In 1983, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition declared May National Physical Fitness and Sports Month.  Each President since has recognized May as a month to advocate for Americans to adopt healthy lifestyles.  President Biden issued a Proclamation in 2021 stating “No matter our age or ability, the more that we can make regular physical activity and participation in sports a part of our lives, the better off both we and our Nation will be.”  

The library might not be the first place you think of for physical fitness, but the HSLIC front desk offers all kinds of sports equipment for checkout:

  • Spikeball sets
  • OgoDisk sets 
  • Soccer Ball 
  • Basketball 
  • Volleyball 
  • Football 
  • Kickball 
  • Jump Rope 
  • Hacky Sack 
  • Frisbee 

Kumal Mankad, a first year student in the MD program, plays Spikeball with fellow students on their break between classes.  They were inspired by the PT students who often play out on the lawn in front of the library. Kumal says physical fitness is very important to him, but it has to be scheduled into his busy week in advance: “I try to set up at least 3 times for physical activities in my planner every week.  It’s not easy.  I’ve seen some students write in ‘Please go to gym’ between meetings or classes.”  He also said that he appreciates that the Library provides exercise equipment “Having equipment available at the library makes it much easier to get exercise.” 

Students can also take advantage of a basketball court located behind the library, a 2-mile trail around the UNM North Golf Course just down the street, and standing desk treadmills on the library's 3rd floor.

Selected ebooks regarding physical fitness available at our library include:

          Esteves, D., & Lewis, K. (Eds.). (2021). Exercise: physical, physiological and psychological benefits Nova Medicine & Health.

          Robbins, J.E., & Madrigal, L. (2017). Sport, exercise, and performance psychology: bridging theory and application. Springer Publishing Company, LLC.

          Trevisano, Q (Ed.). (2020). Physical fitness and exercise: an overview. Nova Science.

Additional Sports and Fitness resources: 

          US Department of Health and Human Services “Move in May”

          City of Albuquerque Parks & Recreation

          UNM Health Sciences Center HSC Wellness