Student Fitness

By: Veljko Petranovic

In my gym, everybody seems to be on something. I’ve recently talked to an Egyptian fellow, a mass monster by anyone’s standards, and he swears that his immense bulk is the result of heavy training and branch-chained amino acids. He’s an arm-wrestling competitor and looks like he could lift a house. This other guy, Mirko, my buddy from school, has a very lean physique and looks like one of those model types. He takes German creatine, whey protein, glutamine, aminos and ZMA. His home looks like a supplement warehouse. And then, there’s this dude we call “Cold”, who used to be really big and fat, but now sports a tiny, ripped waist and unhuman mounds of muscle everywhere you look.

Cold works as a bouncer, and I guess that’s a good career choice, since he has a very nasty disposition. A few days back, he took his shirt off, and you could really tell he was on something. Great muscle separation, paper thin skin, lumps and bulges up the yazoo. His traps have took the place of his neck, and he can bench 450 for reps. Despite all this, one couldn’t help but notice terrible acne which cover his entire back. For lack of a better word, it looks disgusting.

A lot of other people in my gym take steroids as well. The thing is, noone competes in powerlifting, or bodybuilding, or baseball or whatever. Guys buy a membership, and a few short months later, their arms swell up like balloons and their backs block out the sun. You see them some time later, and they are back to a more reasonable size, more human proportions. And, without fail, they all look terribly depressed. Once you were Superman, being Clark again really sucks.

My viewpoint on this is, unless you are making money from a sport that demands strength or size, you have absolutely no business taking anabolics, androgens or hormones. Due to a shift in our collective conciousness, women have gained more power and rights, and men, especially younger guys, seek to compensate. This „compensation“ can manifest itself in a variety of ways, but a very common one is the Adonis complex, bigorexia, muscular dysmorphia, whatever you want to call it. A lot of men feel inadequate, and resort to chemical enchancement.

The list of side effects of these drugs is as long as my arm. Hair loss, acne, testicular atrophy, damage to the liver, mood swings, high blood pressure, acromegaly, water retention, impotence, organ enlargement. Death is a big one, too. Need I go on? The thing one has to ask himself is, is this really worth it? Are you really going to put your health in danger for the sake of sheer looks? Isn’t it stupid? Is it not downright idiotic?

There is something to be said about moderation. It applies to some things. But, let’s take Heroin for example. There is no moderation with it. Either you’re addicted or you’re clean. In my opinion, the same goes for steroids. No one ever does „one cycle“. Taking „low doses“ actually means suffering less side effects, and there is no safety involved once you start tampering with your body’s natural hormonal balance. You can try, and get out of it relatively unharmed, but for what? Being huge? Bah.

Any recreational athlete can achieve his goals naturally, provided that his goals are realistic. You’re not going to look like Ronnie Coleman with weights and food alone. But just about anyone can take crappy genetics, apply hard work and dedication and produce a marvelous looking body. It’s a matter of consistency and figuring out what works for you. You can gain 20 pounds in a month and lose them in two months, or you can accept fitness as a lifestyle and keep looking great no matter what. Think of it as brushing your teeth. Think of it as an investment in your future, and the future of your kids. Think of it as playing smart.

By: Joe Norton 

Let me begin with one of my favorite quotes,
by the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland:

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” said Alice ”That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where” — Said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go”, said the Cat.

Too much to do and not enough time…
No idea what to do when you do have time?

It’s an issue everyone deals with. There are many things we can do, slight tricks and tips, that may shave off time in the short-term. However, for Long term time management to be successful we need something more than “top 10″ lists of one sentence tips. I see this problem especially in College students. Of course we go for the easy lists of simple changes because we want to put in minimal effort/cost while reaping maximum benefit/profit - college students are bound to the same economical rules as any organization.

From my perspective as a college student I see the underlying problems seems to be that the majority of students just have no idea how to schedule, have never had to prioritize time, and thus have no idea where their priorities lay. Students tend to just be dropped in the college environment with no clue as to how to arrange their Student Schedule or how to budget their time to include all their major responsibilies, while also including freetime for flexibility and personal time for relaxation. I will be writing several articles over the coming weeks on Student Schedules and Time Management Skills for Students - but to start, here is the first in the series on Goals & Priorities - the Source of your activities.

Write out your goals -> Find your Priorities

Example:
Daily/Weekly Goals (goals for daily or weekly use)
- go to all my classes, get all my HW done thats due tomorrow, get started on finding sources for essay due next week, go to Gym tonight.

