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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2004)
UN Thursday, January 22, 2004 Contents I 1110 If A'l 'I W 1^ 1 IN 3 Students choose intramurals to stay in shape. Find out how to participate. O Eating healthy, a perfect partner with exercise. Food Services gives cafeteria guide lines. Q Students seek workout alter natives to the Student Recreation Center. Many chose to exercise at home, at other area gyms or in their apartment complex weight rooms. 0 Ladies... check out these female-only work out hot spots. Why sweaty men and self-con scious workouts may be a thing of the past. 7 Find out what baseball play ers do to keep fit during the off season. On the Cover Cover: Photographer Joshua Hobson zooms in on the battie of the bulge, with senior journalism major and Battalion radio producer Jacquelyn Spruce as his model. Left: Spruce shows how she stays in shape by maintaining her flexibility. To our readers: Everyone has New Year’s resolutions. One of the most common resolutions for Americans, college students included, is get- titvg, in shape, especially for those planning spring break trips to the beach. This magazine was produced to help students reach their fitness goals. As students in the Texas A&M Fall 2003 magazine edit ing and production class, our goal was to provide information about the fitness and health services available in the Bryan-College Station area. Whether getting fit in 2004 is at the top of your list this year or not, we hope this magazine will help each reader lead a health ier, more active life. —Dallas Shipp FITNESS IN AGGIELAND Editor Dallas Shipp Senior Editor Adam Besetzny Copy Editor Matt Pickard Design Director Jim Daniel Art Director Marcus White USIV MIWV MI SSdSUAJ 0course for Business & Life SrOMSQtEO ft JEFF M ACCENT AND TNE PCA 12 two-hour group lessons Students register NOW-ianuary 26th II rcgsrtor kasurj ?Q 26 At tb* Pro She?. legimtr timcs-fwy lues stirtnf laiuary 77tk am,*) Intvmtott dimcs-fitry Ttiurs. startint lanturj 29tti imi* f*9*Jritan first ctats, first ssrve. • full swnf practice • pitching • chipping • bunker play • mental game • history of golf • rules • business application • on-course instruction Instruction provided by PGA professionals at an 81I student to teacher ratio. Course cost: S75 For more information, filease contact the Pro Shop at 845.1723. 4lic \DRIVING RANGE NEW OWNERSHIP COUPON Buy One Get One FREE! • Friday Nights - Long Drive Contest • Womens Clinics • New & Used Clubs • Club Repair • Womens & Mens Lessons by PGA Pros • Daily Twilight Special: s l. 00 off • Womens Clinics by Lady Ags Golf Coach From College Stofion, take Hwy. 6 toward Waco, Turn right on FM 158 (Boonville Exit), go down about one mile, turn left at 'The Big Hit" sign on Mohawk, this road dead ends at 'The Big Hit" Driving Range. Call 979-776-0300 for more information 3715 Mohawk • Bryan H PeAceWoRKS WeLLNeSS C€NT€R Massage Therapy • Stretching/Relaxation Classes Christian Meditation Massage Specialties In: • Swedish • Pregnancy • Trigger Point • Yamuna Body Rolling Deep Tissue Basalt Stone Neuromuscular By Appointment Only Gift Certificates Available Mention this ad and receive 20% OFF YOUR FIRST VISIT 979-731-8770 2402 Broadmoor, Bldg.A, Ste 103 • Bryan,Texas By Ashley Watson FITNESS IN AGGIELAND T here is no real offseason for the Texas A&M baseball team. Once the final out is recorded and the national champion is crowned, train ing begins for the next year. Former Aggie pitcher Stephen Ponder said the offseason can be the most important part of the year. “What an athlete does in the offseason is what separates him or her from the rest of the competi tion,” Ponder said. “You have to work harder, longer and more diligently than your competitor, otherwise you will get left in the dust.” The Aggie baseball squad has an offseason that lasts 14 weeks and is divided into three parts. Due to NCAA regulations, a player can have no more than two hours of instruction from a coach per week during the first part of training, which lasts three weeks. But the time is set up so that players can still receive instmetion from the coaching staff on a limited basis. “You might meet with a coach for about 25 min utes per day until your two hours are met,” said Aggie shortstop Matt Alexander, a junior agricultur al development major. “A lot of people think the off season is when we mess around, but it is actually very intense.” After the first three weeks, the Aggies have a four-week period full of intra-squad scrimmages. Each scrimmage lasts about four hours and gives the coaches time to stop and explain game situations or teach fundamentals. The third part of the baseball offseason, which consists of two hours a day of weight training and running, lasts six weeks and is considered the major Pictured above: Texas A&M shortstop Matt Alexander tries to get an out on a University of Houston player during the February Astros College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. focus of the offseason. “The time we spent as a team was usually from about 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., con ditioning and trying to get better physically,” said sen ior pitcher, Brian Shallock, an agricultural development major. Weight training exercis es are tailored to each play er’s strength. Running con sists of sprints and agility drills. “Sometimes it’s hard to walk to your car after practice,” Alexander said. Throughout the offseason, the team has cool down time on Wednesdays and weekends to recover from the grueling training schedule. Junior pitcher Matt Farnum said staying in good shape physically is his main goal during offseason. “By the time we come back from Christmas break I want to be in the best shape of my life,” Famum said. As January rolled around this year, so did the Aggie baseball season. The team has started prac ticing for opening day in mid-February, when off season training pays off. “During strenuous exercises at practice, the other guys will definitely be able to tell if you kept up or not over the break,” Alexander said. “The ones that did will get to play more and the ones that didn't will suffer.” But keeping in shape doesn’t stop in the weight room or on the field. Athletes have to eat better than the average college student, though having access to See Offseason on page 8