Let’s be serious, for both men and women of college age, looking your physical best is important. Strength training helps to sculpt your muscles, so that you appear fit and healthy.

Keeping a workout routine while in school can be difficult at best; however, the combination of cardio and some easy in-dorm strength training will be enough to help you become fit. You do not need the giant university weight room to get the muscle definition you desire (although it would be good to go when you feel motivated). You will be on your way to tip-top shape in no time if you follow the easy exercises outlined below.

As cheesy as it may sound, march in place. Anything that gets your arms and legs involved is a good way to maintain muscle. Challenge yourself, and see how long you can do it for. Lift your legs high; it’s not as easy as it looks!

Take advantage of the stairs in your building. My building last year had twelve floors, making for a stair runner’s nirvana. Running stairs counts as both cardio and strength training. It is a superb way to build up your leg muscles, and you will even feel the burn in your abs.

There are numerous kinds of squats, and they each have the power to benefit you in different ways. Squats can build up your leg muscles, abs, as well as firm your glutes. Correct form is imperative though.

Jumping jacks are more than just an activity for little kids. Jumping jacks can build muscle on your shoulders, abs, thighs, and calves. Again, challenge yourself. Try to do five more each time.

My grandfather taught me one of the classic ways to build arm muscle if your only workout equipment is a desk. Stand in front of the desk, and place your hands at the edge, lean and do push-ups off the desk. Always remember, your own body weight offers the best natural resistance to build muscle.

Sit-ups, combined with cardio, are a near guarantee to flatten your stomach if done on a regular basis. During study breaks or between classes, do 50 sit-ups.

As Lady Gaga said, “Just Dance.” When it comes to strength training, this could not ring more true. Dancing at a fast pace will count as your cardio, and surprisingly, can be a great strength training tool. Crank up the music in your dorm, and just let loose!

The final tip is to invest in some 10-15 lb. weights to keep in your dorm. Just doing some simple reps with these will give you arm muscles worthy of envy in less than a month. Always remember, no pain, no gain!

With an opportunity as simple as this, why not give it a try?  (Of course, you should check with your physician before starting any new exercise regimen.)

I. Tea Push-ups from Kristen at Simply Savor

This exercise is one of my favorites and can be performed anywhere with a counter top (think kitchen, bathroom sink, etc.)  As my morning coffee is brewing or last night’s leftovers are reheating in the microwave, I’ll begin doing push-ups on the counter.

1. Stand 1-2 feet away from the counter.

2. Place both hands, shoulder width apart, on the countertop.

3. Begin push-up by bending at the elbows to lower yourself until chest is hovering above counter.  [You can perform the push-up 2 ways: 1- keeping your elbows in by your sides (works triceps and biceps) or 2- the traditional form with your elbows out (incorporates shoulders and chest)].

4. Return  to starting position by extending elbows straight to lift back up.

5. Repeat.

Things to remember:

1. Keep your core (abdominals) engaged for stability and strength.

2. Inhale on your way down, exhale on your way up.

II. Tricep Dips- in a chair from Lisa at Solo Fitness

1. Sit on the edge of a chair, place your hands on the edge also, and your legs hip width apart. Move your body forward so your buttocks are off the chair, weight resting on your hands and feet, knees at a 90 degree angle.

2. Inhale and bend your knees and elbows, slowly lower your buttock nearly to the floor. Exhale as you straighten your arms and lift your buttocks. Repeat 10 times.

3. Keep your knees over your heels as you lower and lift. Keep your buttock close to the chair.

4. Progress to 2 and 3 sets of 10.

III. Push-ups from Keri at Iron Mountain Movement

1. Place hands under shoulders, slightly wider than shoulders.

2. For those just starting, work from your knees, start with neutral spine (head and neck in line with your spine, think about “bracing” abdominals, which also will engage erector spinae protecting your back.

3. Lower your body toward the mat by bending your elbows and push back up to start position. Inhale to lower, exhale to lift.

4.  To increase intensity try working from toes instead of knees or changing arm position (ie – keep elbows tight to body – elbows “tickle” ribcage when lowering and lifting.

Things to remember:

To insure correct form, try to perform these exercises in front of a mirror.  Once form has gone, stop exercise, focus on quality of the exercise over quantity of repetitions.

Most research shows each traditional push-up is the same as lifting 50-70% of your body weight.  That is a pretty good workout for most, if they only did 3 sets of 30.  A man weighing 180 lbs would have lifted a total of 8,100 pounds in a short workout.  Not too shabby for the good ol’ flabby.

To make push-ups easier, do the ‘girl’ push-up or the wall push-up.  These place less stress on the muscles and help those who can’t do them traditionally.  I would suggest using these styles to build up some strength to do traditional push-ups because the traditional style works your core at the same time.

For those looking for even more of a challenge, try placing your feet on a chair or medicine ball.  The higher elevation shift the center of gravity and causes you to push more of your body weight.  Medicine balls force you to use your core muscles even more to balance your stance.

Three other great variations are the Spiderman and polar bear.  The Spiderman is a full body workout.  You start in the traditional up position and as you go down, you drive you left knee to your left elbow keeping your leg parallel to the ground.  As you come back up, you straighten your leg back to the starting point and then do the same with your right.

Polar bear push-ups start in the down position.  As you come to the up position you raise your left hand straight to the ceiling and hold that position for a three count.  Then put your hand right back to the ground.  Go down and then back to the up position.  Raise your right hand to the ceiling and continue.

Save your money, skip the gym, do push-ups.

First of all, this plan is best to supplement your current plan.  With it you will gradually build your endurance and strength.  You will only do one set of push ups, crunches and lunges.

Here is the plan for day one: Do as many push ups as you can on day one. (ex. 40 total push ups, 40 crunches and 30 lunges (each leg).

Day two: Do half that number in the morning (ex. 20 push ups, 20 crunches, 15 lunges). That night do the exact same number. The key is to do them with perfect technique and not cheating form simply to complete the exercise.  It is better to stop a few short than to cheat.

Day three: Add one more push up, crunch and lunge to day two’s morning and night set (ex. 21, 21, and 16 morning and night) .

Continue doing this every day.

Each week you must add 10 to your morning and nightly sets. On some days you will add more than one at a time. Don’t rush it, though, only add 10 a week!

This requires less than ten minutes a day, and in a month’s time you will have added 40 to your totals! You could be doing 520 push-ups per day in a year! All with slow improvements and a lot of discipline.

I did this back in high school and started with 30 and climbed to 200+. My friend Chris Hubinsky continued on and peaked at 1,000! He and I decided to give it another go and just started over, ten years later. I am currently on 40 push ups, 50 crunches and 45 lunges…and am going for 300.  I always wanted to do 300 push ups straight.

I seriously have been debating the acquisition of a pull-up bar.  It would be a huge benefit to my back strength and a great addition to the program.  Does anybody have any other simple workout plans that provide results?