Has midterm season gutted you and left you devoid of any motivation? Don’t want to leave your room to go to the gym? Temperature too cold to run in Riverside Park anymore (sadly)? Have no fear. This week, I found myself in a similar situation as you, dear reader, and could not bring myself to walk in the cold all the way to Barnard gym from Plimpton (yes, sophomore slump has hit me hard). What with the chaos of Dodge replacement machinery all of last week, I was left to find an alternative within the comforts of my own dorm.
What I’ve listed below are two different workouts: one is simply aimed at getting your heart rate up, while the other is a butt lift and leg workout.
Cardio:
3 sets/rounds of each:
15 burpees: Make sure you make it to a full straight jump at the end.
Picture by Ideal Me
50 mountain climbers: Keep your core tight; don’t let your hips rotate as you switch legs.
Picture by Beth Bischoff
20 jump squats: Don’t let your knees turn in as you squat and get low!
Picture by Wiki How To
Rest for (maximum) two minutes and then go back to the top and restart!
Glute Blast:
5 rounds total:
25 wall squats: slow on the way down and come up 2 times slower!
Picture by Beth Bischoff/Women’s Health Magazine
25 air squats: Don’t let your knees turn in!
Picture by Heidi Powell
25 (of each leg) single leg lunges: Slow on the way down and explode up; keep your core engaged!
Picture by Yuri Elkaim
Wait two minutes (at most), and then go back to the beginning for another round!
If you get to the end of this workout and don’t feel like you’ve done quite enough, try 100 calf raises—50 parallel, 25 turned in and 25 turned out.
AND:
Don’t forget about those abs! Lay down on your rug or yoga mat (slip a pillow underneath your lower back if you have back problems) and get started:
100 sit ups (can be done 4 sets of 25): Pull with your abdominals first.
5×30 seconds flutter kicks: Make sure there’s no gap between your back and the floor.
30 side sit-ups: These are more about smaller pulses than regular sit-ups-no need to reach super high.
Congrats! You’ve completed a workout in your own dorm without any machinery but your own body! Now you can feel refreshed to get back to studying with a newfound intensity.