You don't ever think that late night Chick-fil-a will start affecting your body. Until it does. Once I realized that the freshmen 15 was on its way, I craved goin to the gym, but I didn't know where to start. A friend of mine went with me the first time and helped me out, and from there, I improved upon what she taught me and added a few more exercises from the Internet and other people's recommendations. While I didn't follow a certain workout program, knowing these exercises made me feel infinitely more comfortable in the gym, and I even saw considerable results! Here's a good list for whatever you feel like working that day.

Arms: Do all of these with a light weight (5 or 7.5 lbs) and in sets of 30 reps, then 20 reps, and then 10 reps. This way you can burn fat while not bulking up too much. Feel free to go up on weights or reps if you're ready.

https://gethealthyu.com/exercise/bicep-curl/

1. Bicep Curls: Make sure the inside of your elbows are facing out, and hold the dumbbells straight out in front of you, keeping your arms as close to your body as possible. Bend your arms until you've lifted the dumbbells to your shoulders.
2. Lateral Lifts: Hold the dumbbells at your sides and lift them to the side until they are parallel with the floor.
3. Tricep Extensions: Find an empty bench and hold one dumbbell. On the free hand side, place your hand and your knee on the bench, and use your other leg to support you. Let the dumbbell hang down next to the bench. Bend your arm and lift the dumbbell to your shoulder, keeping it parallel to the ground. Extend your elbow and draw the weight back until it is facing the ceiling, and then bring it back. Make sure to keep your arm close to your side and that your back is parallel with the ground.
4. Punches: Hold the dumbbells vertically, and literally punch forward with each arm. Punching with both arms once counts as one rep.
5. Pushup Dumbbell Extensions: Start with holding your dumbbells relaxed at your sides. Raise them above your shoulders at equal footing with your head so that they are next to your face. Push them up above your head, bring them back to your face level, and then back in a relaxed position.

Abs

https://www.healthifyme.com/blog/build-core-strength-4-plank-exercises/

1. Crunches: 200 in sets of 40. The first 40 are laying down on your back normally with your feet on the ground. The second 40 are done with your calves parallel to the ground and your feet lifted off of the ground facing the wall. The third 40 are done with your legs as straight in the air as possible, followed by a fourth set of 40 in the second position, and the fifth set in the position you started from. This lets you work your lower, mid, and upper ab muscles.
2. Dumbbell Side Bend: Stand up straight and use one 15-20 lb dumbbell and hold it with one of your arms. Let the weight drag you down so you're leaning to one side. Using nothing except your core, lean back up to a regular straight position. Do not use your arm at all, except to hold the weight. Hang back down and repeat this movement 30x per side, then 20x per side, then 10x per side.
3. Russian Twists: Do these in sets of 30. Repeat as many times as you feel comfortable.
4. Planks: A 1 minute long regular plank and 1 minute side planks, 1 per side.
5. Leg Lifts: Find this machine (it kind of looks like a throne). Let yourself hang and bring your legs up so that your thighs are parallel to the floor. Use the 30,20,10 set pattern I described before.

Legs/Cardio

https://www.fitnessscape.com/page/F/PROD/pro-select-inner-outer-thigh-machine

1. Running: 25-30 minutes of running on a treadmill can help you burn at least 300 calories. I usually run at 6.1 mph. You can add as much speed, distance, or time as you want, but this is a good baseline if you're going by calories burned.
2. Biking: Cycling is a great alternative. Many gyms have interactive bikes that provide trails with hills that'll help you exert more energy. If your gym doesn't have anything like that, a good 15-20 minute baseline will have you sweating like a champ.
3. Leg Abductions/Leg Adductions: Find one of these machines (usually there are two: one for adduction and one for abduction, which are almost always next to each other). Using whatever weight feels comfortable to you, follow the 30,20,10 set pattern I described before. The machine is pretty self-explanatory.

A combination of these exercises, or focusing on just one aspect of your body, are a beginner's guide to working out in the gym. As you spend more and more time in the gym, you can learn how to use other machines and find other exercises that work for you as well. These exercises personally helped me get in much better shape during college and helped me avoid the freshman 15. These workouts are very low maintenance and can be done even with a busy schedule, so there are no more excuses. Get out there and start sweating!