Calories on Campus: Beyond the all-or-nothing diet

I know most of you are probably extremely confused by this title, because it is something that most people don’t commonly think of. But, I am telling you, walking backwards for a workout is so beneficial.

At first it feels a little strange to do this, but right away I could feel it was forcing my leg muscles to work very hard. When I first started doing this, I started on a very low speed to get the hang of it. As you feel more comfortable, you can increase your speed. When I run on the track, I even run backwards from time to time because it forces your body to workout in a new and different way.

Another version of this that I really love to do is walking backwards on a 10 incline. While you’re doing this workout, it may feel like you’re not burning that many calories but I have found that this is a great way to burn a large amount of calories.

While researching online for new workouts, I found an article that discussed the benefits of running or walking backwards which is why I really got into it. Here’s an image that discusses some of the benefits:

I found it to be extremely interesting that running one lap backwards offers the same benefits as running six laps forwards. You may feel a little weird doing this but why not try it if it will help get your body in shape?!

I have found that after doing this workout, the back of my legs are extremely sore which is how I know it is really working my muscles. If you’re willing to try something new, I suggest giving this a try!

Happy Eating,

Anne

For some people, making up new work outs is very easy. I am definitely not one of those people, I tend to stick with the same workout for quite a while. However, it is extremely important that you switch up your workouts when you go the the gym.

Let’s start with weight lifting, if you work the same muscles every day, lifting the same exact weights, you will only bulk up that certain part of your body. It’s important to work all the muscles in your body. Even if you don’t want to have huge muscles, still work that part of your body, just with a lower weight. This will help keep your body toned.

Now for cardio. If you love running on the treadmill, and do it every day, you are actually doing a disservice to yourself. Doing the same workout everyday actually makes your body immune to it, and will not allow you to burn the maximum amount of calories. Now, I’m not saying if you love to run, you shouldn’t run. But you should think about switching up your run everyday. Do different speeds, different inclines, different intervals. This will keep your body moving, and burning calories instead of just getting used to the same routine every day.

If you’re having trouble thinking of new things to try at the gym, look online, ask a friend, or just ask someone else at the gym, most people are more than willing to help. Finding new workouts will not only help you get the most of your workout, but will prevent you from getting bored, and will ultimately help your motivation to hit the gym.

Happy Eating,

Anne

I’m back to give you another workout that can be done in the comfort in your own home, so now you really have no excuses as to why you can’t workout. This is personally one of my favorite (and hardest) workouts. It is only 25 minutes long, so it can be done at any point of the day. It is called the HIT challenge, and here’s what you do:

30 seconds on, 30 seconds off…

High Knees,

Mountain Climbers,

Squat Jumps,

Burpees,

Jumping Jacks

Repeat for 4 more rounds.

That is how simple it is. The HIT challenge is another interval workout, you know how much I love those, and it picks up your heart rate very quickly. I really like this workout because all the moves are simple, you don’t need to look up how to do them. I will warn you though, just by looking at this workout, it seems extremely easy, but it definitely is not. By about the third round, you are dripping in sweat, and wishing it would be over.

The HIT challenge is also easily interchangeable. For example, if you’ve got bad knees and can’t do burpees you can replace that move with something that is easier for you. It is also interchangeable in the fact that you can make the workout longer or shorter. I don’t advice making it shorter, because then you won’t have the best results. But let’s say five rounds seems too easy for you, you could bump it up to seven rounds, or even more if you’re feeling really energetic. Whatever way you cut it, this workout will definitely help you burn a large amount of calories in a short amount of time. Good luck!

Happy Eating,

Anne

One of the biggest struggles for college students is that they can’t always afford a gym membership. However, working out on your own, and trying to make up your own workouts can be extremely challenging as well. If you’re looking for a quick and convenient workout to do right in the comfort of your own home, you’ve come to the right place.

The Sworkit app has pretty much saved my life during my college years. This app is very helpful because it sets up a workout for you, all you do is follow along. It also allows you to pick what you want to workout, whether it be strength, cardio, yoga, or stretching, there’s something for everyone. In the strength category, you can pick between full body, upper body, core, or lower body which makes it very easy to focus on one area at a time. One of my favorite things about this app is that you can pick how long you want your workout to be, ranging anywhere from 5-60 minutes. So even if you only have a few minutes between work and class, you can still get a quick workout in.

This app is very helpful for people who struggle with making up their own workouts because it tells you exactly what you’re doing, for how long, and what is coming next. Not only does it tell you what you’re doing, but it also shows you an example of how to do the move, just in case you’ve never seen it before. Sworkit also sets up the workouts to be in interval form, which gets your heart rate up quick, and can help you burn a major amount of calories in a short amount of time.

So whether it be you’re pinching pennies, and can’t buy a membership, or you’re just feeling too lazy to go all the way to the gym (it happens to the best of us) Sworkit can help you release the guilt you may feel when you’re eating that extra cookie later.

Happy Eating,

Anne

I have never really enjoyed just going on a long run for my workout, personally it’s too boring, and my body just wasn’t made for that. I don’t want to bash on people who just get on a treadmill and knock out five miles, I envy them actually. However, I don’t think my body is capable of running more than one mile without wanting to die. Instead, I have started doing interval runs, and all I can say is, holy calories burned. Here is the interval I do:

-Minutes 0-4: Run, Speed: 6.4, Incline: 0

-Minute 4-5: Run, Speed: 5.5, Incline: 5.5

-Minutes 5-9: Walk, Speed: 3.4, Incline: 11

-Minute 9-10: Walk, Speed: 3.4, Incline: 2

-Repeat, total time of workout: 60 minutes

You can really change the speed of any of the intervals, those are just what works best for me. I really enjoy interval workouts because they force you to get the most out of your time. I’m sure most college students are like me, they don’t have time to be at the gym for hours, so doing intervals really makes you work in a short amount of time. Interval runs are also amazing for burning calories. This workout spikes your heart rate, and then forces you to have a “rest” period which lowers your heart rate. This back and forth is what causes so many calories to be burned. It has also been found that any type of interval or circuit workout allows you to burn calories even after you have finished your workout. You are capable of burning calories for up to 48 hours after you’ve finished your workout, depending on how difficult your circuit was. So, if you’re like me, and you’ve got to burn those calories in the shortest amount of time, interval runs just may be your answer.

Happy Eating,

Anne

Being a college student usually means being absolutely broke. If you can’t afford a gym membership, it can be extremely difficult to get a good workout in. And if you’re like me, running just isn’t your thing, so you’ve got to get creative. A really effective, and free, workout I’ve started doing when the weather allows, is bleacher runs. I’m not going to lie, they are hell. Absolute hell. But they also burn an unbelievable amount of calories (and make you feel like a total badass.) My favorite way to do this workout is to incorporate cardio as well as strength training. I do this by doing intervals. Usually, I’ll run up and down the bleachers as fast as I can, then do some sort of strength activity in between. So if I decided to work on arms that day, I could do push ups, triceps dips, etc. If I were working on legs, I could do squats, calf raises, etc. I would usually do this interval workout for an hour.

On other days I’ve made this workout strictly cardio. I’ll put 30 pounds in a backpack and run the bleachers and take 2 minutes in between to rest. If you don’t have free weights, you could use books or any other heavy objects as your weights. This workout can be modified very easily, you can add more weight, harder strength activities, or make anything easier, depending on how hard you want to work. I really enjoy doing this workout with a couple friends because it helps motivate me to work harder, and it’s honestly just more fun. So, if you don’t have money for a gym membership, but you have bleachers near by, you’ve got no more excuses.

Happy Eating,

Anne