Off Campus Nutrition

One thing we don’t see as often with freshman and sophomores in college is off campus living. The majority of the time we see juniors and seniors choosing to live off campus. The only time we do see younger students living off campus is when they are commuting. The majority of the time they choose to stay with family during these years, so nutrition is typically not a problem for them. For someone who wants to stay active, nutrition is key. Students who live off campus are typically on a budget and don’t always have the extra money to be able to get groceries and eat the healthiest of foods.

I have seen so many of my friends and classmates move off campus and proceed to lose quite a bit of weight that they didn’t have to lose. They claim they are eating enough, but in reality they are only eating one meal a day and are staying just as active as when they were eating two to three meals a day while living on campus. According to an article written by HealthStatus.com, most college students are burning an average of 1,800 calories a day just walking to class and sitting around doing homework/relaxing¹. By increasing your activity level, there is also an increase in calories burned. Therefore, you need to increase the amount of calories you are eating and not many people do that when living off campus.

Also, in order to maintain muscle strength and endurance, the amount of macronutrients you intake is extremely important. According to a presentation titled “Eating to Win” given by Dr. David Pearson of Ball State University, an average active individual needs to consume 50% carbohydrates, 35% fat and 15% protein in their diet. Being an off campus student, I am the first to vouch that fats and carbs are the two main nutrients consumed by students. We do not have the money to purchase higher quality foods (however, that is not always the case). We also do not have as much time to cook meats/very extravagant meals, leading us to eat on the fly, which is very common.

Processed food is also something to stay away from if at all possible. You really don’t know what is in those types of frozen microwave meals. Eating these types of meals on a regular basis tends to increase the amount of sodium and fats being put in the body. An excessive amount of these nutrients can start to play havoc with your body. Eating one every once in a while is not bad if you are combining it with other foods (healthier options) throughout the week.

Another problem that off campus students see is the availability of fast food restaurants. We don’t want to cook (either because we are too lazy/tired or think we don’t have the proper amount of time) and we don’t want to go hungry. Just going to a fast food place and grabbing something quick is very easy for us. Once again, eating this type of food in excess can be harmful for the body. If you have ever seen the movie Super Size Me, you saw how harmful eating fast food for every meal for a month can be on the human body (if you haven’t seen it, I would highly recommend it). I am not saying that you need to completely avoid fast food. You can eat it, but just know what to eat there. Not everything is as bad for you as you think.

After living off campus for a year, I had to come up with a few different ideas to make sure that I was eating properly. By properly, I mean both eating enough and in a healthy manner. Below is a short list that I was able to come up with to help me eat healthier while living off campus:

 

1. Make a list and stick to it when you go to the grocery store

Allows you to stop impulse buying and stops you from spending an excessive amount of money

2. Set a schedule of when to go to the grocery store every month

You won’t have to worry about when you are going to go to the store and you will be able to budget a little better

3. Limit yourself to a certain number of meals out each week

4. Prepare meals early in the week so you won’t have to worry about it when strapped for time later in the week

Will be easier for when you are eating on the fly. You will have multiple meals prepared and all you will have to do is worry about warming them up on the day you choose

5. Stay away from an excess amount of processed food (if at all possible)

6. Cook vegetables with your meals to fill you up faster

7. Invest in storage containers

This will allow you to save extra food that you cook so you can eat it later in the week for another meal. Not only will this allow you to cut down on groceries, but it will also give you another meal for later in the week.

8. Get a meal plan if your university offers them

There are some universities that offer off campus meal plans for students. If you know you are going to have trouble with eating healthy/eating at all, get one of those plans so you have one less thing to worry about during the day.

Trying to eat healthy is not the easiest thing in the world. Starting a habit like this when you are in college will benefit you when you graduate college and enter the real world. By just trying to eat healthier, taking small steps to get there, you will start getting into a routine. It will especially make you feel better throughout the day as your body will have more energy to burn and won’t have to figure out where to get the energy from. Nutrition is very important for anyone who wants to continue to stay active in college and after you complete your education. There is a popular quote that is often repeated although I don’t remember the author:

“Abs are made in the kitchen”

You always need a place to start and the kitchen is the best place.

