Many students find it hard to remain active. All those lectures, exams and beers leave one with very little time to exercise. If you’re fortunate enough to have enough time to exercise, you’re likely to find the gym is quite expensive.
Fortunately, there are plenty of other ways to stay fit these days which do not involve dragging yourself to a gym. Allow us to present you with five ways to get some exercise.
1. YouTube
As we all know, YouTube is a great place to watch cat videos, but these days, the site is also home to many online fitness gurus. Nearly every sport is practised on the website. For yoga videos, check out Yoga with Adrienne. She posts a new yoga lesson nearly every day, which is great if you’re in need of some peace and quiet at the end of a long day. If it’s burning calories you’re after, check out Bodyrock, which presents a new cardio work-out every day. FitnessBlender, too, is a great place to find different types of training, ranging from cardio to strength training, and from ballet to kick-boxing. FitnessBlender has it all!
2. running
Running has become such a cliché. However, it continues to be one of the most effective ways to get some exercise. As an added bonus, you won’t have to join a gym to do it, but will be able to do it just about anywhere. If you’re looking for a way to remain motivated, sign up for the five- or ten-kilometre runs offered by the Rotterdam marathon organisers. This way, you’ll have a goal to work towards and you’ll be less likely to throw in the towel. There’s no need to start running like a maniac at once; jogging is just as effective and can actually be better in some cases. Make sure when running that you do not overtrain and keep things safe. It’s easy to get injured.
3. Work-out Challenges
Every month, Facebook offers many challenges for which you can sign up. When you join such a challenge, you will work towards a certain goal for thirty days. Every muscle group comes with its own challenge, ranging from the 30-day ab challenge to the 30-day squat challenge. Often large groups of people will sign up, which will help you remain motivated. As an added bonus, the exercises often won’t take more than a few minutes, so ‘I have no time’ will not be a valid excuse. These challenges are great for people who are first starting to work out. In the long run, they won’t be quite challenging enough.
4. Apps
Fitness apps can be handy, too. In many cases, you will be able to enter your own personal details, which will allow the apps to present you with tailor-made work-outs. You can do these work-outs in your own living room, and like the above-mentioned work-outs, they won’t take much of your time. Many apps allow you to track your eating habits, as well, thus allowing you to see how many calories you are consuming and how many you are burning.
5. Take the stairs
Taking the stairs rather than the lift or the escalator – it’s such an easy thing to do. Even so, many people opt for the latter alternatives. However, stair-walking has many health benefits. If you do it several times a day, you will be close to doing a real work-out. Stair-walking not only improves your condition, but trains your leg and bum muscles. Most people find it easy to fit a few stairs into their daily routine. Stair-walking is a perfect way to exercise without being aware that you’re exercising.
