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Not sure how to keep up
your health-conscious self once you enter college?
Ease your worries with three simple tips.
Maintaining Your
Health Is As Simple As 1-2-3
By Feona Sharhran Huff
March 2001
The CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- Does your
high school gym teacher push you to run extra
laps? Do additional sit-ups? Eat salads for lunch
instead of fried and greasy food?
Those days will soon be
over once you graduate. That's right, you won't
be required to take the Presidential Fitness Test
-- or prove that you're in shape by any other
standards -- once you enter college. But, does
that give you the right to go from a health-conscious
teen to a 'couch-potato, soap opera-watching,
pizza-eating maniac'?
Not at all, says Dr. David
Pearson, associate professor of exercise physiology
at the Human Performance Laboratory at Ball State
University, Muncie, IN, and fitness advice columnist
for MH-18's Web site. In fact, Pearson recommends
that you make it your mission to remain healthy
and physically fit by applying a couple of things
to your undergraduate lifestyle:
1. Establish an Exercise
Routine: Pearson, who also serves as Ball
State's first strength and conditioning coach,
suggests that you take part in both resistance
and aerobic training. In resistance training,
you're dealing with general body and muscle strength
and in aerobic training, you work toward cardiovascular
fitness. He suggests spending at least 20 to 30
minutes per workout on both types of training.
Can't do it solo? Pearson
encourages you to get a 'fitness buddy.' This
person can motivate you to physical fitness as
you both participate in exercises. You may also
want to get involved with some of the intramural
sports that your school offers. You won't think,
'Oh boy, this is a hard workout,' when you're
having fun spiking a volley ball onto the head
of an opposing team member in a intramural match!
2. Drink Plenty of Water:
Not only does H2O help flush out all of the toxins
in your system, it also makes your skin softer
and clearer. That's why it's essential you drink
at least eight glasses of water a day (eight ounces
per glass, at that). It may seem like a lot to
swallow, but if you think about it, you probably
drink more carbonated beverages in a hour's time
than you do water all week.
If you think you'll have
trouble consciously drinking eight glasses in
a day's time -- that is, taking the initiative
to drink it just because you know it's good for
you -- try this: For every glass of soda you have,
drink two glasses of water. Instead of drinking
soda at each meal, substitute it with a glass
of water. Every hour on the hour, take a trip
to the refrigerator (or the campus bookstore)
and drink a bottle of water. Besides, your liver
will thank you for your efforts in the long run!
3. Get Your Proper Zzzs:
It's been eons since you've adhered to a bedtime
schedule, but as a full-time student who will
probably be involved in lots of campus and community
activities, you may want to consider hitting the
sack by a certain time each night. That's because
a lack of ample sleep can affect how your body
functions. If you're exhausted, you're not going
to be able to deal. In other words, you may be
unusually snappy, your response time may be off,
and you won't get as pumped in class debates as
you generally would. It's suggested that you get
at least eight hours of sleep, but if you can
only get six, make a conscious effort to 'count
the sheep.'
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