Exercising in a college campus gym can be the most intimidating task for many college students. As soon as you walk into a workout room, you are faced with stunning selfie queens and jacked gym bros, which is not a comfortable environment for most people to exercise in.
However, there are other options for college students that need exercise but don’t want to enter the gym of judgement. Students can go for walks around campus, take the stairs rather than the elevator, do basic exercises in their dorm rooms or follow along with workout videos on YouTube. You can also bring small dumbbells and other exercise equipment to use on a daily basis, play some music and dance your heart out, or find other fun exercises.
1. Walking Around Campus
This is the simplest solution to getting exercise without going to the campus gym. Walking is a great way to get your body moving and staying healthy. Go for some walks around your campus and see what it has to offer beyond the classrooms or go for a jog around the athletics teams’ practice fields to take your exercise a step further. If you are as lucky as me and have a state park with a hiking trail right across the street, go for a hike at least once a week to take your exercise off campus and into the beauty of nature. You’d be amazed by what walking can do for your health and wellness.
2. Take the Stairs
While at college, the last thing you want to do is take the stairs up to your dorm room after a long and stressful day, but challenge yourself to avoid the elevator at all costs. By adding stairs to your daily routine, you are increasing the amount of exercise your body is getting. Plus, the stairs make your walk more intense, which helps keep your body in shape and healthy without going to the campus gym’s elliptical machines for essentially the same workout.
3. Basic Exercise in the Dorm Room
You don’t always need to go to the gym to work out; you can do the basics in pretty much any space available to you. Just clear some space in your room and do some push-ups, sit-ups, jumping jacks and any other exercises you can think of. You could also use the walls in your dorm to do some wall-sits as well. The gym also offers equipment to enhance your exercise routines. However, you can still have a successful workout with these basic exercises in your dorm room.
4. Workout Videos
If you are leaning more toward the dorm room workout trend but want to stray from basic exercises like sit-ups and jumping jacks, you can always go to YouTube and search for unique workout videos. This way you can mix up the style of the workouts you are doing so it won’t be boring for you — because we all know if it gets too boring, it stops happening.
5. Small Exercise Equipment
If you really are interested in including more weightlifting workouts but have realized the gym is not the place for you, purchase some dumbbells and any other small equipment such as jump ropes. You can bring them to campus with you to have other options besides just going to the gym. You can then create a workout routine using these tools and exercise without leaving the comfort of your dorm room instead of being forced into the college gym where you fear judgment.
6. Dance Party
Exercising and staying in shape can be fun, too. You just have to keep your body moving, and one way to do that is to dance. Turn on your favorite party playlist to sing and jump around for hours. This form of exercising may not be as immediately effective. However, the longer you do it, the more exercise your body is going to receive — and you’ll never really get bored of having fun, right? This could be a more effective way to exercise for those who don’t particularly like working out in the first place.
Overall, there are many alternatives to going to the judgment gym at your college. You just have to sit down and make sure you have a schedule and a workout plan that you will be able to follow through with during your semester.
