It’s only the beginning of September, but that doesn’t mean some of us haven’t already picked up the infamous “˜freshman 15.’ Don’t despair, first-years. It’s not always 15 pounds that you gain. It might only be around 5 pounds. In my case, it was the “˜freshman 35′!
That endless Mabee food, the freedom not to be chastised by your parents for what you eat, weekends spent lying around by the poolside “” they aren’t doing much for your body. I get it. With our crazy, over-committed schedules, it can be really hard to find time to take care of your health and fitness if you’re not involved in sports or other activities at Trinity.
Maybe you’re like what I was in 2015 “” a nervous first-year, confused and intimidated by the Bell Center, but starting to feel like something must be done to balance out the amount of Mabee cookies consumed in the past few weeks.
Now, I’m no fitness expert, but I do enjoy working out and staying healthy. So if you want to get a short, efficient workout out without going to the gym, here are some tips that I’ve tested out for you.
We’ll break this up into three sections: upper body, core and lower body.
Upper Body
Here are a few upper-body moves to work on those biceps, triceps and chest muscles. A fun move that I found on Pinterest was a bicep curl, using an usual object to lift “” your desk chair! That’s right, lift up the back of your desk chair and pull it towards your chest, then put it back down. If you do that enough times to make you tired (which depends on the person, but could be from 10 to 30 repetitions), you’ve successfully completed this move.
Another arm exercise you can do is the tricep dip, off a surface like your bed. You position yourself with your arms at the edge of your bed and your body leaning out away from the bed. Then slowly push down and lift yourself up. It’s basically like a reverse pushup. You can also do pushups in your room to work on those arm and chest muscles.
Core
For working on that core, a.k.a. the area of your body where the cookies pile up, there are many exercises you can do that don’t require equipment. For example, the classic plank is a move that requires you to put your forearms on the ground and hold up your body. It works the whole core, and is pretty hard, so if you can do it anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute, then good for you.
Another move that I like to do at the gym is the Russian twist. I usually use weights, but in my room, I can use my heavy bottle of Tide detergent and that does the trick too. Sit down and hold the bottle or weight. Twist your upper body back and forth and do that for several repetitions, however many you feel is necessary.
Other core exercises you can try are any moves that involve lying on the ground and lifting your lower body up into the air, like a leg lift or scissor kicks. These are great for your lower abs, and there’s just enough space on the ground of your dorm room for you to do these.
Lower Body
Lastly, try some of these lower body exercises to get thicc thighs and a nice booty. All jokes aside, there are lots of benefits from having strong legs, hips and glutes, or at least that’s what the personal trainers I follow on Instagram tell me.
Squats are a great exercise that you can do anywhere. For more of a cardio twist on the traditional squat, try a jump squat, where you jump into the air when raising your body back up.
Another move that’s easy to do in your room, or anywhere you have a wall really, is a wall sit. In my dorm in South, I have an enormous pillar in the center of my room. At first it seemed like a bit of a nuisance, but now I see how it can be used for exercises like wall sits.
Other exercises that train your legs and hips and don’t require equipment are moves like donkey kicks and fire hydrants. These require you to get on your hands and knees and kick out your legs either to the back or the side and are great for your hip flexors.
Hopefully you enjoyed this brief guide on working out in your dorm. And remember to always stretch before and after you workout to prevent strained muscles.
