It’s happened to everyone- springtime comes around and you are SO excited to wear cutoffs and sundresses again, but when we put on our spring clothes we wonder where those few extra pounds we put on over the winter came from. It’s a constant battle against alcohol calories and unhealthy dining hall food to stay fit on college campuses, but when you add the opportunity to curl up in bed with Netflix when it snows instead of trekking through the freezing cold to the gym in the winter, it’s an even tougher to get there. Everyone loses motivation to work out when you can hide in oversized sweaters and leggings all winter, but HC is here to help you win the battle against adding those wintertime pounds with these motivational tips:
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Get a partner: Nothing makes you feel guiltier for skipping the gym than a friend depending on you. Grab a friend that is already good about going regularly or join forces with someone else who needs a little motivation too and stick to your schedule. This takes the boredom out of your workout when you have someone to gossip with on the elliptical or show you some great new abs exercises. A great thing to do is check out your school’s group exercise schedule and pick out new classes to try. If you were too nervous to try one alone, now you’ve found someone to experience it with you!
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Pick something to train for: So many of us curl up in our warm, cozy beds and tell ourselves that it’s really not that big of a deal if we just skip the gym for one day. But then one day turns into two, and soon your sneakers are accumulating dust in your closet. A great fix for this problem is to have something to train for. If you’re looking for something at a low level, there are great couch-to-5k programs that will have you running over three miles with ease in no time. Just pick an event in your area and sign up! If you’re feeling even more ambitious, maybe sign up for a half marathon or a longer race that would be rewarding for you! For longer races, you can find day-by-day schedules online, so you’ll be motivated to stick to the program and accomplish your goal!
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Set a long-term goal for spring break: It seems so far away right now, but spring break always pops up before you know it. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve tried on that little bikini, but if you’re planning a trip for this spring break you still want to look hot and feel confident on the beach. Set a goal to reach by then, such as a target weight or just to look hot in your favorite bathing suit, and keep working until you get there!
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Dorm room workout: So we have to admit, some days when the wind is whipping and snow is falling it really does look too miserable outside to get to the gym. When this happens, dorm room workouts are perfect to get your heart rate up and burn some calories. They’re all over Pinterest, and some great videos can even be found on youtube. So, pop in a p-90x DVD or find an interval workout on the internet, most of which won’t take more than a half hour, and you’ll be sure to feel great after.
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Plan a day to get exercise outside of the gym: The same gym routine day after day is physically as well as mentally exhausting. In this case, make plans to switch up and make a trip of it. A day of hiking, biking, or even a ski trip can be so much fun with a group of good friends, and it will give you a great workout as well. Most ski mountains offer student discounts on life tickets, so be sure to bring your student ID with you for great deals!
- Commercial workouts during your favorite show: With busy schedules full of work, exams, clubs, and group meetings we all have to keep our sanity somehow. For many of us, it’s those one or two hours a week that we leave free to watch the latest episode of our favorite show with some girlfriends. Even during this hour or so you can get in some quick toning work with a commercial or tv show workout. For example, do a different exercise for 30 second intervals during every commercial break, or design a game with your friends for during the show. If every time Aria got a text from A on Pretty Little Liars you had to do 20 crunches, you’d have awesome abs in no time!