Short Term Goals (few weeks to a month)
- Schedule interviews for summer internship for next month,
Get business cards for my websites to give out at interviews.

Medium Term Goals (semester/several months/even a year)
- Be active in my Student Professional organizations, get above 3.3 GPA this semester (NO C’s!)

Long Term Goal (more than a year - lifetime goals)
-  Graduate from school without having gone crazy,  have atleast one revenue generating company by graduating, buy my own island (lifetime goal)

What I’m talking about here corresponds with the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey, because my advice - like Dr. Covey’s, is intended to involve the reformation of your “Characer Ethic” which are deep core values and principles that you live by. As opposed to the simple “Personality ethic” solutions like what kinds of phones to buy or what kind of filing system or how to trick people into doing what you want, because they don’t change solve the internal problem of prioritizing.
They only intend to make external fixes. are all bogus short-term fixes that leave you with your roots in a system that perpetuates the “unrest” we’ve all experienced.

Find your Roles -> they should coordinate with your Goals

Example of my Roles:

“Entrepreneur”, ”Student”, ”Leader”,
“Health & Fitness Enthusiast”,
and last but not least “Family Member & Friend”

I try to phrase them as this kind of statement:
To be the best _ I can be.
Because this phrasing maximizes your commitment to the objective and because it also takes into account that maybe you can’t be the world’s best X, but you ALWAYS have control over being best you are capable of being.

How this helps me allocate my Student Schedule is -I look at my roles, and then compare them to my goals and make sure they are in alignment with one another.
For instance: Every single one of my goals are intended to make me stronger in one of those given roles. At the end of the day I should be able to look at those roles most important to me and say: The reason I did X today, is because it improves my situation in the Entrepreneur Role, or the reason I woke up so early this morning was so that I would have time to fulfill my duty to myself to be a “Health & Fitness Enthusiast” and thus dragged myself to the gym hours before I had to be up for class.

The key to this system of Priority-Time Management works on the basis that you don’t “Find” time for your goals - YOU MAKE IT. Your scheduling in these areas of importance to you should supercede any planning for non-essential roles in your life.

I highly suggest those interested take a look at a prior post of mine where I posted several of my favorite (FREE) videos of Time Management Skills for Students.

Learning is a lifelong skill. From birth and throughout life, a person goes on a journey of acquiring knowledge. How this knowledge is gained varies from one individual to another because each one is created unique.

There are some people who make little or no effort to learn and yet they do well in school. Others spend endless hours over their books but do not excel at all. Genes may have something to do with this, but more than the hereditary factor, it is the attitude towards learning that increases one’s ability to perform well. How one efficiently studies makes a capable learner. Here are a few tips to make the most out of learning:

1. Take care of your health

People, like machines, also need downtimes. Stress and fatigue due to studying for long periods of time render the brain less effective to absorb data. Hence, adequate rest should be taken. A healthy mind needs a healthy body - see to it that proper nutrition and regular exercise is always maintained.

2. Develop a passion for learning

One should have a thirst for knowledge in order for learning to take place. Attending classes every day, reading and studying for hours, and accomplishing assignments do not guarantee positive results if you do not have that craving or focus to learn. Self-esteem somehow triggers this passion. The higher your self-confidence is, the more challenged you will become to learn faster.

3. Find a study environment that is conducive

Elements in the environment play an important role in one’s quest for learning. A specific study area with ample lighting, privacy, and complete supplies and reference materials are but some essentials for a smooth and stress-free study time. A set routine should also be imposed. Assign a specific time during the day for study. Don’t just “fit it in” your schedule or else you’ll have no time at all.

4. Set goals and targets

In order for each learning experience to be realistic, it is wise to set goals for yourself - goals that are measurable, achievable, time-bound, and flexible. Prepare weekly schedules, taking note of deadlines. For example, to get high grades, extra effort must be taken in studying and preparing for exams.

5. Take breaks in between study sessions

The brain needs to be recharged once in a while as this is when it absorbs all data obtained from studying. Overexertion causes it to repel information and makes studying futile. Do not go on a study marathon. Instead, study in short but frequent sessions and take breathers in between.

6. Engage in study groups

Two heads are better than one – so goes the cliché. Learning with a group is synergetic. You get to share your opinions, ideas, and views, and at the same time it is a venue for clarifying mind-boggling matters. It is also more interesting and challenging because you gain different perspectives or outlooks.

