Winter Workouts: When it's too Cold to go to the Gym

This past week has shown all of the non-native New Englanders just how vicious the winter can be up here. The thought of setting foot in the cold is kind of unfathomable. I mean, I try to find every excuse in the book not to workout, and this weather makes it that much easier to throw in the towel.

Fortunately, you can workout in your own dorm room! Clear out your floor space, put on your workout clothes, and let’s get to it!

I always do cardio first, because it’s easier, more fun, and totally gets your heart pumping! The best way to get some cardio in while staying indoors is by just having a dance party. Nothing says college like having a dance party at 3 pm in you dorm room… But honestly, grab your roommate, friends or just yourself, put on your favorite dance playlist and get moving! Go for as long as you would in the gym. 20 minutes on the elliptical means 20 minutes dancing like no one is watching!  Dancing not only improves flexibility, strength, and endurance, but it also helps mentally. What’s not to like about it?!

After you have gotten all your stress out with 20 minutes of straight dance, it is time to tone and sculpt your body. There are TONS of exercises you can do without any equipment whatsoever. And the best part about being in a dorm room is that when you feel you need to add weight to an exercise, all you have to do is grab one of your ridiculously heavy textbooks and pretend it’s a dumbbell. If you aren’t privileged enough to own an eight-pound biology textbook, just double up with smaller textbooks until you get the weight you want! Here are some exercises you can do with or without your textbooks to still get a great workout in:

SQUATS

If you don’t do squats, you might as well just shoot yourself in the kneecaps. Okay, don’t do that, but start incorporating squats into your workouts. There are so many variations of squats you can do. Stand with the feet hip-width apart, make sure your knees don’t go over your toes, and pretend you are about to sit down in a really low chair (like toddler-sized chair). You can keep your arms out for balanced, or you can hold a textbook to add more difficulty! You can take that textbook and pretend it’s a kettle bell:  start swinging it over your head and back as you squat. There are so many different things you can do while squatting to get a full body workout in!

LUNGES

These make everyone and their moms cry because they are so painful, but they work just as great as those squats to make you feel like you just went to the gym. Again, there are so many variations to the lunge. You can do a side lunge, a reverse lunge, split squats, or leaps. You name an exercise, and somehow you can incorporate a lunge in there. Again, add a textbook for added difficulty. Hold it up above your head or do some bicep curls with it. Maybe learning through osmosis works when you’re burning calories (maybe not, but I’ll pretend to make myself feel better).

PLANKS

Eliminate the crunches and sit-ups from your workout, and start putting planks in there. The best part about a plank is that you can actually study while doing them. Read a paragraph while you are in plank position from your textbook, rest, and repeat. You will have rock-hard abs and straight A’s in no time! Again, there are many variations to the plank as well. You can do a standard plank in push-up position or you can go down to your forearms. You can do side planks, alternate lifting your legs, or start punching the air. Really, whatever you want to do, you can probably do while holding a plank.

PUSH-UPS

The best workout for your arms, core, back, really your entire body, is the push-up. There are so many variations to this too, depending on the distance between your hands. If you can’t do regular push-ups, do press-ups (aka girl push-ups) with your knees on the floor. Anyway you do it, you are getting a great full-body workout that is toning your body (and getting you ready for spring break!).

Just because it’s cold outside, doesn’t mean you can’t workout. When the weather gets to the negatives, just remember that working out in your dorm can be as productive, effective, and fun as working out at FitRec!

The Best Nutrition & Fitness Apps

For someone new to a healthy lifestyle, the gym can be one of the most daunting places on campus. FitRec is often crawling with students who look like part-time bodybuilders, not to mention those workout machines that resemble ancient torture devices. So first I’d like to commend you for stepping out and heading to the gym! You are not alone in this new world of running shoes and broccoli (and adorable Lululemon yoga pants). And with the busy schedule and limited resources of a Collegiette™ like yourself, leading a healthy lifestyle can be pretty difficult. Here’s a list of the health and fitness apps that keep me on track.

NIKE+ Running
This is by far my favorite running app. It syncs with your iPod to give you the best running experience andtracker! Unfortunately, you need the Nike+ iPod
gadgets ($29.00 at Apple) to track everything, but if you are a Nike fanatic, you will love it. You can tell your iPod how long you want to run for (miles and time) and it does all the work for you, even alerting you how far you have gone periodically. Then, when it syncs with Nike+ Running, you can see how far you ran, your average mile time, and how many calories you burned. You can even rate how it felt so that you can compare runs and track your progress!

RunKeeper
This one is for you Asics lovers…RunKeeper gets more personal. They ask for your weight and height, skill level, and your running goals (lose weight, finish a race, etc). With all that information, they give you a goal to hit like running a 5k in 10 weeks. Then, it gives you different training schedules to choose from so you don’t even have to think about it! You just follow what it says and accomplish your lofty running goals!

