Do you remember what you told yourself at the beginning of this semester? Say maybe around the very first day of January with your New Years resolution? Yeah, now you remember: like a lot of people, you said you wanted to get in damn good shape by beach season. We all had our reasons to get healthy, to feel better or just to look better.

I am aware we all have finals approaching, but we also have two weeks left with our fitness facility and tuition-paid memberships to get the job done.

If you are telling yourself, “How can I get in shape really fast with only two weeks left?” or “I do not have time to workout with finals!”

Here is what I have to say: do a full body burn out three times a week until you go home. If you have time to watch a 30 minute TV show you have time to do a 30 minute workout.

To meet your goals in the middle with your nutrition, go online and find a calorie intake calculator to figure your specific daily caloric intake.

To lose roughly one to two pounds per week, keep a deficit of 500 calories per day and reverse that to gain weight.

You can do the same by working off 500 calories or do a balance of 250 calories burnt and 250 less calories eaten. Try not to go below 1200 calories per day because your day will really suck.

So, here is the idea: I will personally number every machine so all you have to do is follow the numbers starting at number one. Every machine in the first weight room targets every muscle group. You will do this three times per week every other day for about 30-45 minutes depending on how fast you want to go. 45 minutes is the maximum so you need to speed up the workout!

Girls, I recommend only one and a half plates to two plates to be used and guys, about 4-5 plates. Remember that each plate is 10 pounds.You will only do one set on each machine but you will only have to do 80-100 repetitions. The goal is 100 reps so don’t argue, just do it.

The point is combining and being more efficient with your routine so you are treating your muscle toning program as a cardio program as well. Since you are also on machines, you can worry less about technique and form and more about how you’re about to burn 600 calories and how good you will look.

You might be surprised what the stress relief of a quick 30-45 minute workout can do for you with the semester coming to an end. By the way, hunger can be very easily mistaken for thirst so drink plenty of water.

Good luck with finals. See you in the gym. Give me dumbbells, not books.