APRIL 08 BEARFIT NEWSLETTER

Editor: Ruth Arumala, BS, BA

Spring is here! The birds are finally chirping, the sun is emerging from the clouds, its time for you to also enjoy nature. One of the best ways to imbibe the beauty around us is to take your workout outside. Go for a brisk walk, ride your bicycle, perform sun salutations on one of Mercers lawns. Enjoy yourself while staying fit! Your fellow Mercerians have a few insights on how to improve your workouts and overall wellness. Enjoy our special April newsletter and use the fitness tidbits provided to improve your health.

GET FIT WITH ONLINE HELP

By Megan Connor

Making an effort to come to the gym and exercise is a great step toward fitness, but sometimes, it’s easy for a beginner to get in over his/her head, or an exercise enthusiast to get bored, or hit a plateau.  Some additional research can make your workouts much more effective, challenging and fun. An amazing amount of information on fitness is available online.  Just about every fitness magazine has a website. Those avenues can be treasure troves of free information on nutrition and exercise.  If you’ve never looked before, you will probably be surprised by just how much help magazine websites offer—for free!

            Ladies should check out www.shape.com, www.fitnessmagazine.com, or www.womenshealthmag.com.  Shape, for example, has an entire section of “Shape Tools”—fitness calculators that can help to determine your BMI, sleep needs, calories burned in a workout, and ideal weight.  At www.glamour.com/health, you can find your target heart rate and get an estimate of how many calories you really need each day.  In addition, these websites offer a large selection of workouts and low-calorie recipes, tailored for womens’ health.

            Guys might want to take a look at www.menshealth.com or www.mensfitness.com.  At Men’s Fitness, guys can find calculators similar to the ones on the ladies’ websites, but designed to fit mens’ bodies.  Men who are new to working out might make use of Men’s Fitness’s “Beginner’s Workout” article, complete with photographs of models performing the exercises.  A beginner doesn’t have to be embarrassed by struggling with the machines at the gym; he can read up on exercises, then head to the UC and work out like a pro.  Plus, the websites offer no-nonsense critiques of fitness equipment that might be wasting your time.  (See Men’s Fitness –“10 Exercises that Suck”). 

            It’s easy to get into a rut at the gym, but 30 minutes on the treadmill, followed by 30 minutes of the same old exercises can become boring and ineffective.  The wide range of sophisticated information available on the web can help to keep exercise fresh and exciting.

10,000 STEPS TO BETTER HEALTH

By Allison O’Keefe

According to a Japanese researcher, adults need to go for a 10,000 step walk almost very day of the week. While the number of steps varies according to age, there is a widespread agreement among doctors that Americans need to do more walking. This 10,000 step program should appeal to Americans because we are a very goal oriented culture. By wearing a pedometer, we can watch ourselves achieve our daily-step-goal. A study done by Stanford University found that the 10,000-step goal increased the number of steps their participants took by twenty seven percent. This was reaffirmed by a study done by the American College of Sports and Medicine that also showed those with the 10,000 step goal walked more than those whose goal was to walk thirty minutes a day.

The U.S surgeon general encourages thirty minutes of exercising activity per day and this is suitable to the 10,000 step plan because most people can reach this goal if they add thirty minutes of exercise a day to their daily activity. Walking, and other forms of exercise, will help reduce the 300,000 deaths that are occurring each year from weight-related issues.

There is some disagreement among researchers about whether or not the 10,000 step program improves health any more than walking briskly for 30 minutes a day. Some say the 10,000 a day splits it up too much to get any real cardiovascular benefits. However, overall, there is an agreement that 10,000 steps is much better than being sedentary. The consensus is that which ever method best motivates the individual is the better method for that person.

CORE STRENGTH IS KEY

By Ben Powell

If you have ever walked into the weight room you may have noticed that very few people work on their core muscle group.  Sure, there may be a few in the corner counting out crunches but the majority of people are bench pressing or working on their biceps.  While there is nothing wrong with that, the benefit of adding some core exercises to your routine are substantial; improved postured, leaner stomach, and also helps avoid back injuries. 

            The “core” muscles are the rectus abdominis, obliques, erectus spinae, latissimus dorsi, trapezius (superior, medial, and inferior), and gluteus (medius and maximus).  If you are not in the med school, those are simply the chest, abs, back and butt.  The core stabilizes the body and keeps the spine straight. It is important to work both the front part of the body and the back.  Muscles are like rubber bands constantly pulling in one direction.  If you over develop your abs and neglect the back, then the ab muscles will be pulling and over powering your lat’s (back muscles).  This results in poor posture.

            So how strong is your core?  A simple test of core strength is planks.  First get down on the floor as if you were going to do a pushup.  Place your forearms flat against the floor and raise your body off the ground and hold for as long as you can.  You want to try and keep your spine straight.  If you can stay in this position for 2 minutes with out experiencing any pain and maintaining proper form, you have good core strength.  If your core is not up to par, here are a few suggested exercises, planks, captains’ chair, crunches and roman chair.

            So how do I improve core strength? There are a variety of exercises you can do to improve core strength.  There are planks, as I have already mentioned, captain chair, roman chair, free weight plate raises, suitcase squats and crunches.

KICK YOUR WAY TO A TONED PHYSIQUE

By Amber Sanchez

Tired of huffing and puffing on the elliptical machine, bike, treadmill, and stair master? Try adding a little fun to your cardio. Aerobic kickboxing is a great way to do cardio as well as tone and sculpt your body.   It will not only challenge your body but add fun to your workout.  It can tone your shoulders, butt, abs, legs, and thighs. During the process you may also learn self defense techniques. You will workout using a combination of kicks and punches, resulting in an increase your heart rate and a loss of calories.  The creative combinations of kicks and punches will cause your body to hoist and turn. You will get a tremendous core workout as your stabilizing muscles struggle to maintain your balance.  If this sounds like a great way to add excitement to your workout classes are available every Monday in the University center at 5:15.

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SPOTLIGHT ON GROUP EXERCISE INSTRUCTOR – Kate Mudrak

Kate is a junior at Mercer this year and is from Augusta, GA. She has been teaching group fitness for one year. Kate teaches relaxing and variations of Hatha Yoga. Kate is an active member in her sorority, Alpha Gamma Delta, Mercer’s Debate Society, and the Pre-Law Club. She enjoys any exercise, volleyball, and reading. Join Kate on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:15pm to relax and practice yoga.

NOT TOO LATE!

Purchase personal training sessions to prepare you for the BEST summer of your life.

Visit http://www2.mercer.edu/Recreation/Fitness+and+Wellness/Personal+Training.htm

Contact
Michael Bond at 478-301-2404 or bond_me@mercer.edu  
Ruth Arumala at 478-301-2370 or arumala_ro@med.mercer.edu