Everyone (well, most of us) dread going to the gym. You’ve had class all day, an internship and Netflix sounds perfect right about now. We admit–it’s much easier to just lay in bed and binge watch a season of The Office. However, to keep your body healthy, doctors recommend getting in at least 30 minutes of exercise a day. Here are ten tips to get you out of bed and back in shape.
1) Put it in your schedule.
Mark a time in your planner or MacBook calendar to go the gym. You’re more likely to go to the gym if you plan ahead and make time for it!
2) Have a workout buddy.
Find someone who will motivate you to go to the gym when you don’t want to (and vice versa). Check in with each other and make sure you both aren’t lacking on your workouts and are staying healthy.
3) Eat through out the day.
You’ll never want to workout when you’re tired and not energized! Eat healthy foods throughout the day so your body has enough energy to get through a workout. Eat foods like greek yogurt, peanut butter, almonds and lean meat to energize your body and get you excited to workout. Remember, keeping these healthy foods in your dorm room will help you stay on track of your diet and ensure that you’re eating the proper foods in order to get in a good workout!
4) Sleep!
Getting enough sleep is super important for your body’s health. Without sleep, you won’t have any energy to workout, so try an aim to get between 7-10 hours of sleep a night.
5) Set goals.
And no these don’t need to be weight goals but they could be. Want to get in shape? Run a 5k? Run a mile without being tired? Lift heavier weights? Set goals for yourself within a timely manner for extra motivation to workout. Setting goals will also help from your workouts becoming boring. If you are doing the same routine everyday it starts to lose affect and you’ll actually burn less calories. But by pushing yourself (lifting more weight, adding more reps, increasing the treadmill speed, etc) you’ll be bettering yourself and reaching your goals faster.
6) Stop studying.
Have you been studying for hours in the library? Give your brain a break and chance to revive itself! Taking a break in between studying to workout will help your brain regain focus. According to John Ratey, a clinical associate professor at Harvard Medical School, when you exercise hormones like dopamine and norepinephrine are being released into your brain that influence your attention span. So next time you have a huge text or an enormous amount of reading, take a time-out and get in a good workout.
7) It just feels good.
Working out has endless benefits and can boost your mood due to the amount of endorphins being produced. Working out is also one thing that you can do for yourself and be in complete control of.
8) Fix up your workouts.
Are you working out but feel like nothing is changing? Try changing up your workout routine! If you are doing purely cardio, try lifting weights (its not as scary as it seems)! Penn State researchers found that people are more likely to lose weight when you lift weights and do cardio. Next time you’re at the gym, try adding in squats, lunges and bicep curls into your workout. If you are out of your league when it comes to lifting weights see tip 9.
9) Find some Instagram motivation!
Whether you are out of workout ideas or need some extra motivation to workout, try looking up some workout icons. Their Instagram handles are great resources for new workout routines as well as motivating quotes. Some great accounts to follow are: Nicole Mejia, Lyzabeth Lopez, Tanaashlee and Avaxofit.
10) Don’t make excuses.
You ate too much for dinner, you’re tired, you have too much homework, you could be doing plenty of other things… We’ve heard it all before. But a one-hour workout is only 4% of your day. You can fit in time for a run or a 30-minute lift session 3-5 times a week! Working out has incredible benefits for your mental and physical health, which is something a lot of college students forget to think about. Staying healthy can’t only help you in school, but can also help your self-confidence. So, stop making excuses and push yourself to be the best version of you. It’s possible!
So now you’ve officially ran out of excuses and have plenty of reasons and resources to go workout. Get to the gym!
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