Dorm Room Fitness Equipment: Skip the Freshman 15

While many colleges and universities have fitness centers on campus, it’s nice to stay in your dorm room and not need to go out some days. Or, maybe you are intimidated to go to the fitness center on campus and would prefer to exercise in your dorm. Both are perfectly fine. With very minimal dorm room fitness equipment, you can get in a killer workout and stay in shape while at college. It’s commonly joked about, but the Freshman 15 is something many students face. They go away to college and come home 15 pounds heavier than when they left for school (give or take a few pounds).

 The reason for the increase in weight can be due to many things such as not eating a well-balanced diet at college, drinking a little too much (we do not condone underage drinking), lounging around the dorm all day when not in class, etc. With this article, I want to share some great dorm room fitness equipment pieces you can purchase that won’t take up much room in your dorm while also allowing you to get in a great workout and stay in shape. Heck, you can even get your roommates involved, too! That would be a great way to keep each other accountable. Here’s what I would recommend and consider.

1. Resistance Bands

The first piece of dorm room fitness equipment I want to recommend is a resistance band set. I use them personally to add variety to my training, and I also encourage all of my clients to invest in them as well. They are also great to take with you on trips out of town where you aren’t sure if there will be a gym nearby for you to use.

Many resistance band sets come with various bands, handle attachments, a storage bag, and some even come with door anchors so you can attach the bands to the top, bottom, or side of the door. Resistance bands create a nice constant tension on the muscle and when you’re finished with your workout, the whole set can easily fit under your bed, in a drawer, or in the closet. Quick, simple, and efficient.

2. Stability Ball

Next on our list of dorm room fitness equipment is a stability ball. This is going to be the largest option I recommend on this list, but the good news is that it has several uses. The obvious use would be to work your abs or even use it as a bench for seated exercises with dumbbells or lying exercises such as a chest press. I would highly recommend you invest in a burst-proof stability ball to ensure should anything happen to the ball, you won’t end up on your butt or back if it were to lose air.

The second way I like to use a stability ball in a dorm room is for extra seating. This can be for you or for friends and you can even use it as your desk chair to work your core when doing school work. The ball will want to move and you will need to activate your core to sit upright with good posture as well as prevent yourself from falling off the ball.

3. Foam Roller 

While not necessarily a piece of dorm room fitness equipment used for “exercise,” a foam roller is an amazing (and inexpensive) piece of equipment that can help you recover quickly as well as roll out any sore muscles or knots you may have that are causing you discomfort. A foam roller can easily get tucked under a bed, tossed in a corner, or put in a closet out of the way.

Additionally, coming from someone who went through college, it can be stressful and a foam roller is a great way to roll away some of the daily stress from all of the course work you have piled up on your desk. You may find your neck and back become tense and tight. Using a foam roller can help release the tightness and allow you to focus on your course work or workout.

4. Adjustable Dumbbells 

The most expensive thing on our list of dorm room fitness equipment is adjustable dumbbells. If you can afford to drop a little extra dough on a door room setup, this is an amazing investment. Generally, most adjustable dumbbells can go up to around 50 pounds or even higher depending on the brand and model you purchase (such as Power Blocks or Bowflex). Add this with a stability ball or use them by themselves for an amazing workout.

Some adjustable dumbbell sets come with a stand to store them on while others do not. If they don’t you can easily slide the dumbbells under your bed for storage to keep them out of the way. Adjustable dumbbells (as well as the resistance bands mentioned above) are a great way to fit in your resistance training to help build quality lean muscle mass and improve your strength. 

5. Jump Rope

Last, but certainly not least, is the least expensive item on our list of dorm room fitness equipment pieces – a jump rope. Assuming your ceilings aren’t super low (but even if they are you can still take it outside or in a hallway) you can jump rope right in your dorm room. A jump rope is an amazing piece of cardio equipment that can not only help shed body fat and help improve your cardiovascular health, but it also makes for one heck of a good workout.

With a jump rope, you don’t need to wait for the weather to get warm, the rain to stop, or the snow to melt – simply grab your jump rope and go to town in your dorm room to get in a great cardio session. Obviously, you would want to make sure you have enough room in your dorm to accommodate jumping rope. You may need to move some things out of the way in order to make it work, but you can easily move them back when you are done.