Student Fitness

By: Joe Norton 

1. Don’t just hope to find time for going to the gym. Take the time to plan it. The college lifestyle can be hectic and plans/entire courses of the day can be changed with a decision. When you have plans in advance you can build your day around your fitness lifestyle.

2. If lines at machines at the college gym are annoying you then you might want to try going earlier in the morning or later at night. College gyms tend to have very light traffic till just before lunch, it will get more busy throughout the day usually peaking by 5-8 and die off the closer you get to closing time. With this in mind, you can have the whole gym to yourself if you go at one of the less busy time periods.

3. Don’t forget about all the old school bodyweight exercises you know of. You know exactly what I’m talking about: The Push-up, the sit-up, the pull-up (if you have a chin up bar to use). These are compound bodyweight exercises that are the basis for many fitness routines and it’s because they are some of the most effective excercises we know about. Pushups and situps can be done anywhere, any time. Why not do a quick set of each during commercials?

4. Hoof it a bit. Walking is a great form of exercise. Try to plan your day to allow for a few strolls. Even though they require little physical effort they cause serious health benefits. Take every chance you can to get out of the cramped dorm room and take a look around on a walk. Why take the shuttle to save 10 minutes when you could have just added in 10 minutes of light exercise…

5. Moderate your alcohol consumption. Alcohol is not going to help any of your goals – unless your goal is to pass out. Alcohol causes a decrease in testosterone and will negatively impact your ability to grow muscle. Alcohol is also full of empty calories and simple carbs, plus – a lot of people eat seriously unhealthy food once they have had too much alcohol (this is where most of the fat for the beer belly comes form). Read more about “Alcohol In College”

6. Get enough sleep. Atleast 6 for most people, 8 is recommended. Lack of sleep can cause many things, the worst of which is psychosis (that’s right, a psycho), including decreased cognitive ability. It will also completely screw over any kind of lifting / fitness plan. Your body needs time to rest and repair, if you never give it time it can’t ever rest & repair. Read more about sleeping…

7. Avoid the buffet. It is scientifically proven now that when you go to a buffet you definitely eat more. We all knew it, no one doubted it, yet for some reason people still go to buffets which tend to have the worse food on campus. Bleh, boo this buffet! Read more about buffets…

8. Put some Pilates into your fitness plan! Pilates are those core based bodyweight exercises that seems kinda somewhat similar to yoga but its not. Yeah those, they are amazing for abs and can be done anywhere. I suggest the floor because it has no give and works good as support. However, you can even do them in bed. Things like “the hundred”, leg raises, the saw, v situps, are all Pilates moves and there are many more – check’em out.

9. Stay busy. Join an organization or professional development club and participate often. Not only will this help out your resume and your skills in the given area, but also it means you are busy more and less time to sit around. Stay moving, stay burning calories.

10. Join a team or club, or atleast start a recurring physical activity (like Sunday basketball games, Saturday morning football games, whatever). Add something to your life that is going to continually cause you to do activities that benefit your goal. Deciding to run a 5k or hell, even a marathon – is a gigantic example of starting a recurring activity that will actually guide you to your goal.

Keep these tips in mind this upcoming semester.

By: Joseph Norton

When I lost weight it wasn’t because I went on a diet. It was because I analyzed my habits and lifestyle - chose my goal of what habits and lifestyle I did want. Then I worked to become the new me. When I was doing all this I noticed that every problem area of my life that was causing me discomfort could usually be grouped into one of three categories. Together these 3 categories are the major areas where the college atmosphere influences students and makes them prone to weight gain:

Lifestyle

College is different than high school. It’s as simple as that. The primary areas of the typical college students lifestyle that are affected is the amount of free time they have, how they use their free time, how much you physically exert yourself (be that excercising, lifting, anything that is aerobic). Usually, this new free time is used in ways which are, although fun, not quite conducive to weight loss. Just think about how often you use your free time to work out physically?
Many high school athletes who managed to stay fit from practice do not compete in college. Inherently, the additional hours of free time will undoubtedly lead to increased sedentary activity.

This is why I was so shocked at my weight gain. Being a former athlete I felt immune to weight issues. It should have dawned on me that although I was a football player in the past, nothing about my current lifestyle includes any of the physical training from my football days. So what happen is I ate the same, and exercised less - big shock, I gained weight.

Even if you never played sports, its likely you still spent more time exerting yourself
during offhours in high school than you will in college. Also, take into account how much more downtime you really have. An average courseload being 15 credits, this means 45 hours of actual classtime per week.

College, technically speaking, takes up about as much time as a “full time” 40 - 50 hour workweek. Even being so, it’s not much time your actually in class.

Think about highschool and how it was typically 6 hours, 5 days a week. Well, for college the average schedule requires 3 hours, 5 days a week. Meaning college takes HALF as much time as high school. This is why moderating how you use your downtime is so vitally important.

