The minute I got home, New Jersey was ranked in the top five most infectious states in the country for COVID-19, making productivity minimal. The majority of businesses shut down, leaving most people, like me, unemployed with no access to workout facilities. As a student-athlete, I went from training 20 hours per week and spending late nights studying at the library to having an excess amount of time on my hands. Going from an established routine to not having any routine was mentally a challenge. However, once I let my creativity take the lead, I was able to fully adjust to a new routine.
Mental health is crucial during this state of emergency we are in with the world. What helped me was adding some structure to my day: getting an early start, eating a healthy breakfast, and grinding on an intense workout from one of my favorite fitness trainers I discovered online named Cristina Capron.
Cristina Capron is a 25-year-old fitness trainer from Michigan. I like her because she posts short at-home workout circuits on her Instagram page, so whenever I am at a loss for ideas, I pull her account up and pick from her feed!
She also has a free app called CCFIT with a more extensive selection. There is an entire category dedicated to bodyweight-only workouts, which, because of the pandemic, is safe for those who want to work out in their dorms during the fall semester. Most of them are no longer than 20 minutes long, which is ideal for us hard-working scholars with busy schedules! Here are three ab workouts that I found on her app and Instagram, which personally worked for me. These circuits are for all athletic abilities.
“Advanced Ab Workout” 3x:
Reverse crunches 00:30
Full plank crunches 00:30
Sit-ups 00:30
Single leg reverse crunches 00:30
Figure 8’s 00:30
“Full Ab Workout” 4x:
Full side planks 00:30
Forearm plank with hip twist 00:30
Single leg reverse crunches 00:30
Split leg v ups 00:30
Up down plank with jumping jacks 00:30
“Abs & Cardio” 4x:
Mountain climbers 00:30
Flutter kicks 00:30
Squat to reverse lunge 00:30
Up down plank to push up 00:30
Russian twists 00:30
There are hundreds of other fitness trainers that produce free at-home workouts, whether it be on an app or a social media platform, that can fit your personal needs and goals. Going back to school during a global pandemic can take a toll on our mental health, affecting our social and academic standing. Therefore, it is essential to make sure we are checking in with ourselves, our peers, and find activities that bring us happiness. And if, like me, that means staying productive and active, I hope you give these workouts a try!