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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2004)
Thursday, January 22, 2004 FITNESS I IN ACiCilKI-ANO THK BATTALION Photo by Joshua Hobson • THE BATTALION By Abby Woller FITNESS IN AGGIELAND C hristmas break is over, and working off those holiday dinners, pumpkin pies and candy canes is on the mind of almost every student. After all, spring break is right around the comer. Okay, so it’s actually a few months away, but a good exercise plan should start now. Texas A&M students have many options to chose from in the Bryan-College Station area when deciding on an exercise plan to prepare for warmer weather and swimsuit season. “The Rec Center aims to help students with the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle,” said Department of Recreational Sports com puter and marketing manager John Hinton, adding that he recognizes students might go elsewhere to achieve this goal. Overcrowding, especially in the evening, and the inconvenience of limited free park ing are reasons he said some students might avoid the on-campus facility. Hinton estimates that almost 30 per cent of all students never set foot inside one of the nation’s largest university-oper ated health and fitness facilities. When looking for a workout alterna tive, students have several fitness facility options in the Bryan-College Station area. “Gold’s (Gym) is new, it’s right by my house, and I want to go to work out and not worry about who I might see,” said senior marketing major Cathy Hayek. She said Gold’s has a lot to offer, and she doesn’t mind paying for her membership. “The private women’s workout area is nice,” she said. “There’s more space and more machines. I also like the black-light spin ning class and the fact that aerobics classes don’t cost extra.” Gold’s 11 big-screen TVs and more than 50 car- dio machines are eye-catch ing, and the workout floor generally isn’t overrun by people. “Just walk around, and you’ll see why people like to work out here,” said Robby Graham, a Gold’s fitness counselor. Gold’s offers professional assistance for people wanting to achieve their fitness goals, and Graham said the personalized approach they take is what sets Gold’s apart. “We're into goals, fitness-oriented goals,” Graham said. “We’re not necessari ly the social gathering place. The average turnover is about an hour here.” Carol Sadoski, a membership consult ant at Aerofit, said student members enjoy her facility. “The Rec Center is great if you’re looking for a place to meet peo ple and socialize,” she said. "The atmosphere here is conducive to wanting to get a workout in. They’re here with limited time and want to make the most of it.” Some students prefer a workout plan that does n’t include using any health and fitness facili ty. When walking around campus in the morning, it’s not uncommon to see many students jogging or hear the chanting of Corps of Cadets members as they run with their outfits. “Every morning it’s about a four- to six- mile run,” said Patrick Murphy, a freshman history major, about his exercise routine with Company D-2. “In the afternoon we We do countiess numbers of sit-ups, pushups and various exerdsesto strengthen all of our different muscles. We cover absolutely every musde group. — Patrick Murphy Corps of Cadets member Pictured above: Sophomore agricultural development major London Hobson works out at his apartment complex weight room in December. do countless numbers of sit-ups, pushups and various exercises to strengthen all of our dif ferent muscles. We cover absolutely every muscle group.” Murphy said he doesn’t spend much time at the Rec Center because of his fitness routine with the Corps. Running isn’t the only way to stay in shape without hitting the gym. Teddy Childers, a senior finance major and presi dent of the Texas A&M Cycling Team, uses bike riding to stay in shape. “At first it was for recreational fun,” he said, “but it’s also about competing. The competition keeps me motivated, and it's a hobby. Riding my bike is a great stress reliever, and I have fun racing and hanging out with friends who enjoy cycling.” Childers said he complements his cycling with visits to the Rec Center “for the weight room, running during cold weather and the spinning class.” “Most of the guys on the team... ride for several hours at a time,” Childers said, “and that’s enough.” See Options on page 8 £ “ EJ-1 CQ FITNESS IN A.GOIELAND THE BATTALION £=- s s Thursday, January 22, 2004 By Christy Havel FITNESS IN AGGIELAND B etween classes, work, studying and clubs, students don’t have much time to focus on nutri tion. Unfortunately, the poor eating habits of students can lead to weight gain and sickness. The good news is that a few small changes in your diet can make a big difference. Cynthia Zawieja, associate direc tor of Food Services and a registered dietician, offers tips for students eat ing on campus. “The freshman 15 is the truth, not a myth,” Zawieja said. “Changes in eating habits and lifestyle contribute to this problem, in addition to poor food choices. Students continue to eat the high fat fast food items available to them. They want more and more fast food to go, more frozen dinnejs and more packaged food.” The basics of healthy eating haven’t changed since food group les sons learned in elementary school: eat more fruit and vegetables and less fatty snacks to stay healthy. The dining halls on campus offer fresh fruits, vegetables, salads, low- fat dressings and low-fat desserts. All meals have a light entree and a vege tarian option. Menus and nutritional information are available online at food.tamu.edu and soon will also appear in the dining venues. Time continues to be an issue for college students. Even in apartments with full kitchens, most don’t have time to prepare three bal anced meals a day. Rhonda Rahn, health education coordinator for Student Health Services, suggests using the microwave to cook healthier foods. “Microwave cook ing is healthy and quick — two impor tant things students need,” Rahn said. “I suggest simple things for adding vegetables to the diet, like having a salad with your meal or adding broccoli to ramen noodles.” Many cooking methods can elimi nate excess calories. Experts recom mend preparing beef, poultry, and fish using low-fat cooking methods such as broiling, grilling and stir-frying. Marinate meat in low-fat marinades such as salsa, teriyaki sauce, orange juice or Dijon mustard. Season foods with fresh or dried herbs instead of using oil or butter. Eating out doesn’t need to be a calorie-fest, either. Most restaurants offer healthy alterna tives. ■ “Many students eat out at restaurants a considerable amount of the time and they don’t take home any of the food,” Rahn said. “Instead, they clean their plates and end up eating a lot more than they need to.” Many restaurant menus have a light sec tion with healthier entrees to choose from. St. Joseph Regional Health Center has teamed up with local restaurants such as Blue Baker and Cheddar’s to provide heart healthy food. Look for menu items with SJ inscribed in a red heart for the healthy options. For students with special dietary See Food on page 8 The SKINNY on fast food ——— McDonald's • English Muffin: 50 calories, 2g of fat • Fruit ’n Yogurt Parfait: 160 calories, 2g of fat • Caesar salad, no chicken or dressing: 90 calories, 4g of fat Burger King • Chicken Caesar Salad, no dressing or croutons: 170 calories, 3.5g of fat • Side Garden Salad, no dressing: 25 calo ries, no fat • Onion rings (small):180 calories, 9g of fat Sonic • Small Cherry Limeade:169 calories, no fat Subway • Veggie Delite six-inch sub, no condiments or cheese: 200 calories, 2.5g of fat • Roasted chicken breast salad: 137 calo ries, 3g of fat • Deli style ham sandwich: 194 calories, 3.5g of fat Wendy's • Mandarin chicken salad, no dressing: 190 calories, 3g of fat • Spring mix salad:180 calories, 11 g of fat • 6 oz. Frosty: 160 calories, 4 g of fat • 4-piece chicken nuggets: 180 calories,11g of fat The freshman 15 is the truth, not a myth. Changes in eating habits and lifestyle contribute to this problem. — Cynthia Zawieja A&M Food Services
