No Gym? No Problem | Discovering Pilates (From Home)

Abby Knowles

If you’re a college student home for the summer like me, and are struggling with finding a gym or a space to get your workout in, then this article is for you!

At my university, I use the campus gym for my workouts (which is free for students, luckily). However, during the summer, it is really difficult to find a gym to go to that is close to my house and priced reasonably. Most of the gyms around me are either too far away, or cost over $20 a month, which is crazy, at least for a college kid on a budget!

I was sitting at home and thinking of what I could do to get my body moving while also getting a good sweat in. My TikTok For You Page has been full of pilates workouts and transformations, and I thought to myself, “No way this works or feels like a good burn!” But boy was I wrong. It feels GOOD. My body is on fire every time I do my pilates workouts!

I have also really been into walking lately—simple I know, but walking has so many benefits for you physically and mentally. I have been walking a few miles each day. Some days it's 2 miles, some it's 3, and some it's 4. I have made it a goal of mine to try and walk 10 miles straight, because why not! I will just blast some good strutting music and forget where I am for a little bit and walk my way around the neighborhood. 

As for pilates, I have found a YouTube channel of a pilates instructor, Lidia Mera, and I absolutely love her pilates workouts. They are short (she has some longer ones too and different workout ranges) but so effective. I can feel my body getting stronger, which feels so good!

On top of all that, according to Better Health “Pilates promotes mobility and strength of all the major muscle groups in the body in a balanced fashion, whilst also having a key focus on the deep core muscles. It improves posture, flexibility, strength, balance and body awareness.” Even more reason to try pilates!