 

 

1. https://www.healthstatus.com/health_blog/body-fat-calculator-2/daily-activity-calories-burning/

Free Weights Versus Machines

When patrons enter a gym for the first time ever, or return after a prolonged absence, most of the times they start to work out on machines. That is not always the worst case, but bad nonetheless. I would venture to say that most people haven’t been properly trained on either which is the first thing that must be done. One of the biggest questions I have been asked is the difference between using free weights and machines when exercising. After taking a class on resistance training during my exercise science undergraduate education, I have been able to study the differences between the two. There are quite a few pros associated with both, which will be discussed in this post. There are also cons with each mode (just like with everything else in the world). If you are starting to become active or are out of a structured program (like a high school weight lifting class or high school sport), here are a few items to consider when going back to the gym and starting another structured program.

Let’s first take a look at machines. Machines are a very good starting point for anyone getting active again. They are MUCH easier to learn since there is typically one movement associated with them. Most gyms, especially 24-hour gyms like Planet Fitness and Anytime Fitness, are going to have quite a few different machines throughout their facility. You won’t have to worry about changing cables and/or bars/straps like one you can have at home (more all-in-one). All you will have to do is change the weight and the seat position before you perform the lift. If you are limited on time, machines are great since you won’t have to constantly be changing settings. However, if you are working out at home, the “all-in-one” types of machines (e.g. Bowflex, Total Gyms, and Marcy cages) will be more beneficial. They take up less space and you will be able to have everything you need in one machine. You will be able to complete everything you want, and possibly more.

Machines are also quite a bit safer than free weights. You typically will not need a spotter, as there is a limited range of motion on machines. If you feel like you are going to drop the weight, you can do so and it will stop once it hits the other weights that are stationary. You will not feel like you are going to drop the weights and hurt yourself in some way, shape or form.

The limited range of motion that is associated with machines typically leads to more weight being lifted. Exercisers don’t have to move the weight as far as someone who is using free weights, so there is less distance that the weight has to be moved. Someone might be able to lift 150 pounds on a machine, but when they move to free weights, they can only lift 100 pounds while still doing the same amount of work. Also associated with the limited range of motion, machines are good for rehab purposes. Clients are able to run through a limited range with the limb they are attempting to rehab and can avoid re-aggravating the injury. Being an intern at Henry County Sports Medicine Performance Enhancement, we use machines quite often for rehab purposes. At the clinic, I have used machines with patients that are working on rehabbing an injury from sports

Finally, another perk of using machines is that most of the time you are doing bilateral movement. Bilateral movement pertains to doing the lift on both sides of the body. You can do them at the same time, or you can do one side at a time; it doesn’t really matter as long as you do to one what you do to the other. You are not going to strengthen one side of your body more than the other. Most injuries that I have seen have been because one side is stronger than the other, which caused the client to overcompensate and injure the weaker side. With machines, you can work both sides of the body and strengthen them at the same time, or you can do one side in a much safer manner (going back to the safety aspect).

Moving away from machines, let’s now take a look at free weights. I personally am more of a free weight user due to the amount of time I have been working out and lifting. I have been trained on how to lift properly, which is something you need to understand before you even consider using free weights. That is one of the bigger downsides. However, there are quite a few pros associated with them as well. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

One of the biggest differences between machines and free weights is the variability. You are able to do more than one exercise/type of movement with free weights for a specific muscle group. You will be able to change it up from week to week, or day-to-day depending on your activity level. The variability of this mode of exercise is very beneficial for someone who doesn’t like to do the same types of exercise day in and day out.

Free weights also have a larger range of motion associated with the exercises that you might be doing. You are able to lift the weight over a longer angle, causing more work to be done by the muscle. With the larger angle, the weight might actually go down when compared to machines. Just because the weight is changing doesn’t mean the exercise isn’t doing what it needs to or is going to be any easier. However, it does mean that you are initiating more muscle fibers in the muscle. With more muscle fibers activated, you are going to get a better/more complete overall lift. You might even start to see the muscle getting bigger in areas that you didn’t see when using machines. Most body builders start off with free weights just to see a bigger gain.

Just like with machines, free weights are great when it comes to rehabbing injuries. You are able to have your “normal weight” on the side that is not injured and a lower weight on the side that is being rehabbed. You don’t want to just work on one side. You need to continue to do bilateral types of exercises so one side doesn’t get stronger than the other. However, both free weights and machines are going to be great when it comes to rehab.