Nike Training Club
Okay, you guessed it. I love Nike. This app works for everyone and absolutely no gadgets are needed! First, you choose what goal you wish to achieve (Get Lean, Get Toned, Get Strong, or Get Focused). Next, you put in your skill level and the app gives you a few workouts you can choose from that are hard enough to make you sweat but easy enough for your skill level. Also, every time you finish a certain amount of workouts, it rewards you with a new title (and getting rewards is everyone’s favorite thing).

Daily Workouts
This app is a bit more flexible than the others. Every day, you just pick what you want to work on, whether it’s abs, arms, butt, legs, cardio, or even full body. Then you pick how long you want to work out for (5-30 minutes) and it goes through each workout with you until the workout is complete. I love using this one when I don’t feel like leaving my room but I want a workout because no equipment is needed for any of the moves!

ShopWell

I have become obsessed with this one. It starts off by getting all your information, your nutritional goals, what you find important in your diet, what you want to minimize in your diet, and any allergies you may have. Next time you go shopping, you can scan in a barcode of a product you may want to buy and it will let you know if it is a strong match for you. Not only that, but it ranks it by percentage so you know how strong of a match it is. It also tells you what part of the nutrition facts label pertains to you, as well as what in the ingredient list works (and doesn’t work) for your specifications. If something is a poor match, it will tell you why, and then give you suggestions of similar products that better fit into your qualifications.

MyFitnessPal
Have you ever heard that journaling what you eat is the best way to lose weight? Well, it helps tremendously and this app makes it so much easier! Again, this app asks for the usual height, weight, and goals information. It then sets up how much calories you should eat in a day along with the breakdown of carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. All you do is type in what you ate for each meal and it calculates your daily caloric intake. Then, you can go back and see what you ate on the days you may have had too much sugar or sodium. Very useful for us non-math majors!

So, there you go! Download all or some of these (FREE) apps and kick your healthy butt into gear - soon that overwhelming feeling you’ve been experiencing at the gym will be a thing of the past!

Your Post-Holiday Workout!

We all party a bit too hard during the holidays.  I mean, it’s the one time of the year that it’s socially acceptable to dress however you want and do whatever you want, so why not?  Unfortunately, all that candy and alcohol takes a pretty big toll on our bodies.  It’s great to have an awesome night out with your friends, but now it’s time to put your butt back in gear and rejuvenate!

First, let’s talk about your diet.  For the next few days, hydration is key.  Alcohol is a diuretic, which means it increases urination.  You definitely need to be drinking at least 8-10 ounces of water for a few days to get your energy back up.

Don’t skip any meals.  Skipping meals will lower your caloric intake.  Calories = Energy.  Without sufficient calories, you won’t have the energy to do anything productive, so be sure to get all your meals in!  Also, now more than ever your body needs to be recharged with nutrients, considering how many you lost (especially the micronutrients) from consuming alcohol.

Choose the right foods.  Eating a bag of chips will probably make you feel better short-term, but it isn’t the best option.  Going for whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and lean cuts of protein will give your body the right nutrients it needs.  Plus, you’ll feel a lot better about yourself long-term because you chose to eat the right things!

Let’s move on to the workout I put together.  It’s only 16 minutes long, making it a perfect workout to do if you’re still a little hungover.  It incorporates cardio and strength, exhausting all the muscles in your body so that you get that perfect body you’ve been working on all semester back.  There are a total of 4 moves, so it’s easy to remember and easy to do!

1.   Push-ups.  The standard push-up is one of the best full-body exercises. Starting in plank position, lower your body by bending at your elbows until they are forming a right angle.  You can modify by putting your knees on the ground or putting your hands on a bench/chair for an incline.  Do a set for 30 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before moving on to…

2.   Split Squat Jumps.  Think of these as just alternating lunge jumps.  Start in a lunge with your dominant foot in front.  Then, jump and switch so that you land in a lunge with your non-dominant foot in front.  Make sure your knee never goes in front of your foot; keep it aligned with your ankle.  These are great for tightening your core, butt and thighs. Again, do a set for 30 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds!

3.  Jump-in, Jump-outs.  Starting in a downward dog position, jump and move your legs in closer to your arms.  Then, jump back out into downward dog.  It’s really simple, but so effective!  Like the others, do this for 30 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds.

4.   Leg Scissors. Lying on your back with your hands under your butt, raise your legs about one foot off the ground. Lift your shoulders as you start to alternate one leg over the other.  This works your core and legs like no other!  Do a set for 30 seconds and then rest for 10 seconds before going to the last move.

Repeat this cycle a total of 6 times! In no time, you will have your pre-Holiday body back!