Bad weather outside? Don’t feel like heading to the DAC for one reason or another? No worries, an effective, easy workout can be done right in your dorm!
For various reasons, heading over to the gym can be intimidating and scary. The thought of having other people watching you while you workout is enough to make you stay in and watch Netflix instead. Luckily enough, a good workout doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym on the treadmill!
Some wonderful workout equipment to have, that’s also easy to store in your dorm room, includes a small kettleball, a yoga mat, and a pair of dumbbells. A cute workout outfit doesn’t hurt, either, even if you might be the only one to see yourself in it! Purchasing some new equipment and a cute new workout outfit may even motivate you to get into a fitness routine.
A few places we recommend for purchasing workout clothing would be Under Armour and Victoria’s Secret. While both of these are on the pricey side, they have the best quality workout wear that’s both comfortable and adorable! You can purchase everything from water bottles to sports headbands to sports bras and workout leggings at each establishment. It’s everything you could need under one roof!
Stores like Dick’s Sporting Goods have an abundance of the small equipment pieces you can use for your dorm workouts. Besides your local sporting goods store, equipment can be found on Amazon.com and at stores like Target and Wal-Mart. In this case, quality truly matters so we definitely recommend trying to go to a store and seeing the equipment in person before making your purchases.
Now that you have your dorm workout supplies, what exactly will you use them for? The next step is developing a workout plan in such limited space.
If you’re new to this and need some guidance on getting started, there are tons of workout plans that already exist online for you to do at home. For some, you only need a yoga mat since the workouts require using only your own bodyweight.
Two free resources for creating a workout plan that I have come across and use weekly are Pop Sugar Fitness and a fitness-themed Tumblr page called Back On Pointe. Both have completely laid-out workouts shown in a single image. Here is an example of what you may find on either site:
Both of these sites promote body positivity and a healthy lifestyle.
A majority of the workouts only take about ten minutes or less to complete, so it’s easy to fit them in between your classes and designated homework times.
The keys to seeing results with these workouts are consistency, repetitions, and intervals. Creating a workout schedule for yourself will help you manage your time with school and fitting in workout sessions on a consistent, weekly basis.
Repetitions of the exercises should increase over time as your endurance increases because your muscles will become used to the same numbers and the workouts won’t be as effective as you may like. Varying your workouts into different intervals will also help with keeping the results you want coming. Your muscles won’t get used to the same old crunches and squats, and as a result you will become more toned!
Between classes and term papers and labs, it feels like there isn’t time to do anything that’s not school-related in college. While I’m sure going out for a night with your friends sounds more enticing than working out, fitness is important. All it takes is a half-hour of your time a few days a week, and results will surely show!