Bring On the Super Stackers!

Equipment by Annette Huynh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


After a long weekend of indulgent dining, I was in serious need of a butt-kicking workout. However, I need to be more careful about what I ask for. I wanted some intense exercises, and that is exactly what I got. As our instructor, Mr. Rivera, explained what we would be doing, I knew that by the time I walked out of class, I’d be drenched in sweat. My prediction would soon prove to be correct.  

We did a workout routine that Mr. Rivera called “Super Stackers.” This meant that we did one move and then we would add onto that move for the next round and we would continue adding throughout the class. Our first exercise was the burpee box step. For this move, you would pop out into a push-up before hopping back up to step onto your platform.  We did sixteen reps before moving onto the next round. The next round included the burpee box step with added uneven squat curls. The squat curls require you to have one foot on the platform and one foot on the ground. You do a squat, and with dumbbells in your hands, you curl your arms up as you rise from the squat. Then hop on over to the other leg and repeat. After thirty-two reps of this move, we did sixteen more reps of the burpee box step. That concluded round two. We did a total of six rounds, with six different moves, and by the end of it, my heart was racing and I was out of breath. 

While the entire workout only lasted forty minutes, we spent the entire time doing hardcore cardio. This burns a ton of fat and I now feel less guilty about the many Krispy Kreme donuts that I consumed this weekend. The workout was effective and anyone can do it. You don’t need a fancy gym membership to work on your fitness. The only things we needed for our class today were two dumbbells, a yoga mat, and a platform step. So anyone can condition their body with an extreme workout session, even if it’s in the confines of their little dorm room. So what are you waiting for? Get moving! And don’t forget to stretch afterwards!

Let's Get Started!

Aerobic Dance Class by Annette Huynh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.


I don’t know about all of the other freshmen, but before even stepping foot onto the Trinity University campus, I was already preparing for the worst. Don’t get me wrong, I was definitely excited, but I had also been warned. For example, I had been told about the difficulties of college classes (especially the science classes), I was worried about rooming with someone I didn’t know, and I had been told repeatedly by my mom to watch out for the freshman fifteen. But after my first few days, I found that I had been nervous for no reason at all. The professors are all friendly and willing to help, my roommate and I get along extremely well, and during registration, I enrolled in an aerobic dance class.

This aerobic dance class is what I’ll be focusing on in this blog. Once you get comfortable with your surroundings and make friends with the people around you, it’s easy to fall into the habit of going for midnight-snack runs or grabbing a quick slice of pizza for dinner before hitting the books. I know that during orientation, I made puppy chow, which is a snack smothered in chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar, with my roommate and then proceeded to consume it at four o’clock in the morning. My suite mates and I also made many late-night trips to Amy’s Ice Cream. I’m sure I’m not the only college kid to start on this unhealthy road to the freshman fifteen. However, the advice that the instructor gave during the very first aerobic dance class inspired me to eat well while living away from home and the classes themselves, though they don’t involve any dancing whatsoever, could whip anyone into shape.