Exercises to help you out of you mid-semester lull

Need a mid-semester pick-me-up? This always seems to be that time of year when reality sets in (more studying, more stress) and resolutions are long gone. It’s not yet nice enough outside to start a successful running program or go for consistent walks. So what can you do to revive your routine?

Take some time at the beginning or end of your workout to do some mini challenges. You can split them up to fit with your goals and routine (i.e. split routine, cardio only day, etc.). The idea is to test yourself and maybe see where you need to alter your workout to make improvements.

The following are not in any particular order, but if you do them one after the other, make sure to allow a minute or so of rest between using the same muscle group. {R} indicates doing as many repetitions as you can and {T} indicates the amount of time you can do the exercise.

1. Push-ups {R}: position hands shoulder width apart or wider on the floor and execute from the toes, not the knees, keeping your body in line from head to toe. Bonus: try triceps push-ups with hands in narrower than shoulder width.

2. Deep squats {R}: with no weight, squat as low as you can, keeping your knees behind your toes (over your heels), then back to standing. You may need some assistance with this one if you can’t get back up on your own, so have a spotter ready to grab your hands. Bonus: hold a weight to your chest.

3. Plank {T}: place elbows on the floor under your shoulders and line up your body from head to toe as you lift up onto your toes. Bonus: extend arms and execute from hands instead or elevate your feet onto a step or ball.

4. Single leg squat {R}: execute as you would a regular squat with one of your knees elevated in front of you. Bonus: add weight such as a pair of dumbbells to hold at your sides.

5. Lateral ‘T-raise’ {T}: hold a pair of dumbbells that is approximately three to five per cent of your body weight (150-pound body= 4.5 to 7.5-pound dumbbells). Raise your arms at your sides until hands are level with your armpits and hold that position. Bonus: tie the same move with palms facing up or try front raise to same height.

6. Pull ups {R}: you could use and assisted chin up machine with the lightest assistance possible, but try to go for it on the pull up bar. Start with the assistance of a spotter up in the highest position possible and then lower your arms and lift back up for one rep. Bonus: you can chain a weight around your waist to make it harder, although this is advanced.

You can do little challenges with every exercise. The goal is to get stronger or increase endurance. Keep a record of your reps and time for each of your challenges. You can either keep practicing the moves for a period of time (i.e. six to eight weeks) then check your progress, or you can alter your workout to make these muscle groups stronger and test them again in six to eight weeks.