This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Trinity chapter.
Whether you’re trying to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, train for a competition, beef up on your biceps, or lose a little of those late-night-Goldberg’s-love-handles that you’ve seemed to acquire over the past few weeksm here’s a couple of tips to turn the chore of dragging yourself to the gym into a super fun daily activity!
1. Bring a friend– Having a gym buddy will provide you with accountability, consistency, and a spotter.
2. Get your Netflix on– I personally love to watch It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Cupcake Wars (ironic, isn’t it?). Recently I’ve got into Making a Murder and it’s super interesting too. Watching TV will keep you distracted when doing long, low heart rate cardio pieces. I would stay away from Grey’s Anatomy though because crying on the treadmill will totally send the wrong message.
3. Switch up the machines– Running on the treadmill can get pretty old after twenty minutes. Hop on the bike, the elliptical, or the big moon-walker machine upstairs (YG has no idea what those are called). Setting 15 or 20 minute intervals makes the workout go by super fast.
4. Stock up on some awesome Spotify playlists – I can never listen to the same set of songs two days in a row. Switch up the beat! I like to go between “Twerk-out” and “90s Angsty”
5. Plan a super delish meal for afterwards – Replenish your workout with snack packed with good proteins and fats like almonds, yogurt, or crackers with avocado. Chocolate milk is a great post-workout snack too because it has a good protein to carb ratio. If you’re a huge sweet tooth, try a bowl of fruit with just a tiny bit of vanilla frozen yogurt. Having a delicious go-to reward will make the pain so worth it.
6. Ladies- don’t be afraid of the free weights! – If you don’t know much about lifting, go online and look up weight exercises for specific muscles that you would like to strengthen.
7. Get creative with core– Your body will hate you if you miserably do 100 sit ups in a row. Try plank, Russian twists, leg lifts, or superman. Using weights with core can also help tighten up those abs juuuuuust in time for summer 2k16.
8. Got a fit bit? – here’s a fun game: grab a friend, go to the gym, and sync your fitbits. Make it a competition where whoever takes the most steps wins (and the loser has to
9. Gear up – stock up on some cool lulu or nike leggings and tops. Use the mantra “dress for success” to get fired up about your workout.
10. Get it done early – I know I always feel super energized and ready-to-go when I get my workout in the morning. A great start to the day will always lead to a great rest of the day.
