Good Exercises Do in a Dorm Room

Regular workouts can help you manage the stress of college life and avoid the so-called "freshman 15." Most universities offer fitness facilities and exercise classes, but whether you're using exercise for a quick break from studying or want to work out after the college gym closes, you can create a fitness routine in your dorm room.

Calisthenics

Calisthenics are the cheapest, most convenient way to get a cardiovascular workout. Examples include jumping jacks, mountain climbers, jogging in place, high knees, squat jumps and ski jumps. Do the exercise or exercises of your choice for at least 10 minutes as a stand-alone cardio workout, or mix short calisthenics intervals into a weight-training workout. However, keep in mind that if you live on an upper floor and the building isn't properly soundproofed, your downstairs neighbors may object.

Machines

A jump rope is one of the most compact, inexpensive pieces of equipment you can get for doing cardio exercise. But if the people downstairs don't appreciate you doing jumping jacks, they probably won't like you jumping rope, either. If your roommate is open to having a compact piece of exercise equipment in the dorm room, consider investing in an upright exercise bike -- upright bikes have a smaller footprint than recumbents -- or a folding rower. Both offer enough adjustable resistance for an intense workout, but take up very little space.

Body Weight

You can build strong muscles, bones and connective tissue using your own body weight for resistance. Use the edge of your desk as support for doing pushups, or do bench dips off a firm, sturdy chair. You can install a leverage-mount pullup bar in the doorway for doing pullups, then easily store it in the closet when it's not in use. Squats, lunges and calf raises are effective, equipment-free exercises for developing your lower body.

Elastic Resistance

Elastic resistance bands are small enough to stuff in a drawer and cheap enough to fit a college student's budget. You can use them to add extra variety to your strength-training workout with exercises like lat pulldowns, pushups, biceps curls and overhead triceps extensions.

Dumbbells

If you're willing to invest in a couple of dumbbells and store them under your bed, they provide extra resistance and variety with exercises like chest presses, dumbbell rows and triceps kickbacks. If you can't afford dumbbells or don't care to store them, fill a backpack with textbooks and use it as a weight substitute for bent-over rows, or put the backpack on for extra resistance during squats and lunges.