7. Understand concepts instead of memorizing details

Most of the time, students pass exams and quizzes with flying colors. But after a while, their knowledge of the subject matter would already slip their minds. This is mainly due to a wrong approach to learning – that of memorization. Memorization is only short-term “disguised learning”. If one develops the habit of understanding concepts rather than focusing on details, the learning process will flow smoothly and will have a long-term impact.

8. Use shortcuts

Applying shortcuts to your study habits maximize your learning skills. You accomplish more when you abbreviate in note-taking, when you focus your notes around ideas instead of taking them down verbatim, and when you put everything straight into your computer. In this day and age, we need to pack a lot of information into a very limited timeframe.

9. Manage your time wisely

Learning is an ongoing skill. Hand in hand with your goal-setting is allotting and managing your time for things to be done – projects to work on, homework to finish, and term papers and theses to submit. Time properly managed is time well spent. Even your time for socializing should be taken into consideration. Remember – all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!

10. Reward yourself

It is important to make the learning experience enjoyable whenever possible. Try out things that may spark that craving within you to learn – listening to music, perhaps, or engaging in a delightful snack – whatever may inspire you. Continuous hours of studying will not only make you weary but also make you lose interest.

The above tips show that devoting long hours to study does not necessarily yield productive results. Studying efficiently and effectively are the key factors to learning better.

This is an excerpt from Mark Patterson’s award-winning book “Secrets of LazySmart Students” - every student’s guide to getting better marks by working smarter instead of harder. Mark’s book will give you incredible tips for time management, self-motivation, will teach you how to kick the procrastination habit and doing great in any exam or written assignment. For more detailed information on what you have read, check out his book now at: “Secrets of LazySmart Students”

The New Visualization Breakthrough: Mental Training
Tactics For Health And Fitness Success

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com

Understanding the mind’s role in motivation and behavior is one of the most critical elements in fitness success. If you struggle with changing habits and behaviors or if you can’t get motivated, then even the best training and nutrition program is not much help.

A fascinating fact about your subconscious mind is that it’s completely deductive in nature. In other words, it’s fully capable of working backwards from the end to the means. You don’t need to know how to reach a goal at the time you set the goal. If you “program” only the desired outcome successfully into your “mental computer,” then your subconscious will take over and help you find the information and means and carry out the actions necessary to reach it.

Many people are familiar with affirmations and goal-setting as ways to give instructions to your subconscious mind. But perhaps the ultimate mental training” technique is visualization. In one respect, affirmation and visualization are the same, because when you speak or think an affirmation first, that triggers a mental image, being as the human brain “thinks” in pictures.

You can use visualization to plant goals into your subconscious mind. You simply close your eyes, use your imagination and mentally create pictures and run movies of your desired results. For example, in your mind’s eye, you can see the “body of your dreams”. If repeated consistently with emotion, mental images are accepted by your subconscious as commands and this helps with changing habits, behavior and performance.

Although there are some new and creative ways to use visualization, (which you are about to learn), this is not a new technique. Visualization has been used formally in the fields of sports psychology and personal development for decades and philosophers have discussed it for centuries:

“If you want to reach your goal, you must ’see the reaching’ in your own mind before you actually arrive at your goal.”

- Zig Ziglar

“The use of mental imagery is one of the strongest and most effective strategies for making something happen for you.”

- Dr. Wayne Dyer

“Creative visualization is the technique of using your imagination to create what you want in your life.”

- Shakti Gawain

“Perhaps the most effective method of bringing the subconscious into practical action is through the process of making mental pictures - using the imagination.”

- Claude Bristol

“There is a law in psychology that if you form a picture in your mind of what you would like to be, and you keep and hold that picture there long enough, you will soon become exactly as you have been thinking.”

- William James, 1842-1910, Psychologist and Author

Despite these glowing endorsements and a long track record, some people can’t get past feeling that this is just a “hokey” self-help technique. Rest assured, however, that visualization is an effective and time-tested method for increasing personal success that has been used by some of the highest achievers the world.

The Soviets started to popularize visualization in sports psychology back in the 1970’s, as detailed in Charles Garfield’s landmark book, “Peak Performance.” They dominated in many sports during that period, which validated visualization anecdotally.

In the last 10-15 years, there has been some groundbreaking new brain research which has validated visualization scientifically. Here’s something that was written recently by Dr. Richard Restak, a neuroscientist and author of 12 books about the human brain:

“The process of imagining yourself going through the motions of a complex musical or athletic performance activates brain areas that improve your performance. Brain scans have placed such intuitions on a firm neurological basis. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans reveal that the mental rehearsal of an action activates the prefontal areas of the brain responsible for the formulation of the appropriate motor programs. In practical terms, this means you can benefit from the use of mental imagery.”