Stress

College students are in a complex environment; surrounded by new people, learning new
concepts, and all while trying to maintain an active social life. It can get a little stressful. Stress causes all sorts of problems.

Stress can cause your immune system to get seriously bogged down, inviting illness.

Pair this with the fact that college is already a risky place for illness and you got a serious
threat of sickness Also note that stress causes higher cortisol levels, which directly increases abdominal fat.

Here are several strategies that can help you cope with stressful situations in college, according to the University of South Florida’s Counseling Center for Human Development:

Learn to manage your time wisely. Make and follow a daily schedule that includes time for classes, reading and writing assignments, exam preparation (don’t procrastinate!), healthy meals, exercise and a job.

Set priorities and make the most of your opportunities as a student. Write down the most important items and concentrate on those at the top of your list. Writing ideas down helps crystallize your thinking and reinforce important goals.

Learn to say “no” to some of the demands for your time. Protect your own best interests by refusing to allow yourself to become overstressed by taking on every request or opportunity that comes your way.

Make careful planning a basic part of your academic routine. In a student’s hectic world, poor planning often leads to crisis situations. And crisis almost always leads to stress.

Food

Far too many students come into school with the midnset that the meal plan will be there whenever they are hungry.

Only to realize that most meal plans only allow 2 meals a day on avg and definitely require additional supplementation.Without viable healthy alternatives to campus food, and with surrounding fast food, the convenience factor becomes overwhelming.

Students snack on candy bars and soda from the vending machines instead of buying fruit or juices to ease those late night cravings. With some planning and moderate discipline, students can learn that it is not terribly difficult to live a healthier lifestyle.

Upon entering college the average student’s life is dramatically altered in these three areas. Unfortunately for us with a naturally slow metabolism the impact of these three changes can lead to dramatic weight gain – The Freshman 15.
Together these factors tend to cause 3 significant changes in the fitness and nutrition of the college student.

1. Consume More Calories – poor food choices, to counteract stress

2. Burn Less Calories – from being less active

3. Start/Stop Metabolism – from missing meals, poor food choices

Another result of the lifestyle switch between high school and college is the proclivity of college students to live on a more nocturnal schedule.

This can cause problems especially given how the meal plans given out at colleges operate during day hours. This can lead to missing the “time zone” for a specific meal period. To avoid this you need to learn to work with your meal plan.
Another significant problem with the lifestyle inherited by the college student is frequency of meals. There is a significant problem with only eating 2 meals a day, and doing so crushes your metabolism.

By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

Alcohol has been implicated as a factor that may hurt your efforts to lose
body fat. Whether alcohol is “fattening” has been a very controversial subject
because technically speaking, alcohol is NOT stored as fat; it is oxidized
ahead of other fuels.

Whether moderate drinking is healthy has also been a subject of controversy.

Many studies show that cardiovascular health benefits are associated with
moderate beer or wine drinking (which has been of particular interest lately with

reservatrol in the news so much), while other studies show improved insulin sensitivity.
Some experts however, say that alcohol has no place in a fitness lifestyle.

A recent study published in the journal Obesity adds new findings to our knowledge about alcohol, insulin resistance and abdominal obesity. Analysis of the results as compared to other studies also gives us some insights into why some people seem to drink and get fat while others seem to drink and get thin!

The truth about the beer belly phenomenon

This new study, by Ulf Riserus and Erik Inglesson, was based on the Swedish Uppsala Longitudinal cohort. The researchers found that alcohol intake in older men did not improve insulin sensitivity, which contradicted their own hypothesis and numerous previous studies.

They also said there was a very “robust” association between alcohol intake,
waist circumference and waist to hip ratio. They pointed out that a high alcohol intake, especially hard liquor, was closely associated with abdominal body fat,
not just overall body mass.

Abdominal fat accumulation is not just a cosmetic problem, it can be a serious health risk. Abdominal fat, also known as “android” or “central” obesity, increases the risk for cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, high blood lipids, glucose intolerance and elevated insulin levels.

Many other studies have also found a link between alcohol intake and abdominal fat, but this too has been controversial. A study that was widely publicized by the BBC in 2003 dismissed the concept of the “beer belly.”

Nevertheless, it looks like there’s some scientific support to it after all (or at least a “liquor belly” according to this newer study).

Hormones may be strongly involved because high alcohol intake has been shown to decrease blood testosterone in men, and also increase cortisol levels, which can lead to visceral fat accumulation.

Why is there so much controversy? Why the discrepancy in research findings about alcohol’s influence on obesity, abdominal fat, and insulin sensitivity?

Well, here’s the real story of why some people don’t get fat when they drink:

A lot of the confusion is because epidemiological research cannot show cause and effect relationships and mistakes can easily be made when drawing associations based on limited data.

