Workout ideas? College Student...

B

Bluesteel015

Member
Okay here's the dilemma:

I'm going to college in a week and I need some creative ways to workout. My classes start everyday at 9am and then i'll go straight to work after class until 8pm. they have a really, really small workout center that opens at 6:30 every morn., so i need some ideas of how to fit in exercise if it's too crowded or if i don't feel like gettin up that early every morn. This is actually kinda scary 4 me b/c i've always been at home and been able 2 workout to videos and had dumbells so im afraid that i may gain weight? Im studying to be a dietitian so i def. know how to eat healthy and will try to find the good stuff in the cafe. I've never just not really worked out b4 so i hope i can just maintain. Any ideas or experiences or encouragement would be great.
 
(1) The gym might not be that busy in the morning or late at night. When I was in college, the gym was busiest in the afternoon and was dead at night. I never got up early enough to check it out in the morning : )

(2) Why not bring your videos and dumbells with you???? I did. Workout in your room. You'll have to coordinate schedules with your roommate, if you have one.

(3) Get some girls together to workout in the dorm lounge at a certain time everyday.

(4) Run. Swim. Play intramural sports...

(5) You can download workouts on an ipod.

(6)I joined an off campus gym for a little while.
 
Yeah those are some good ideas, i dont think ill have enough room 2 do videos but i guess i didn't really think of bringing my dumbells. thanks :)
 
You could get exercise bands. They are small and could be used. My son is heading to college in a week too. When visiting, what struck me most was the Quad, and I immediately thought, what a great place to walk and run.

When you are young, it is hard to accept the fact that you have to give up something like sleep, or evening time to exercise...but you do. You either have to get up earlier, or do it late.

Other tips, always take the stairs, do crunches if you have TV time, and above all else, try to watch what you eat and chose healthy. In college, when I lessoned my drinking, I lost a lot of weight. Drinking is really, really bad for fitness.<OK, end of lecture, but really, it is bad for your school work too!>
 
Adding after IMAX 2 woke me up! Promise yourself you will work out 4 days a week. If your weekends are not as tight as your weekdays, make sure you use both those days. Then pick two days during the week and get up earlier and work out.
 
You'll always have room for good old fashioned pushups, or jumping jacks. I agree, getting an exercise band is great too. If you live in a dorm with a few floors, running the stairs in the morning or at night is good cardio too. Getting a workout buddy is very motivating as well. A big must....as you know...watch your diet! Planning your meals while you're eating on the run is probably even more important than planning your workouts! Does your college offer any step classes??

Good Luck!
 
While in the Navy, I felt similar cramped quarters. I used running as my main form of cardio and hit the gym late at night. Finally, after I moved into my first apartment, I found Cathe and was able to use her workouts.

Hope this helps!

Melissa
Paragonah,UT
 
Here is an idea Cathe posted some time ago for a workout to do on vacation that only required dumbbells. I did it while in a hotel room and felt very worked out! Good Luck with school this year. It is great that you are thinking ahead of time of how to stay in shape. GOOD LUCK! Here is the workout:


25 minutes a morning is all you need to maintain enough so that when you come back you will not feel out of the loop. Bring one set of moderate pound dumbbells (5 or 8 pounds)Here is a sample two week vacation workout:

Monday/Wednesday/Friday

a) Warm Up:
5 minute brisk walk

b) Legs:
Leg Blast:
30 seconds non-weighted squats
30 seconds plyo jacks
30 seconds squats/ with dumbbells in hands
30 seconds front kicks (no dumbells)
30 seconds side kicks (no dumbbells)

Forward lunges (with dumbbells)....3 sets 15 reps (Rt leg 15 / Left leg 15 then do the next set).

Back lunges (with dumbbells).....Same reps/sets as forward lunges.

c) Torso/Arms
Chest: 3 sets of 10 push ups...On last rep of last set hold push up 1/2 way down for 20 seconds.

Back: One arm dumbbell rows (put both weights in one hand) do 3 sets of 15 reps per arm.

Biceps: Concentration curls (put both weights in one arm)do 3 sets of 15 reps.

Triceps: ALTERNATE one set of dips (15 reps) with one set of double arm kickbacks (do as many as you can with that weight and good form). Do three alternating sets.

Shoulders: Seated bent arm side lateral raises (10 reps) right into rear delt flys (as many as you can with that weight and good form). Do three alternating sets.

Abs: traditional crunches for 3 minutes and then flip over and hold a one minute plank

Stretch

Tues/Thursday/Saturday

A 25 minute walk/run (this includes 5 minute brisk walk warm up and three minute stretch)

Bon Voyage!

I thought this would be a good workout for you to use occasionally! Have FUN!


http://www.PictureTrail.com/gid8692709
Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH (AKA "Den Mother Debbie") http://www.clicksmilies.com/s0105/aktion/action-smiley-066.gif[/img] If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!
 
My daughter joined the crew team, she workouts everyday at 5:30am & loves it. Aside from rowing, they jog & do cal. You might also try joining trac. Good luck in college,
 
I know exactly how you feel. It was awful for me when I went to college and had to give up my videos. Living on the fourth floor did not allow me to do them (not to mention the lack of space!) because of the people who lived below me--my jumping would NOT have made them happy. In the beginning, I went to the campus gym (which was great where I was) but I ended up giving that up when I brought my car to college during the second semester of my freshman year and getting a membership at an off-campus gym (Bally Total Fitness, to be precise.) The classes were great--they were the closest I could get to a workout video. When I went home for some weekends or vacations, I always made sure to get my fix of Cathe and then I'd go back to the regular routine at college.
I'm actually in a similar position now. I currently live in a condo where I can do videos anytime but will be moving across the country soon to a little 3rd floor apt. where (again, because of the people who live below me) I doubt I'll be able to do workout tapes. I'm incredibly depressed about it, but what can ya do? So I'm making sure to get my fill of Cathe now before I can't for a while!
Don't worry about gaining weight, though. I was obsessively scared about that when I went to college and I didn't gain a pound. I made sure I worked out as much as I could but I still ate crap! (I've never been a huge drinker, though, so maybe that helped.) Just enjoy the experience. You'll be fine. Just know that I understand EXACTLY what you're going through and made the situation work for me as best I could. Have a great time at school--and do as many videos now as you can before you leave!!!
 
Thanks so much to everyone who replyed, I really appreciate it and I feel a lot better now. I've got a lot of ideas and plan on experimenting to see what works best for me. I guess I am kind of excited in a way to see how I can adapt to this new situation and still remain physically strong. And I don't drink so I've already got that going for me. Thanks for all the best wishes and I'll post later on to let you all know what I've learned from this adjustment.
 
Here are some more ideas. When I went to college I used the track,(anybody can use it), I also ran bleachers. The soccer field had a dirt track around it with workout stations , like pull up bars & incline benches for sit-ups. Also we had an 11 story building with outside stairs all the way to the top, I would climb that with my 50lb back pack on a few times a day. If your college offers it you could also take a weight training class between other classes.
 
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