So much for visualization being a “cheesy” self-help technique.

Although visualization is widely used today, even people who are familiar with it often don’t realize its many applications. Arguably the most common use of visualization is by athletes, musicians and other performers as a form of “mental rehearsal.” Research shows that “practicing in your mind” is almost as effective as practicing physically, and that doing both is more effective than either one alone.

A common use of visualization in the fitness context is “goal visualization.” In your mind’s eye, you can see yourself having already achieved your physique goal or your ideal goal weight. You can also visualize a specific performance goal such as completing a difficult workout or a heavy lift like a squat or bench press.

One creative way you can use mental imagery is called “process visualization.” Once you’ve set your goals, it’s easy to come up with a list of the daily habits, behaviors and action steps necessary to reach your goal. So write down the action steps and visualize them - the entire process, not just the end result. See yourself food shopping and grabbing fruits, vegetables and lean proteins, ordering healthy foods from restaurant menus, saying no to sodas and drinking water instead, and going to the gym consistently and having killer workouts. Some people visualize their entire “perfect day” as they would want it to unfold. When you do this as vividly, emotionally and in as much detail as you can, you will be neurologically priming your brain to carry out those behaviors.

The least known of all mental imagery techniques is called “physiology visualization.” An example would be picturing the fat burning process in your body or seeing the muscle fibers growing larger and larger. Using this technique, could it be possible that you might be giving subconscious instructions to your body’s cells, organs and tissues?

Well, consider the work of Dr. Carl Simonton, a physician and cancer researcher who taught his patients (as one part of a comprehensive program), how to visualize powerful immune cells devouring the cancer cells. I’m not suggesting that you can cure cancer or materialize a lean and muscular body just by visualizing, (there’s a step in between thought and manifestation - it’s called action - a step that many self help ‘experts’ forget to mention). However, thoughts and mental images are the precursors to action and the fact that a mind-body connection definitely exists makes this an exciting prospect.

Scientists have established the mind-body link in many contexts, and not just by the existence of a placebo effect. There’s also direct evidence as in the way emotional stress can contribute to physical disease. The mind does influence the body! The mere fact that a branch of science has been devoted to this area is proof that it deserves critical investigation and is not just the domain of infomercial self help gurus. The science is called psychoneuroimmunology.

Using “physiology visualization,” you could, even in the middle of a workout, imagine the fat burning process taking place, and visualize fat being released from adipose tissue storage in your abdominal region or elsewhere. You could see the free fatty acids entering your bloodstream, being carried to the working muscles and being burned for energy in the muscle cells. You could also visualize the physiology of muscle growth.

To make your imagery as accurate and detailed as possible, my best suggestion is to refer to an anatomy & physiology textbook that shows pictures of fat cells, blood vessels, myofibrils, motor units, sarcomeres, and cell organelles like the mitochondria, so you know what the structures look like. You could also get more details about the processes by looking up lipolysis, hypertrophy or beta oxidation.

Even if you had no idea what the internal structure and workings of the body were like, you could still use this method. Your body responds to mental imagery even if it isn’t anatomically correct. We know from the field of hypnosis that the subconscious mind responds well to metaphor – maybe even better than literal suggestions. Facts and logic are the domain of the conscious mind, while emotion and metaphor can slip right past the conscious and into the subconscious. Dr. Simonton often wrote about his young patients who created (metaphorical) mental images of immune system cells as “knights in shining armor”, slaying “the dragon” of cancer cells.

One of your greatest mental powers is imagination. You can visualize anything you want and you can embellish and exaggerate your imagery as much as you want. For example, you could imagine the free fatty acids being burned for energy in the “cellular powerhouse” - the mitochondria - and you could imagine the mitochondria as a fiery furnace… “incinerating” the fat! I think it’s a pretty cool idea to “see” your fat cells shrinking and visualize your body as a “fat burning furnace.”

Should you not believe that there’s anything to the physiology visualization technique, that’s ok, because we know that the subconscious is deductive. Just give it a goal, tell it what you want and it will get you there automatically by altering your attention and behavior. Therefore, we can be confident that physiology visualization will be effective even if only as a subconscious directive about your desired goal. If science someday provides us with conclusive evidence that visualization actually does cause cellular - physiological changes in the body, well, that’s just all the better.

About the Author:

Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting: www.BurnTheFat.com

By: Joe Norton 

University of Pennsylvania researchers found that even the most chronically sleep-deprived men report feeling “only slightly sleepy.” So, the question is how often do you feel slightly sleepy? Everyday! Well, if you are one of the many who do not get enough sleep and suffer because of it, here are some correlations you should be made aware of.

