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Wellness > Health

Lose the Freshman 15: Jumping Away from Chub

Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Ally Lopez

This is a sponsored feature. All opinions are 100% from Her Campus.

Hey collegiettes™!

It’s my week back home from a spring break vacay and tackling the stress of getting back into the work and class schedule will come easier by adding a variety to my cardio.

Two weeks ago in the midst of midterm exams and spring break preparation, I temporarily changed my usual gym cardio routine to alternating between fitness DVDs. I made this change so that I had no reason to blame my schedule for interfering with my workout. jumping rope af

Creating a variety in cardio that includes speed and intensity will maximize your weight loss. According to SELF: “Researchers at McMaster University found that cyclists who did 15 minutes of interval training three times a week were as fit as those who biked at a moderate speed for an hour five days a week.”

Though the Jump Start Diet recommends choosing three (or four) of my previously mentioned workout routines, for only 45 minutes, 5 days a week, adding intervals of an intense activity will speed up weight loss and get your heart pumping.

This week I’m adding intervals of a favorite childhood pastime: jump roping. I probably haven’t seen or touched a jump rope since 8th grade gym class, but I picked one up today and plan on ending my 45 minutes at the gym with 15 minutes of jump roping. weighted jump rope red 1lb

This sounds easy in my head but jump roping is no joke, especially for 15 minutes straight!

Do you have any suggestions for my cardio intervals? Tell me! Leave a comment below, email me at allylopez@hercampus.com or Tweet me (@allylopez).

Also, don’t forget there are three more days to enter my TWO YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to SELF giveaway! Visit this blog post, and enter there. z(Note: This giveaway is not officially affiliated in any way with Her Campus or SELF magazine.)

If you’d like to join me in my healthy, happy weight loss (and please do), go register for the Jump Start Diet on SELF.com and be sure to use the SELF logs to keep track of your daily workout and meals, which is an awesome way to keep track of your calorie intake and how much you’re burning off!

Love,
Ally

To follow Ally’s journey on the Jump Start Diet, check out her out on Twitter (@allylopez), and while you’re at it, follow the latest news from SELF (@SELFmagazine) and Her Campus (@HerCampus)!

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Ally is a senior print journalism major at the University of Maryland, College Park with a concentration in magazine journalism. In addition to blogging for the Her Campus and SELF magazine “Lose the Freshman 15” program, she writes for the sex & dating section of College Magazine. Her previous internships include being a UMD “style guru” for the Web site CollegeFashionista, an editorial intern for ARCHITECT and eco-structure magazines, as well as a copy editing intern for The Working Press, a daily tabloid that covered the Society of Professional Journalists’ 2010 national convention. Additionally, she has contributed to the USA TODAY College blog. When she isn’t in her bubble of journalism, Ally enjoys spending time with her family and friends, spending insane amounts of money at the mall, and watching every flavor of the Real Housewives.