As obesity reaches an alarming rate and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, society is fighting back to instill the values of a healthy life style, an appreciation for sports and increased physical activity in young people.
Almost all high school and college students have access to exercise centers. These facilities offer a wide range of activities that includes cardio training, wrestling, cross country, basketball, football, weight training, and many other popular activities.
In spite of the available exercise options college students have unique challenges. The shock of going from living with parents in high school to the freedom and responsibility of college is such that many new students gain weight. This phenomenon is often called the Freshman 15. As the name suggests, new college students have a propensity to gain as many as 15 pounds. Most colleges put a lot of effort into things such as women fitness programs and extracurricular activities in an effort to keep students physically healthy.
The challenge for students is not a lack of facilities or the inability to afford a gym membership, but how to fit personal fitness training into their busy schedules. Students have expressed that they would hit their on-campus gym when it’s either convenient or when they have a partner that will help motivate them to exercise.
It’s difficult to organize regular workouts around busy school schedules, a part time job and a hectic social life. However, researchers have found that it doesn’t matter if someone focuses on exercises for women, men or other specialty workouts. Any amount of exercise counts towards being healthy. Because of the sedentary nature of a student’s life, it’s suggested that a student should spend about 30 minutes a day, three times a week on fitness activities. It doesn’t matter whether it’s resistant weight training or cardio work, only that the activity is consistent.
Aerobic activities such as treadmill running or cycling help use up the calories existing in the blood stream and eventually taps into the calorie storage in fat cells. It is also a tremendous help in maintaining strong cardio endurance, but there is another equally important activity.
While aerobic workout is essential for burning calories, weight training is needed for calorie consumption. Every pound of additional muscle burns an additional 50 calories per day. Even after a workout muscles continue to burn calories for several hours. The smart way to improve weight loss is not only a strong cardio workout but also a weight lifting and muscle training program. Together, this will help lose weight and build a well-defined and toned body.
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