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!