photos by SARAH ANDREWS

We all want to be healthy and fit, don’t we? We’re college students, we’re teenagers, we want to be noticed by the opposite sex, and that’s why we have facilities like the Bell Center. With weights, exercise equipment and the pool, it sounds like a good plan at the beginning of every year. You tell yourself, “I’m going to work out at least three times a week,” which turns into “I’ll work out every couple days,” then it just goes away.

The gym may not work for everybody, especially in the dead of winter, when it’s 25 degrees below freezing, and you live in Ross, or any dorm for that matter. You don’t want to drag yourself all the way over to the other side of campus, so why not just work out in your room?

While you could just whip out 100 sit-ups and 100 push-ups, let’s try and mix it up. Sparkpeople.com suggests many quick and easy options that anyone can mix and match to build a convenient workout:

• Marching in place
• Stepping up and down the stairs or running the stairs in your building
• Side steps
• Jogging in place or high-knee running in place
• Jumping jacks
• Kickboxing moves (front kicks, squats, side kicks, punches)
• Dancing to your favorite music

Fortunately, we don’t live in little shoebox rooms here at Drake. We’re lucky to have a good amount of space to move around, so that’s not the problem. Experts say everyone needs about 30–45 minutes of cardio a day with stretching. So, dish out some jumping jacks when you’re on a study break. Here are some more ideas:

• Squats
• Leg raises – lie on your back with your legs straight out. Lift your legs to a 90-degree angle and lower slowly, repeat
• Calf raises
• Bicep curls with water bottles
• Butt-ups – lie on your back with your legs bent with feet flat on the floor. Lift up your torso and butt while keeping abs and butt tight
• Push-ups – place your hands on your desk, and extend your legs straight out behind you. Proceed to do an up-and-down movement, like a regular push-up against the desk
• Lie on back, extend legs and lift them up about 6 inches off the ground. Lift your torso and shoulders up, extend arms and lift them up and down 10 times, go down and repeat back up
• Leg and arm extensions – Get on hands and knees and extend your opposite leg and arm. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat with opposite arm and leg

If you want to fork out some dough for the good of your body, there are many DVD workout options. Sometimes you just need to stop thinking and allow someone else to tell you what to do. You can focus on different parts of your body — abs, butt, legs, arms — and you can chose what kind of workout you want to do- — yoga, Pilates, dancing and kickboxing. The choices are endless.

Looking for some good workout videos? Try the “Powerhouse Collection: Pilates.” The 3-DVD set offers easy, cardio and powerhouse pilates for all levels. It even comes with a body band to extend, lengthen and intensify your pilates experience.

If you Google search for “Dorm room workouts,” there are a lot workout videos available to download that are free or very cheap (and legal). Then turn it into a party by setting up your laptop in the hallway and invite a crowd of people to join you. That way you’re getting your workout in, and you get to hang with your friends.

Although it’s hard to find the time to work out, the luxury of not having to leave your room to get one in should make it easier. Every couple days, just take a half-hour break from studying, put on some gym shorts and get to work. Your body will thank you for it later.

DESK PUSH UP Polish those guns by cleaning off a small corner of your desk. Place your arms on your desk and extend your legs straight out behind you. Proceed to do an up-and-down movement like a regular push up.

WATER BOTTLE WEIGHT CURLS Water bottles are more than hydrating bladders — they can serve as adjustable weights in dozens of exercises. Curl them, bench them or extend them. Bonus: you’ll burn calories walking to the drinking fountain.

BUTT-UP Need an excuse to clean your room? Shove the crap in the closet and get on the ground. Lie on your back with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Lift up your torso and butt while keeping your abs and butt tight.