You Can Still Work Out By Watching TV (and Otherwise Just Messing Around At Home)!

I'm sure most of you out there made some kind of resolution to ring in the New Year.  Personally, I made several.  First, I made a resolution to keep it real, even if I do work at a gas station for minimum wage and I'm in desperate need of funds to pay off my student loans.  I also made a resolution to stop hitting people; Mom says I should probably just try to be a better person, but I told her, "We've got to do this in baby steps.  It's a New Year's resolution, not a Christmas miracle."

Like many people, I'm also in dire need of exercise.  So I made a New Year's resolution to get into shape, to work off some of those Christmas pounds and get some muscle tone.

Naturally, one starts by trying some light cardio.  Which basically amounts to jogging.  I set aside some time--it could be an hour, a half-hour, twenty minutes--usually when I get up.  The doctor recommends eating a little something before moving into warm-ups and other exercise routines; a full breakfast isn't a great idea, but something like a piece of fruit or a granola bar helps give you the energy you need to wake yo' self up in the morning.

This jogging routine lasted about three days.  Then I moved back into the dorms, where there isn't really any good spot to do warm-ups.  Plus, it's cold as hell outside!  Have you been out there today?  If the temperature is in the single digits, it's a sure sign that you should just stay in bed.

Now, many of you are probably wondering, "Well, doesn't your school have a gym?"  Well, yes, actually it does.  But, again, the doctor says exercises are best accomplished in the morning, right when you first wake up.  Guess which college gym isn't open at seven or eight in the morning.  This is a really, really stupid college.

And then, by the time the gym actually is open, you're either in class, at a newspaper club meeting, hanging out with friends, doing homework, working the crank shaft at the gas station, or eating.  (Or, if you're anything like me, you're watching the same video over and over again...)  Even if I decided to start an exercise routine later in the day, it would mean setting aside that time in the day, needing to get showered later on, and then before you know it, it's time for bed.  And I still have to get showered in the morning (just because).

Luckily, it turns out it's still possible to get a good workout even when you're in bed.  According to WikiHow, you can work the abs not only without having to worry about the technicals of those annoying things called sit-ups, you can also do it without even getting out of bed in the morning.  The trick is to hold your legs up at a slight angle from the bed, with a starting position at a ninety-degree angle.  The linked article goes into more detail about this exercise, but suffice to say, I plan on adding it to my morning routine.

The article, of course, also stresses the importance of a proper diet and additional exercises above and beyond, saying, holding your legs up in bed.  We'll see if that happens any time soon.  Like I said, baby steps.