Party Hopping and Body Rocking: The College Workout

The college years are said to be the best years of one’s life, but it can take a serious toll on one’s body. The college lifestyle typically consists of late nights, parties, and many empty Top Raman Noodle cups making a recipe for disaster to a growing body. Fear not, though, for there is a way to balance making college memories and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

For instance, regularly going to the gym may be difficult at first as you will have to manage your time with studying, working, and keeping up a social life, but by setting a few goals for yourself will help give you the motivation you need to work out. The most obvious and true goal you should have is to look good and be healthy for yourself, to be able to look at your reflection in the mirror and be proud of what you see. This alone is enough to give me the drive to hit the gym and has worked for the past 6 years. If looking good for yourself isn't enough to motivate you then go to the gym to look good for others as well. This may sound conceited , but let’s be honest here we all like to show off in some way or another and having a nice, tone figure is hard to miss, especially when those spring semester pool parties roll around.

Partying in college is nearly impossible to avoid, and even if you are responsible your body will still take a toll. Those late nights will tax your body and keep it from recovering the way it needs to, especially your brain which you use for the gratuitous amounts of studying you do, right? And those who like to party hardy will tax their bodies even worse. Rusty Moore has a few great tips in his article about this which you can view here. He advises eating sufficiently less during the day before a party so that the alcohol hits you faster which means, hopefully, less drinking and less carbs/calories as well as switching from alcohol to water 2 hours before going to bed which will kill the possibility of a hangover the next day which means you will have the energy and drive to hit the gym the following day.

The Slow Carb Diet

There is no such thing as a magic bullet that will quickly help us lose weight. Though through healthy eating and moderate exercise we can strive for the goals we set.  Tim Ferris, author of The 4-Hour Body, insists on a collection of “tested” methods to help one lose weight through crazy rituals. I mean one part of the book states that we can thrive on 2 hours sleep, to me that seems dangerous and unhealthy since our bodies need rest to rebuild. After delving deeper in the madness that is the mind of Tim Ferris I came across a very interesting diet plan. The Slow Carb Diet sounded doable and harmless on paper, so I gave it a try. This diet plan continues to be the foundation of my eating habits whenever I decide to get back on the horse so to speak because I have lost upwards of 50 pounds on it. In a week if followed closely you will feel immediately different. I did a bit of research of my own of course before even deciding to follow through with it since you want to take anything dealing with your body with a grain of salt. The different steps indicated in the diet plan have been carefully laid out by Gizmodo if you’d like to give it a try. If you stick it out on the plan I assure you in a month or so your body will look and feel different. Though as a disclaimer I have to say I’m not a Dietitian and everyone’s bodies are different so always go about it on your own risk.

Hiking: A Healthy Alernative

While going to the gym is a great form of exercise, some people like myself grow tired of the same fitness routine week in and week out. I am constantly trying to find ways to exercise and have fun at the same way. That way my fitness efforts feel more like playing rather than a chore. Hiking has been a fitness outlet that I have found to be extremely satisfying.

I prefer to go in the morning but some of my other hiking friends go all hours of the day. I like to hike in the canyons near my house. They are close, convenient, and gorgeous! The park is Santiago Oaks Regional Park. Parking is $3.00 Monday-Friday and $5.00 on the weekends. I never mind paying the fees because the money helps maintain the park. There are so many trails to explore it could take all day. I usually hike for about 2 hours. The distance I cover ranges from 4 to 6 miles. Those 2 hours fly by in comparison to spending 2 hours in the gym.

While my hiking friends and I are on the trails, we like to stop in a shady spot along the water of the lake and snack on some healthy food. Naturally, trail mix is a big contender when it comes to selecting a snack. I like to take it one step further and make my own trail mix. That way I know exactly what is in it. I can avoid added oils, preservatives and sugars. I buy all the ingredients in bulk from a health food store. I just choose whichever items sound good to me that day. Here is the recipe for the latest batch I made up:

Emily's Trail Mix

• 1 cup Raw Almonds


• 
  
  1 cup Raw Hazelnuts (filberts)


• 
  
  1 cup Raw Cashews


• 
  
  1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut


• 
  
  1/4 cup Raisins


• 
  
  1/4 cup Dried Cranberries

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, and coconut in an even layer on a sheet tray that is lined with parchment paper. Roast for 8-12 minutes until the nuts and coconut are light golden brown. Let cool on rack and then toss together with the raisins and cranberries. Add salt according to your preference.

