Exercise is great for stress relief, conditioning, and generally bettering yourself. The Matchbox is typically open 7 days a week during the school year. Unfortunately, there are times when this isn’t the case. During breaks, the Matchbox has limited hours, or is closed.

Thankfully, some of us that have stayed on campus during multiple breaks have advice for these trying times. This post is inspired by when Herbie Rand ’21 and I stayed on campus during fall break and did Australian pull ups outside of Sharples. Rather than do that, here are some exercises for when the Matchbox is closed.

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Compound Exercises — These engage two or more different joints (think squatting, dead lifting, benching): 

Unlimited push-up variations!!!

• Try close or wide grip, one arm, decline or incline– maybe even with a foam roller in your hands. For the added burn, wear a backpack.

Then there’s the chair. 

• You can always use a chair from your dorm for improv bench dips or planks.

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Isolation Exercises — They involve one joint (at the gym: think curls, lateral raises): 

Use your backpack!!!

While isolation exercises are trickier to plan, sometimes a backpack or a Co-Op bag can double as a dumbbell. Load it up and use it for:

• Bicep curls
• Overhead tricep extensions
• Shrugs
• Calf raises

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If all else fails, and it’s not busy, you can always run up and down Magill Walk.