced problem: over-training. Working out every day for the first three months of the pandemic, he used exercise to deal with other problems he faced.

“After the pandemic I found that, with a job and school, I had a lot of anxiety,” Tasker said. “I turned to fitness to cope.”

This ended in over-training, which “hurt more than it helped.” 

Tasker said he later found a solution that keeps him from over-training while ensuring that his energy levels are up.

“Now, I do five days of focused training and one of fun fitness,” Tasker said.

He said that taking care of yourself when you’re not exercising is important. 

“Sleeping and eating are 90% of fitness,” said Tasker. “You have to take care of you before your body will go anywhere.”