Finally, free weights have the tendency to be a little cheaper if you are thinking about putting something in your home/apartment. Different stores will have them priced differently, but free weights are going to average $1.50 per pound. You can also get something that is similar to an “all-in-one” that has a dial that can change the weight on the handle. You turn the dial to the desired weight and then lift it up. There are special mechanisms inside that lock the weight in place. That type is much easier than having multiple weights, plates and dumbbells stacked in a room. With that being said, these types of weights are going to be much easier to store. So if you are limited on space, they might benefit you more than a machine that takes up quite a bit of space.

Just by taking a look at these few differences, you can see how someone might get confused about what they need to use for the goal they are trying accomplish. Unfortunately, there is no definite answer. Both machines and free weights are going to allow you to get in a nice lift; they will just accomplish that in different ways. From someone who has been lifting for a while, and after talking to a competitor in men’s physique competitions, we both use free weights and machines. The best way to see gains is by changing things up and ensuring you have both machines and free weights integrated in your workout. So don’t think that one is going to be more beneficial than the other. Be sure to mix things up!

Getting Involved in Campus Club Sports

After being both a welcome week leader and a mentor for an early start program at Ball State University, there were many students to whom I talked that were athletes in high school and wanted to continue to play that sport in college. They did not feel they were dedicated enough to play at the NCAA/NAIA level and wanted to know how to continue playing the sport they love. However, most of the other upperclassmen did not know what to tell the new students on how to get started looking for a club sport. When this happened, most of the younger students felt that intramural sports were just as competitive as club sports (if they even knew what club sports were offered). In most cases, this is not true. If you are in this situation and want to find out more about club sports your university has to offer, here are a few steps that you might consider doing in order to get yourself started on the right track.

The first thing that you always want to do is start by doing your research. Find out how many club sports your university has to offer and see if the sport you want to continue is on that list. Contact your recreation center to see what club sports are offered if you are unable to find it elsewhere. If there is an activities fair at the beginning of your semester, attend if all possible. Club sports will most likely be in attendance and you will be able to find out very important information. Even if your sport is not in attendance, you will be able to talk to someone who will know who you need to contact to get information on the sport you strongly desire to continue/play.

Some larger colleges and universities have quite a few different club sports to offer. Just at Ball State University, located in Muncie, Indiana, there are over 30 offered (information obtained from the BSU recreation website). Also, according to an article written by the NY times, “An estimated two million college students play competitive club sports compared with about 430,000 involved in athletics governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics,” (Rise of College Club Teams Creates a Whole New Level of Success). So even if you think that you are not good enough to compete in club sports, think again. With the amount of students playing club sports, you are bound to be just as good as the others on the team and should have no problem making it if you stuck with it throughout your middle school and high school careers. However, if you find out your sport is not offered, intramural sports will be the next best option. They are not as competitive/intense, but you will get to play with your friends and just let loose.

Once you have finished doing your research on whether or not your university has club sports, start contacting certain people involved. They will be able to tell you all the important information you need to know. Whether it is the cost, tryouts, practices and travel to tournaments, they will know and will be able to sit down and talk with you to iron everything out. They also should know the university policies, which is something else you need to understand. There are certain rules that some universities have that might be different than others. You should understand them all before you even consider getting involved.

Once you find out all this information, the next step for you to do is think things over. You never want to jump into a situation without thinking everything over. I personally did not think things over when I originally started playing a club sport (Ultimate Frisbee) for Ball State when I should have. I am not saying that I didn’t love the sport that I was playing, but I should have considered a few things before. There are many different factors (e.g. money, will you have the time, will it interfere with school and/or work, is it all worth it, do you meet university policies (if there are any), etc.) that you need to consider before committing.

And finally, the last thing you need to do is just give it a try. What is the worst that can happen? If you have tryouts associated with your sport and you find out you do not love it as much as you did in high school, then it’s better to find it out earlier rather than when you play the sport. You can always say you aren’t interested after going to a few practices. That’s always better than getting involved and hating it halfway through after paying quite a bit of money. ALWAYS give something a try before you fully commit.

Being a club athlete myself on and off for the four years that I was an undergrad, these are some of the things that I wish I would have done. I did a few of them, but most of them I had NO clue about and just went in with a blind eye. I had no clue of some of the commitments that I had to make. I stuck it out because I fell in love with the sport, but just wish I would have done a little more research before. Just like when writing a research paper, or any other paper mind you, you want to have as much information as possible to be as prepared as you can. You can never be too prepared. It’s better to have all the information before you start than finding out very important information when you are already fully engrained in the club sport. So if you find yourself wanting to play a club sport, give this a try. You never know what you might end up finding out about a sport that you have played your whole life.