Eight Steps for Creating an Exercise Plan in College

There are numerous benefits of working out in college. That being said, it can be difficult to stick to an exercise regimen in college if it is not planned or if your goals are not well-defined. In this article, I describe eight steps for making a workable exercise plan in college.

College Workout Plan Step #1 - Determine Your Goals
The first and most important step of making a workout plan in college is to define goals for the workout. Taking time to make realistic and attainable goals will makes success much more likely. Saying that an individual wants to "work out" says very little about that person's goals. A college student might want to improve his or her conditioning, build muscle, or lose weight. Determine what your goals are, and add numbers where appropriate. For example, rather than making "improve conditioning" a goal, consider something like "be able to run three miles on a treadmill." Write your goals down and put them somewhere that you will see them frequently, whether it is a sticky note on your desk or elsewhere in your dorm room or a sticky note on your computer's desktop.

College Workout Plan Step #2 - Find A Workout Partner
It's not necessary to work out with someone else, but it can be helpful to some extent. That person might make working out more tolerable or might motivate you if you begin to slip. However, make sure that you're not being held back by the presence of a workout partner. Make the other person aware of your goals and give him or her feedback if you feel like he or she is holding you back or if you are holding him or her back. Try to find another college student that has similar goals to yours and a similar class schedule to your own.

College Workout Plan Step #3 - Analyze Your Schedule(s)
The next thing that you need to do is look at your schedule. When are you free? College students must balance school, work, and other extracurricular activities. I recommend working out when you would normally have a mid-day slump, if at all possible. For example, I get sleepy between 1 and 3 PM most afternoons. If I am tired, can't focus on schoolwork, and am otherwise available, this is an ideal time for me to work out. Not only can I utilize this time for a productive activity, but I also am more aware after working out and can use the rest of the time before dinner to work on assignments or study. If you have a workout partner, you'll have to take his or her schedule into account.

What if you legitimately don't have time to exercise? College is time-consuming, and you might not be able to go to your college's gym until late in the evening, when you might be too tired to exercise. Even if you can't make it to the gym regularly, there are some things that you can do quickly. For example, it would take less than five minutes to do a few push-ups and situps in your dorm before showering in the morning. If you wanted to, you could add a short run and the total time it would take to work out would be roughly twenty minutes. It wouldn't be the most comprehensive workout, but it would be better than doing nothing at all.

College Workout Plan Step #4 - Get Any Necessary Equipment
After figuring out when you can work out, it's time to get any equipment you'll need to exercise. For example, you may need a pair of shoes for running, some comfortable gym shorts, or a water bottle. Figure out what you need and see if you can get it cheap. You shouldn't have to get much actual exercise equipment. Most colleges have one, if not several, well-equipped gyms on campus.

College Workout Plan Step #5 - Modify Your Diet
Diet and exercise go hand in hand. If you are trying to build muscle, you will need to eat more protein. If you are trying to lose weight, you may wish to eat less junk food and eat more nutritionally dense foods. Make sure that you eat enough and that you eat foods that will fuel your activity.

College Workout Plan Step #6 - Do Exercises to Meet Your Goals
Now it's time to start exercising. Make sure that the activities that you do reflect your goals. For example, you should focus on cardiovascular exercise for improving endurance and losing weight, and you should do weightlifting exercises to improve strength. Most people do a combination of these activities rather than just one type. Nonetheless, work towards your goals. Again, most colleges are well-equipped with exercise equipment, so you should be able to find machines or activities that reflect your goals.

College Workout Plan Step #7 - Track Your Results
I find that tracking my results in a spreadsheet is an effective way of motivating myself to work out. For example, you could track your weight, the distance that you can comfortably run, or the amount of weight that you can bench press. Even if you don't use a spreadsheet, you could still keep figures such as these in a journal. It's important to see progress as it happens. And don't worry about your weight fluctuating up and down from day to day - it's the long-term trend that is important.

College Workout Plan Step #8 - Modify Your Plan If Necessary
Are you happy with the results you see after two or three weeks? If you are, great. Keep up the good work. If not, what do you think is the problem? Are you not eating the right foods? Are you not working out consistently? Once you determine what is holding you back, work to address the problem and see how you're doing a few weeks later. Continue this process for as long as it takes to see results.

Working out in college is not very different from working out in "regular" life. It can be difficult, but with some planning, working out in college can be a great way not only to stay in shape, but also to alleviate stress. Do you have any other suggestions for developing a workout plan in college? Feel free to share your thoughts in the form of a comment. Thank you for reading!