And that is it! Sometimes if I want it a little sweeter I will add some semi-sweet chocolate chips but the raisins really make it sweet enough generally.

So while I am enjoying the beautiful trails, getting my exercise, and snacking on my homemade healthy trail mix I can honestly say that I do not miss the gym for 1 second.

Hi Ho Hi Ho, It’s off to the Gym I Go

The gym, refuge for some, hated by others, is an essential part of becoming truly healthy. Being healthy is more than eating right; it involves being physically fit as well, and the gym can help with that aspect of your health.

Some of you hate going to the gym and don’t see the “point” but the truth is that there are many beneficial reasons on why one should go to the gym. Here are some reasons why you should go and some personal tips.

1. The gym makes you feel better! Going to the gym has been proven to release endorphins. Endorphins are natural chemicals that are produced in your body to make you feel happy. These endorphins are released during and after your workout and make you feel better about your self, surroundings, and life in general.
2. The gym improves your physical shape. It’s no secret, we all want a certain physical physique, and through the gym, we can achieve the one we desire. Have it be slim and slender, or huge and ripped, you can reach your goal by going to the gym and working out.
3. Getting sick often? The gym can help with that. Going to the gym regularly can help improve your immune system. A well nourished and physically fit body has a higher chance of fending off cold and flue viruses and other illnesses.
4. The gym helps with your energy levels. If you say to yourself that you don’t have enough energy to go to the gym, you probably should go. The gym raises your daily energy and makes you more upbeat than lazy and sluggish.

Now, some of you go to the gym and thought, “now some of those points aren’t true!” Well, here are some of my personal tips to have you reach your fullest at the gym.

1. Quality not quantity. It doesn’t matter if you go 7 times a week for 2 hours a day if you aren’t having quality workouts. This means you aren’t chit chatin’ next to the machines, not developing a sweat as you workout, and not pushing yourself to your limits. A more intense and focused workout will always trump one that is half done and unmotivated.

2. Don’t do more than you are capable of doing. The last thing you want to get out of your session is an injury, so pace yourself, one day you will be able to reach your goal.

3. Know what you are putting in your body. Along with a balanced diet, some may use supplements. Supplements are fine; in fact I use a few, but make sure you know what you are putting in your body. Again, the last thing you want out of your workouts is to get an injury.

4. What works for one person, may not work for another. This means exactly what it says. Everyone is built differently, and everyone reacts differently to different things. This means that one exercise may work really well for one person, but may not have the same effect on another. That is why going to the gym is a process of trial and error, and eventually everyone finds out what works for them.

You are now ready to go tackle the gym and improve your physical fitness to become truly healthy.

Prepping Your Body for a Healthy Life.

As many active and healthy people know, becoming healthy and remaining that way requires a strong nutritional foundation. When one works out they breakdown their muscles so that the muscle can grow back stronger than before, hence the term "working out", but in order for those muscles to grow properly they will need the proper nutrients.

As children we learned about the food pyramid and how we should eat, but our society rarely follows suit. Generally speaking, a healthy lifestyle begins with healthy food choices. The food pyramid suggests that adults should consume at least 6 oz of grain, 2.5 cups of vegetables, 3 cups of fruits, 3 cups of dairy and 5.5 oz of meat. Now this may seem overwhelming at first, but it is actually quite reachable. All these foods come in different forms; for example the grain requirement can be reached with a bowl of whole grain wheat cereal such as Kellogg’s "Total", and a few varied fruits and vegetables taken as snacks in between meals will easily fulfill the fruit and vegetable requirement. Dairy can come in the form of low fat to fat free milk as well as various cheeses. The meat requirement is pretty self explanatory, but one should stay away from consuming too much red meat such as beef and pork as these can cause heart and digestive problems. Alternatively, one can eat poultry and fish for their many health and digestive properties.

As far as sweets, fats, and oils are concerned they should be kept at a minimum but fats and oils do have their benefits and are also found in many different foods. Fish contains Omega-3 fatty acids and oils that can be extremely beneficial for the heart, skin, and other organs. Although it may seem contradictory, it is also recommended that one breaks the eventual monotony of healthy eating with small amounts of junk foods. Kept in check and at a minimum these foods will make it easier to maintain healthy eating habits.

Maintaining a fit and active living style may seem challenging, and in some ways it is, but who said anything beneficial would be easy? Eating right is the first step to being healthy as the right foods will provide the building blocks for a strong and healthy body.