Workouts That Work for Me as a College Student
Isabella Cannon
| 3 min read
I’ve found that college is a great time to create healthy habits through regular practice of physical activity. While every person is different, here are some workouts that work for me as a college student:
Morning walks
Whether I’m staying at home or commuting to school, I like to start my day with a 15-30-minute walk outside. I have found a real improvement in my productivity and energy levels when I start my day off with an outdoor walk, first thing.
If I’m at home, I’ll throw on my tennis shoes and walk around my neighborhood. If I’m on campus, I’ll do a lap around the paths near my class when it's nice out or visit the indoor recreational center track when it’s cold or rainy. Listening to positive and encouraging music during my morning walk helps uplift my mood and mindset for the day.
In the gym
I try to get into the gym and do strength training three to five times a week. Typically, I alternate between upper body and lower body focused days to ensure proper recovery and a range of conditioning.
Upper Body Workouts
Since I weight train three to five days a week, I typically break my upper body days into two different focuses based on what muscles I’m working out.
Overall, I do two to three upper body days a week and one to two lower body days depending on if it’s a three-day or five-day gym week. I give myself a range because I want to be realistic about my time while getting in the most effective workout possible for my weeks with different workloads or schedules.
I typically do three sets of 10 for each workout and choose weight that is challenging, without compromising my form.
Back and biceps:
- Standing dumbbell curls
- Hamer curls
- Cross body alternating bicep curls
- Lat pulldowns
- Standing cable row
- Assisted pull-ups
Chest and triceps:
- Chest Press
- Bench press
- Chest fly
- Overhead triceps extension
- Triceps rope push-down
Lower body workouts
I’m not much of a runner, but I have found that incline walking on the treadmill produces a similar cardiovascular effect while building your endurance. On my lower body focused days, I start on the treadmill at incline level 10, speed 3.5, and try to warm up my lower body muscles and core for about 10 minutes.
Then I do three sets of 10 of each exercise. I will use dumbbells or a smith machine to add weight to these exercises depending on what part of the gym is less crowded.
- Alternating forward lunges
- Squats
- Romanian deadlifts
- Hip thrusts
- Leg press
- Calf raises
Active rest days
On the days I’m not strength training in the gym, I enjoy low impact Pilates and yoga routines. These can be great for stretching out sore muscles or building a stronger core. Some days, I follow a 10–30-minute guided YouTube video. When I’m not in the mood for that, here are some of my go-to poses and exercises for an active rest day or recovery:
Yoga poses and stretches:
- Downward dog
- Copra pose
- Alternating cat and cow pose
- Child’s pose
- Plank pose
- Bridge pose
- Camel pose
- Alternating low lunges
Pilates and abdominal exercises:
- Single leg stretch
- Bicycle crunches
- Plank leg lifts
- Slow motion mountain climbers
- Russian twists
- Bird-dog crunches
- Toe taps
