With the Crazylegs race and summer on the horizon, more UW-Madison students can be seen breaking out their running shoes to get fit. But do students know the right way to get in shape to run that 8k race or feel good in a tiny two-piece? The rift between those who do not exercise and those who exercise too much is growing larger and will keep growing until the public is informed of how to maintain good health and fitness.
A major problem in U.S. citizens' health and fitness today is a lack of exercise. Most know this problem causes many health problems, most significantly, obesity. According to CEO of Evolution Exercise fitness center Patrick Zibell, the main reason for a lack of exercise is time. Zibell said people today feel they need a large amount of time to dedicate to working out. If they don't have that large amount of time, they don't work out.
There's a big myth profligated in the fitness community that says ‘more is better.' Therefore, that message becomes a message of frustration because [people] don't have the time,\ Zibell said.
According to Zibell, between classes and homework, college students struggle to find time to exercise. However, if the ""more is better"" myth is addressed, students can find time in their busy schedules to exercise. Zibell said a sufficient work out can be done in a 30-minute time slot between classes, which dispels the myth that working out should take hours.
Another reason for a lack of exercise is the technological conveniences in today's society, said Ronnie Carda, UW-Madison physical activity and kinesiology program coordinator. Cars, elevators, escalators and so on eliminate the activity people do while going about their day.
""All the conveniences in life do it for us. The activity of daily living is mechanized so the body can do nothing,"" Carda said. ""A lot of tasks have been taken away from us. We've lost the opportunity to be physically active.""
Another major issue in health and fitness today is the issue of overexercising. According to Zibell, overexercising is a process of working out to the point where there is not enough time to physically recuperate from all that stress.
""People are constantly in a state of overexercise and not allowing their body to recover because they are trapped in mindset that all these good things are happening [from exercise],"" Zibell said. ""Benefits come from the recovery phase. If you don't recover, you're not receiving any benefit.""
According to Carda, while the population of people that overexercise is very small, it is very often a result of distorted body images associated with eating disorders. Carda said people often exercise to look a certain way, not to maintain their health.
""Overexercising is a real common strategy in people who have an out-of-balance view of their body,"" Carda said. ""A large percentage are [overexercising] from the standpoint of manipulating body size.""
Carda also noted the possibility of becoming addicted to exercise. Experiences such as runner's high, a pleasurable feeling associated with long distance running, can cause withdrawal symptoms for exercisers. Carda says it has been shown that marathon runners have a strong history of divorce due to the importance they gave to running.
Working with the Princeton Review, Men's Fitness magazine recently ranked UW-Madison ninth most fit college on ""America's Fattest and Fittest Colleges"" list. According to Carda, this is because college students seem to have a good grasp on the need for exercise.
""They understand they need exercise to maintain mental and physical health. I seldom find [people] over doing it,"" Carda said.
UW-Madison sophomore Monica Vanko said she works out three times a week for 45 minutes to an hour. Vanko said UW-Madison ranks high in fitness because of what the campus offers.
""The campus has a lot of facilities, like the SERF or the NAT, and there is great scenery for running outside,"" Vanko said. ""Plus, some classes are far away, so you get exercise just walking to class.""
UW-Madison sophomore Joshua Martin said he works out three times per week, spending half an hour lifting weights and half an hour running.
Martin said some college students do not work out as much as they should because of laziness, procrastination or they simply do not know how. Martin also said students tended to overexercise just as much as adults.
""If they see a positive trend in their body in general they will continue to over train and burn out,"" he said.
Zibell said the key to exercising is efficiency and knowing what to do. He said for general health, 30 to 45 minutes of circuit-style strength training will produce a necessary workout.
""That is my biggest recommendation. If you work hard at it, you can't do it long,"" Zibell said. ""Running and biking, that's great. Go for it. But it's not necessary for personal health and well-being.""
Carda said the key to exercise at UW-Madison is promoting active habits.
""What we need to do is get fewer students to hop on the next bus and think about walking and biking,"" said Carda. ""It's all about setting up habits. We are certainly creatures of habits. It would be nice to create habits that are health promoting.""
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