Audra Lowe: Tracking your kids to go out to college for the first time can be tough and worrying about how they’ll stay healthy is just one of the concerns most parents have. But better fitness expert Andrea Metcalf shows us how you can keep your freshman in shape this school year in today’s Getting Fit.
Andrea Metcalf: Now, the fitness tips. First thing you want to do is walk more often and wear pedometers so you can track your workouts. Secondly, try a core balancing shoe like Shape-ups from Skechers. They’ll give you a little bit more of each walking step. Number three, after you journal your exercise everyday, make sure you are including some of these exercises.
This is Amy Hoffman from New York sports club. You’ve developed the dorm room workouts.
Amy Hoffman: Yeah.
Andrea Metcalf: Tell us a little bit about what you can do in your dorm room.
Amy Hoffman: What’s great is you can use your desk, your chair, your bed, all of those fun things.
Andrea Metcalf: And you said your laptop.
Amy Hoffman: And your laptops, so let’s show you some things. Pretend that this is your bed.
Andrea Metcalf: Okay.
Amy Hoffman: I am going to get on this side. If you want to get on that side and face me, we are going to start with some push ups.
Andrea Metcalf: Okay, great.
Amy Hoffman: Okay. So basically, what you want to do is when you come down, make sure that your chest comes right in line with the edge. Good, and keeping your hands open a little bit wider so that—
Andrea Metcalf: Yeah, I don’t have enough space. That’s okay.
Amy Hoffman: There we go, good. There we go! Good! So you want to make sure that you on a 90-degree angle. So that your wrist is right underneath your elbow because if you are too far out or too far in, you might start to pull on some muscles that you really don’t want to do. So you can do about 10 or 15 of these, maybe three sets so that works the upper body. But also what we can do, let’s come around to the other side. You can again do this on your chair or your bed dips. They’re great for the back of the arm, which we all need.
So let’s talk about lower body and cardio because we want to make sure that we strengthen up those legs but also burn some calories. So if we incorporate both together, maybe a squat-jump for instance. It doesn’t take a lot of room, so what I’d like to do is start out with five jumping jacks and then five squats. That way you get your heart rate up and you’re working the legs. So let’s start with five and then to a squat, an explosive move. So therefore, you are getting the hips, the butt, the forearms, all those areas that we need to tone-up.
Andrea Metcalf: Let’s see what you got there.
Amy Hoffman: Okay. What we want to do is find some resistance. Laptops work well. You can take some of your books and basically you’re going to come down on the ground and lay back, arms straight up and then you are going to tighten the abs. Pretend there’s a girdle around your abs and just simply lift and lower.
The other thing you can do is come halfway down right to about here, lift the legs up one knee at a time. There you go. So that should help keep off that freshmen 15.
Andrea Metcalf: Well, for more information; go to your website?
Amy Hoffman: mysportsclub.com.
Audra Lowe: Do you have a fitness or a health question that you want Andrea to answer? You can just email her at askandrea@bettertv.com
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services