Between tests, homework, social life, netflix, and sleep, it can be tricky to find time in your busy college routine to get a solid workout in. Starting at a young age and continuing throughout my whole childhood, I was a multi-sport athlete. In college, I find it crucial not only physically but also mentally to stay active and sweat it out at least 4-5 times a week. I have compiled a 30 minute workout that gets your heart rate up and gives you the feeling of accomplishment as you leave the gym.
First and foremost, it is important to stretch before exercising. It is easy to pull or tweak a joint or muscle if you try an exercise without loosening up first. Stretching out your quads, hamstrings, calves, abs, and arms is a good idea before getting on a machine.
Now, to the workout.
First up is cardio. Getting a good workout in often involves some form of cardio to get your heart rate up. 10 minutes of riding the bike, running on the treadmill, or using the elliptical will do the trick. If you’re looking for the hardest form of cardio, I recommend running on the treadmill. Adding some elevation and increasing the speed will ‘force’ you to run at a certain pace and therefore hold you accountable to push yourself as you run.
Next up is lifting weights. Lifting is an integral part of staying fit and keeping your body toned. Power cleans, once you have learned how to do them with proper form, are a great way to build leg and back strength, as well as keep your heart rate up after doing your 10 minutes of cardio. Dumbbells are easy to use and they offer a wide range of possible exercises to build arm muscle. Bicep curls, incline bench, shoulder press, rows, lunges, and shoulder shrugs are all great exercises. I usually will pick three or four of these exercises to do each day and I will do three sets of 10 on each exercise, which averages out to roughly 10 minutes.
Lastly, we get to core. Strengthening your core helps improve balance and overall health, not to mention makes you look that much better in that bikini! Some ab exercises that are effective are sit-ups, crunches, scissor lifts, v-ups, lemon squeezed, dips, and russian twists, and planks (side and front-facing). For a great workout, I will do each of the first six exercises listed for 30 seconds, with russian twists for 30 seconds in between every exercise, then I will do side planks on each side for 30 seconds, and to finish it off I will do a two minute plank. This workout is 10 straight minutes of ab work and it pays off!
After your 10 minutes of abs are done, stretch it out one more time. Stretch anything that feels sore or tight right away so it doesn’t come back to hurt you in the next couple days. Cat-cow, downward dog, and the cobra pose are great yoga stretches to do to relax your muscles and bring your heartrate back down.
If you need more guidance on how to do specific exercises, a quick Youtube search will give you video instructions to make sure you are getting the most out of your workouts! I know that going to the gym is sometimes the last thing that anyone wants to do, but if you will yourself to go, you won’t regret it.