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
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FITNESS IN A.GOIELAND
THE BATTALION
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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