The frightful freshman 15 ― sometimes even scarier than the dreaded biology final. It’s something that’s so easy to gain, but so difficult to lose. Chips and cheese at midnight, snacking while studying and stress eating are a few of the reasons students put on weight throughout their college years.
Although there are many classes offered at RecWell, including yoga, Zumba and spinning, and nothing beats jogging outside, always keep in mind your dorm is an alternative to the gym. Here are a few workouts you can do right from your dorm room to help fight off that unwanted muffin top.
Body weight squats
When doing body weight squats, first make sure your feet are shoulder-width apart, and drop your hips as low as possible while keeping your heels on the floor. One fun way to do this around your room would be picking up clothes or shoes, and with every item you pick up, do a squat.
Bridges
Find a chair or any object you can prop your legs on, and put your heels directly on the chair, forming a 90-degree angle. Lay down, pushing your heels into the chair, squeeze your glutes, and raise your hips to the ceiling, making sure only your heels touch the chair. Put some jams on, and bridge to the beat.
Planks
Lie on the floor and push yourself up as if you were doing a push up, but instead of returning back down, stay up, and hold the position for as long as you can. The burn in your core is going to be painful, but one motivation to keep holding the plank is to challenge your roomie and see who can hold their plank the longest.
Leg raises
Lie on the floor with your feet together, and lift your legs to the ceiling while keeping your back against the floor. For a more difficult exercise, lift one leg at a time, switching back and forth. Find any upbeat song, and leg raise to the song’s tempo. When the song finishes, your legs are sure to feel like Jell-O.
Chair dips
Find a chair or any object that you can get a good grip on, then set your legs body length out, bending your elbows behind you at a 90-degree angle, and grasp the chair and lift your body weight, making sure your butt doesn’t touch the ground. Then using your triceps, lower your body. Lowering your body and raising it back to starting position is one rep. For these, turn on some jams, and drop to the chair at the beat of the music.
Wall sits
Lower your hips until your knees form a 90-degree angle, then lower your hips against the wall as if you were sitting in a chair. A good idea for knowing how long to hold your wall sit is to brush your teeth while doing this.
Doing these simple workouts from the comfort of your dorm room will help lessen the guilt after making a 3 a.m. trip to Waffle House and, hopefully, tone your body. Even if you don’t see drastic changes right away, keep at it, and stay positive.