With the nature of these longitudinal studies, you have to look at the lifestyle and nature of drinkers in general (or in this study, hard liquor drinkers). Also, the Swedish study focused on older men, so age may have been a factor. You may be more likely to deposit alcohol right on your belly as you get older.

When you hear that alcohol increases belly fat, you also have to look at what else is going on in the life of the drinker, particularly what the rest of a person’s diet looks like, and how alcohol intake affects appetite and eating habits.

Research says that alcohol can mess up your body’s perception of hunger, satiety and fullness. If drinking stimulates additional eating, or adds additional calories that aren’t compensated for and which lead to positive energy balance, then you get fat. You may also get fat in the belly, no thanks to what booze does to hormones.

Another thing that confounds the reports on whether alcohol contributes to weight gain is the fact that the game changes in heavy drinkers. We know that alcohol contains 7.1 calories per gram and these calories always count as part of the energy balance equation… or do they? With chronic excessive alcohol consumption, it’s possible that not all of these calories are available for energy. Due to changes in liver function and something called the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS), alcoholism may be a real case of where some calories don’t count. Many alcoholics also skip meals and eat less with increasing alcohol consumption.

Alcohol metabolizing pathways notwithstanding, even if binge drinkers, daily drinkers or heavy drinkers consume most of their calories from alcohol, if they eat very little, and remain in a calorie deficit, they will not get fat. Compound this with the hormonal effects and you witness the skinny, but under-nourished, unhealthy and atrophied alcoholic (the person you’d think would be most likely to have a beer belly).

It’s the calories that count

The bottom line is, the idea that alcohol just automatically turns into fat or gives you a beer belly is mistaken. It’s true that alcohol suppresses fat oxidation, but mainly, alcohol adds calories into your diet, messes with your hormones and can stimulate appetite, leading to even more calories consumed. That’s where the fat gain comes from.

If you drink in moderation, if you’re aware of the calories in the alcohol, if you’re aware of the calories from additional food intake consumed during or after drinking, and if you compensate for all of the above accordingly, you won’t get fat.

Now, with that said, you might be wondering: “You mean I can drink and still lose fat? I just need to keep in a calorie deficit?”

Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. But before you rush off to the pub for a cold one, hold that thought for a minute while you consider this first: The empty alcohol calories displace the nutrient dense calories!

When you’re on a fat loss program you have a fairly small “calorie budget”, so you need to give some careful thought to how those calories should be “spent.” For example, if a female is on a 1500 calorie per day diet, does she really want to “spend” 500 of those calories – one third of her intake - for a few alcoholic drinks, and leave only 1000 for health-promoting food, fiber and lean muscle building protein?

I realize some people may answer “yes” to that question, but then again, if some people spent their money as frivolously as they spent their calories, they would be in deep trouble!

To summarize this into some practical, take-home advice, here are 7 of my personal tips for alcohol consumption in the fitness lifestyle:

(1) Don’t drink on a fat loss program. Although you could certainly drink and “get away with it” if you diligently maintained your calorie deficit as noted above, it certainly does not help your fat loss cause or your nutritional status.

(2) Drink in moderation during maintenance. For lifelong weight maintenance and a healthy lifestyle, if you drink, do so in moderation and only occasionally, such as on weekends or when you go out to dine in restaurants. Binge drinking and getting drunk has no place in a fitness lifestyle (not to mention hangovers aren’t very conducive to good workouts).

(3) Don’t drink daily. Moderate drinking, including daily drinking, has been associated with cardiovascular health benefits. However, I don’t recommend daily drinking because behaviors repeated daily become habits. Behaviors repeated multiple times daily become strong habits. Habitual drinking may lead to heavier drinking or full-blown addictions and can be hard to stop if you ever need to cut back.

(4) Count the calories. If you decide to have a bottle of beer or a glass of wine or two (or whatever moderation is for you), be sure to account for the alcohol in your daily calorie budget.

(5) Watch your appetite. Don’t let the “munchies” get control of you during or after you drink (Note to chicken wing and nacho-eating men: The correlation to alcohol and body fat is higher in men in almost all the studies. One possible explanation is that men tend to drink and eat, while women may tend to drink instead of eating).

(6) Watch the fatty foods. When drinking, watch the fatty foods in particular. A study by Angelo Tremblay back in 1995 suggested that alcohol and a high fat diet are a combination that favors overfeeding.

(7) Enjoy without guilt. If you choose to drink (moderately and sensibly), then don’t feel guilty about it or beat yourself up afterwards, just enjoy the darn stuff, will you!

To see a complete fat burning system that takes you by the hand, step by step and shows you what to eat, what to drink (and what not drink), how to exercise and how to stay motivated.

References:

(1) Alcohol Intake, Insulin Resistance, and abdominal obesity in elderly men. Riserus U, Ingelsson E., Obesity. 15(7): 1766-1773. 2007

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