About the Author:

Alexander Price is a non-traditional student at Rutgers University, finishing his degree in his late-20s. Working full-time and taking classes at night, he blogs about his experiences trying to straddle the real world and college. Start a conversation with him on Twitter – @asprice18.

Working and going to school doesn’t leave much time for fitness. Like a lot of people my age, I’ve slacked off on good eating habits and ended up with a keg rather than a six-pack. The nearest gym is the on-campus Rutgers gym, which is great since it’s free. The only problem is that when the semester ends, the gym hours get kind of wonky. First, the fitness centers are closed for a few weeks, and then they all have different hours, making it a weekly search to figure out when to go to the gym and which one to go to.

I’ve recently tried to start eating a little better, but it’s not an easy task. I’ve never been a huge health nut, but since my girlfriend began pushing for more health conscious foods in the fridge, I’ve started to like the yogurt-and-granola snack rather than Ramen noodles or Wendy’s fries. It’s required a lot more grocery shopping than I’ve been used to, but also a lot less ordering out, which is great on our wallets.

Starting in January, I began working out regularly, since I hadn’t seen any progress from going only when it was most convenient. For four months, I went religiously every other day, missing only a few days here or there. I started slimming down and feeling better, but then the gyms closed for between spring and summer classes. In the month without going to the gym, I lapsed back into my old habits of not exercising and started feeling sluggish again. I even borrowed a friend’s copy of P90X, which ended up collecting dust while I played another round of Halo during my designated “workout time.”

Now that it’s nice out, I’m determined to use the DVDs, get back to the gym, or jog in the park behind my apartment building every day. It’s not going to be easy, but I’ve got to stick to it. Yesterday I went to the gym for the first time in almost two months. That heart-about-to-explode feeling is not something I enjoy, but the more I go, the less it’ll feel like that.

Sticking to one type of workout plan just doesn’t work for my lifestyle, so I’ve gotta figure out a balance of the three.

Student or not, how do you plan out your workout sessions? What type of schedule works best for you?