Your heart is racing. Your palms are sweaty. You begin to feel separation anxiety setting in. Without the luxury of the Gantcher Center right in your backyard, how are you ever going to keep up the exercise regime that you have worked so hard to develop over the fall semester?
Stop worrying! (Finals provide enough anxiety ... ) It is possible to keep up with an exercise routine in the comfort of your own home with no big bulky workout equipment required. Perform this routine three times per week, over break, giving yourself at least 24-hours between sessions, and you will return to the Gantcher in great shape for the spring semester.
Perform 8-12 repetitions of each exercise. Beginners should do one set, intermediate exercisers should do two sets, and advanced exercisers should do three sets.
Check out the American Council on Exercise's (ACE) exercise library to see the proper form for each exercise below: http://www.acefitness.org/getfit/freeexercise.aspx
Push-up: This exercise provides a great workout for your shoulders, triceps (back of your upper arm), and chest muscles. Don't be scared: while many of you may have horror stories about trying to do push-ups in high school gym class, there are beginner and intermediate versions of the push-up that make it easier and more appropriate for people at every level of fitness.
Beginner: Wall push-up
Intermediate: Modified push-up
Advanced: Standard push-up
Squats: This exercise works the major muscles in your legs: the quadriceps (front of your thigh) and the hamstrings (back of your thigh). It also works your glutes (your butt muscles). The closer your thighs get to being parallel to the ground, the harder this exercise will feel. One word of caution - if you have knee pain, be very careful when doing this exercise - never lower yourself to the point of pain. If you do feel pain, stop immediately.
Abdominal Curl: The exercise focuses on the rectus abdominis: the major abdominal muscle. You can use it to work your obliques (sides of your abdomen) by adding a twist: Bring your right elbow toward your left knee and vice versa. To make this exercise more difficult, raise your legs off the floor while performing the exercise.
Don't forget to do your cardio, too! Try to take a walk as often as you can while you are busy enjoying your time away from school.
Happy winter break!
Mary Kennedy is a graduate student in Nutrition Communication at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Kennedy is also the editor of Balance.
