My Gym Routine

Intro

Throughout my time in college, I’ve tried going to the gym consistently to lift weights, but it hasn’t been until this semester that I’ve started going consistently (and loving it!) Although I have been extremely busy this semester, I’ve been doing my best to hit arms, legs, and cardio at least once a week. In this article, I’m going to tell you about the typical exercises I like to do with the hope that it inspires you to try some of them out! Whether you’re a consistent gym girlie or want to start, this article is for you!

Arms

• Skull crushers (triceps): To do these, you will need a bench and two dumbbells that feel comfortable for you. Begin by lying on your back on the bench, then hold the two free weights vertically above your head with your arms straight. Do your best to keep your elbows in the same spot and bend your arms so the dumbbells end up next to your ears, then extend your arms again! That’s 1 skull crusher! Repeat.
• Hammer curls (biceps, forearms): I’m sure you are somewhat familiar with curls, but hammer curls differ in that the dumbbell will be vertical the “tall” way. This positioning incorporates your forearm more than regular curls. As a refresher, there are many ways one could curl weights, but I typically like to do it with dumbbells (as opposed to a bar). Start with the weights down by your side, arms straight. Simply lift the weight so the dumbbell ends up by your shoulders. The trick with these is to try to keep the rest of your body still, so you are only engaging the biceps.
• Shrugs (lats): I love shrugs (because they’re easy!) Once again, pick some dumbbells that feel a comfortable weight to you, hold them by your sides, and then shrug! It’s that simple!
• Tricep pull/pushdowns (triceps): For this exercise, you will need a cable machine with the attachment above your head. Tri pulldowns could be done either with a straight bar or ropes; I prefer ropes. First, set the weight on the cable to whatever works for you, then hold your bar or rope and stand with your feet about shoulder width apart, knees bent, and your chest leaning ever so slightly forward. Then, push/pull down on whatever you are holding until your hands are down by your thighs. Bring the weight back up, and that’s it! Just like curls, make sure the rest of your body is stable so you are targeting your triceps.
• Shoulder press (shoulders, biceps, triceps): This lift could be done on a machine or with dumbbells. Here I will explain how to do it with dumbbells. Again, pick some weights that feel good to you. Set up a bench so that you can sit up straight as if you were in a regular chair. Sit in the “chair,”  grab your weights, and lift them so you are holding them with your hands in line with your shoulders on the outside of your body. Basically, you should like you are flexing your bicep! Then, at the same time, push the two dumbbells above your head so that your arms are just about covering your ears. Bring the weights back down to your starting position, and you did it!
• Bicep cable curls (bicep): Again, there are many different ways to do curls, so here is another form. I like to do cable curls because I find them a little easier than dumbbells, and I like the controlled motion more. So, for this exercise, head back to the cable machine again and set it to the weight you’d like to curl. I use the straight bar attachment for this lift. Set the attachment to the lowest setting, so you basically pick the straight bar up off the ground. Once you have it in your hands, set back up in the same body position you were in for the tricep pulldowns. Start with the bar down by your thighs, then pull it up to your chin. Slowly bring it down, and that’s it!

Note that for each of these exercises, you’ll probably have different weight amounts going from lift to lift. This is totally normal and good! Choose the weight amount that feels good for you for each exercise; don’t try to push the same weight for each!

Legs

• Leg press (upper leg): This is a machine, so it’s pretty easy to figure out how to use, but here is a brief description anyway. You will be seated in a chair with your feet flat against the platform in front of you. From there, set the weight to the one you’d like to lift and set your seat so that your knees are at about a 90-degree angle. Push the weight up! There are actually a few different muscles these could target, and it all depends on how you position your feet and where in your foot you push off of. To target quads, place your feet lower on the platform and focus on pushing off your toes and the balls of your feet more. To target hamstrings and glutes, place your feet a bit higher on the platform and focus on pushing off your heels. Although you are pushing off from these different points, always have your feet completely flat on the platform.
• Hip thrusts (glutes, hamstrings): For this lift, you will need a barbell and round weights, and I highly recommend a hip pad for protection. Put the weights on either side of the barbell, I usually like to clip them in place, just so they aren’t sliding around as I lift them. Put your hip pad in the middle of the barbell (where your hips will be) and sit under the bar so your hips are right under the hip pad. Just like the leg press, this lift also targets different muscles depending on your feet’s positioning. To target quads more, bring your legs slightly in more, then push the bar up, focusing on pushing from the balls of your feet. To target hamstrings and glutes more, position your feet slightly further from your body and focus on pushing from the heels.
• Bulgarian split squats (upper leg): “Bulgs,”  as I like to call them, require 1 dumbbell of a weight comfortable for you and a bench or something to rest your foot on. Start by putting one leg up on the bench and positioning it so that the top of your foot is resting on the area just before the end of the bench—think of hooking your ankle around the edge of the bench for stability. Make sure you are holding the weight in the same hand as the leg you just put up. From there, sort of jump out on your other leg about as far as you can go (if your leg is too far in, it will be very difficult to balance). At this point, one leg should be hooked onto the bench, and the other foot should be flat on the ground. In this position, bend your leg that is down on the ground so you are in a squat-like position. Come back up, and you did it!
• Romanian/Rolling dead lifts (hamstrings, glutes): These can be done with a bar or dumbbells; I like dumbbells. Pick up your dumbbells and stand so the black parts (the weight) of the dumbbells are on the sides of your thighs (horizontally). Think of pushing your hips back as if you’re closing a door with your butt; do not arch your back or bend your knees to get the weights down. As you move, the weights should sort of slide by your legs, which also means you don’t want to let the weights go too far from your body at any point. Come back up to the starting position, and you’ve done it!
• Calf raises (calves): TBH, I usually don’t do these, but I thought I’d add them because I talked about so many upper leg exercises. So, sort of as a joke, I like to say shrugs are the calf raises of arms (and vice versa) because they are so easy. These are usually done on a machine, but you can also do it with dumbbells and hold them the same way you would for shrugs. Whether you are on a machine or free weights, you will want to stand on the edge of a platform so that your heels are at a deficit from the balls of your feet. Then either having the weight on your shoulders (machine) or holding them (free weights), just stand on your tippy toes. Super simple :).

conclusion

For the most part, these are the exercises I like to do when lifting arms and legs, except I will sometimes add or drop some exercises depending on the day and what I want to target. In terms of overall fitness, I also like to run on a path on campus and do an ab circuit, but that’s for another time ;). I hope you’ve learned something from this rundown and want to try some of them! Have fun and be safe!!! Happy lifting!

**Of course, these are only a few different types of exercises you could do, so here are a couple of links explaining more exercises to try: https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness-exercise/arm-exercises-no-weights#weight-free-arm-exercises, https://www.healthline.com/health/fitness/leg-workout#exercises.

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