Sleep Deprivation opens the door for Illness

In a recent report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that when 11 sleep-deprived but otherwise healthy men were given a flu vaccine, they built up just half the level of antibodies–proteins produced by the immune system to battle foreign substances–as fully rested guys given the same shot. Pair this with the fact that college campuses are already a hotbed for illness due to close quarters (and hygiene for some) and you’ve got serious potential for illness.

Don’t sacrifice mental ability.

“Studies done on visual perception, motor skills, and creative tasks all show that if you don’t sleep enough, learning just doesn’t happen,” says Sara Mednick, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at the Salk Institute. Think she’s exaggerating? The National Sleep Foundation reports that sleep deprivation impairs mental performance almost as much as being drunk–only without the funny stories. Keep in mind you are a student and don’t sacrifice mental ability for a few extra hours.

The standard amount of sleep per night is 8 hours however there is room for variation.
Some sleep as much 9 hours while others sleep as little as 5 1/2.
For More information about sleep 

In order to make a significant change to your life you are going to have to have clear in your mind what it is you want. Decide whether you want to slim down, tone up or some combination of the two. Once you have this in your mind you have to consciously realize when making eating decisions and when making decisions regarding your own activity – you have think about how this will affect your goal. None of the tips below will help if you don’t have a strong commitment to your goal.

Don’t Starve Yourself
In order to not lose substantial amounts of muscle it is necessary to lose weight slowly, over months or years. If someone were to starve themselves right off the bat their metabolism screeches to a halt and the little bit of food they do eat isn’t processed like usual, instead it is immediately stored as fat because your body is running in “survivor mode” because you are barely eating.

Keep an eye on the scale, but know it doesn’t tell the whole story
Use body fat measurements to get a better idea of your situation. The simplest of which are skin fold calipers, however I find that measurements taken by amateurs can be wildly out of line. Best off with one of the newer nice electronic pulse BF monitor things.

Tell People
Gloat to your friends about how you are serious about wanting to change your situation. Wanting to prove yourself to those whose opinions you care about will give you more of a rooting into the goal. You just about have to do it now, lest you be ridiculed mercilessly for all eternity. Just kidding. But seriously. If you find a friend with a mutual goal then try to get them in on it with you, you will peer pressure each other into completing your goals. It’s college life at it’s finest.

Set Laziness Aside
If you want to lose weight, put aside any kind of notion you had that this would be easy and require no effort. If you want to be successful in losing weight you are going to have to make the choice to not be lazy again. Trust me, you gain energy and momentum as you progress towards your goal.

 Here are some of the most common ways of getting de-railed from your weight loss and fitness goals. You may recognize one or… all of them. Don’t let’em happen to you: 

          You Gained Weight!- You’ve been sticking to your brand new diet for a whopping 48 hours.  You check the scale and somehow you’ve managed to gain weight! Don’t be frustrated - it might not be fat. Many people experience muscle growth during fitness/health plans. As they say, muscle ways more than fat and it’s entirely possible you added muscle mass. “Well, I want to lose weight, not gain it” you say?

By gaining muscle mass you are increasing the amount of calories your body needs to run - it now burns more because of the additional muscle mass. This means the more muscle mass you have, the more calorie room. You will want to use a body fat analyzer to be able to precisely say what type of weight you are losing/gaing.

          Overwhelmed by your Appearance/Situation - What you look like today physically does not reflect who you are today. That’s right, because what you look like physically is the result of your past actions - it has nothing to do with your current actions.

Your future physical appearance is determined by your current and ongoing actions. Theres no reason to fret over the fact that you are not where you want to be right now. There is no way to instantly change your situation - you have to get yourself on the path to your fitness/weight loss goal. It’s all about consistency. Weight loss can quickly accumulate when you are consistently working towards your goal.

          All-Or-Nothing Attitude - This happens when somene breaks their diet and then decides “what the heck, I already screwed up my diet, I’ll just eat what whatever and get back on the diet tomorrow…”. You must avoid this attitude at all cost if you want to be successful in your fitness and weight loss goals.

The vast, vast majority of people who say this to themselves end up gorging themselves and not getting back on the diet weeks. The proper way to have handled a situation where you eat something you shouldn’t is to :

Damage Control - One you eat a cheat food, cut it off there. Don’t open the flood gates.

Then, to account for the increase in calories/fat you should Exercise It Off.