Ever taken a walk to the rec center and found it packed with little room for more? Especially when the New Year’s resolution crew is invading for the first two months of every year, only to discontinue shortly after. Working out at the rec can also become an anxious moment for some, lowering self-esteem when others with more experience are throwing up high numbers or participating in an all-out Navy SEALs training regimen.
Have you ever stopped to think about your other options? You don’t necessarily need a complete gym in order to get into the best shape of your life; you can achieve it right in your dorm room. By following a few rules, you can be on your way to your dream physique.
A workout that includes everyday items is included here. Now, this workout alone will not get you a fight club-worthy body. A lot of commitment and sacrifice comes with achieving a body like that.
Warm up
You’d be surprised by the importance of this. Muscles can become tightened and need to be loosened up before any kind of exercise regimen. The last thing you want is to have to take a ride to St. Ann’s because your dorm room workout was too intense.
My suggestion is to fill your backpack up to a weight that is comfortable for you, yet still a challenge, and walk around the dorm for 15 minutes. While doing so, loosen up your arms with a nice, easy stretch. If you’re so inclined, go ahead and do a few minutes of jumping jacks. That will get your heart rate going and some calories burning.
Workout
Usually in these types of articles you’ll find there’s a specific day for everything. For example, chest and triceps one day followed by back and biceps another day. It’s doubtful anyone living on campus has got a full-sized weight bench and a Smith machine lying around in front of the television. With the dorm workout, that won’t be necessary. Do the following exercises whenever you have time. In the morning, between classes, at night before bed. It’s totally up to you.
Pushups
Yes, those dreadful things your high school gym teacher made you do before every class. A common calisthenics exercise, yet highly effective. Pushups exercise the pectoral muscles, triceps and anterior deltoids, with ancillary benefits to the rest of the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole. That’s a whole lot of muscles you probably didn’t even know you had.
Mix in a few variations and you already have a great start. Make sure to use your pectorals in particular. A good tool that many find helpful is to pretend your arms are numb and push up with your chest while flexing at the same time. You want your arms to do the least of the work.Try doing a few variations of it, something that looks like this:
- Three sets of 15 pushups
- Three sets of 15 inclined pushups (put your hands on your desk)
- Three sets of 15 declined pushups (put your feet on your chair)
You may not be able to complete all the reps on the first try, especially all in a row. That’s fine — it should take you some time and even set a goal for your future workouts.
Water bottle biceps curl
What could be more hardcore than pumping a few water bottles while your friends cheer you on? Well, that probably isn’t the case, but it will sure make them jealous once they see the results you’re getting.
If you’re feeling like the Hulk, go ahead and use a milk jug filled with sand or water. By simply activating the muscle, you are making it work. Even a little resistance aids in muscle growth and gets rid of lactic acid buildup throughout the day. It’s also a great thing to do before going out on the town. Nobody has to even know, and you can go out with a great feeling from not only the endorphins being released, but because you have a massive pump.
Keep your elbows to the side and flex your biceps as you slowly raise and lower the weight. It’s the same situation as the pushups: You want to be using only your biceps. The most important rule is to make sure you’re feeling the bicep work. Go ahead and give this a try:
- Five sets of 25 (slow and persistent; the goal is to maximize the pump)
Plank
You don’t need to find a pirate ship to do this workout. A great core exercise is the plank. Used in yoga classes, this exercise targets various parts of your upper body including arms, back, legs and internal abdomen muscles. All it takes is a little open floor space in your dorm room.
1. Similar to a pushup position, start face down, but rather than supporting yourself with just your hands, rest on your elbows and hands.
2. Keep your neck and spine naturally straight and tighten your glutes and abdominal muscles.
3. Hold this position for 30-60 seconds and repeat as many times as you can.
Wall sits
These are great for working your butt and thighs. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, about one to two feet away from the wall. Lean so that your back is in contact with the wall. Bend your knees, sliding down the wall until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Push your arms into the wall behind you to engage your triceps and shoulders, too. Try to work your way up to a minute and do that three times.
All of these are just suggestions to get you started. It really is easy to work out just about anywhere. As you improve, start to make things a bit more difficult. Add some weight to your back while doing pushups, try to hold your plank longer and get lower on the wall sits. It’s all about the improvements.
The most important topic in the fitness world is that of nutrition. A wise man named Jay Cutler, the former Mr. Olympia, once told me that obtaining your fitness goal takes dedication, specifically in diet. It was stated that improved fitness is 80 percent in your diet and 20 percent in your workout. After five years of dedicating myself, I have found that that number is spot on.
You can work out all you want with a perfect program in both cardio and weightlifting, but if you’re eating a McDonald’s double cheeseburger for your post-workout meal, you will have a long way to go before reaching anything of quality.
A good diet includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, a good amount of lean protein (such as chicken, eggs, turkey and fish) and a lot of water. Supplements are most definitely not required, but if you feel like it would help, I recommend picking what I like to call the big three: fish oils, a multivitamin and a quality tub of protein powder. Instead of wasting countless dollars on supplements promising results that are unobtainable, pick up quality versions of the big three and you won’t regret it.
You are what you eat. Choose the right foods, follow a strict workout regimen, use the right supplements and before you know it you will see your body morph right in front of you. There aren’t too many things in this world that are more satisfying than sticking with a goal and conquering it. You can do it; the only one stopping you is yourself.
