Lose Weight

As you have undoubtedly heard, college students around the country are gaining weight at a rapid rate. A recent study by Cornell University found that on average, college freshman gain about 0.5 pounds a week, which is almost 11 times more than the average weight gain among 17-and 18-year olds and almost 20 times more than the average weight gain among American adults.

Exercise is a great way to ward off extra pounds, but what college student really has time to visit a gym multiple times each week? Hectic, stressful schedules are almost always partially to blame for the extra weight gain in the first place! A great solution is to find exercises that you can perform right in your dorm room.

Try out the following Dorm Room Exercise Routine right in your own room! Please remember to consult your physician before beginning an exercise program.

Lunges

Equipment: Optional Dumbbells or Barbell - This can be done simply with bodyweight.

Starting Position: Stand with your feet together and a barbell across your shoulders, or, if using bodyweight, hands on your hips. Take a large step forward and bend your knees down into a lunge position.

Movement: Exhale as you press yourself back up to a standing position, or continue through with your step into another lunge.

Push Ups

Equipment: Optional Exercise Matt

Starting Position Beginner: Get on all fours on the matt with your hands directly under your shoulders. Walk your knees back until your upper body is stretched out and your back is flat.
Starting Position Advanced (shown in picture): From the all fours position, walk your feet back until your body is stretched out and your back is flat.

Movement: Inhale as you slowly lower your body down towards the matt. Be sure to keep your back straight and to not allow it to sag in the middle. Exhale as you press yourself back up to the starting position.

Crunches

Equipment: Optional Exercise matt

Starting Position: Lie on your back on the matt with your knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Support your head by placing your hands behind it, and keep your eyes turned up towards the ceiling throughout the entire movement.

Movement: Exhale as you raise your upper body up a few inches off of the matt by contracting your abs. Be sure to keep your back straight and avoid pulling yourself up with your hands. Hold yourself in this contracted position for a moment before slowly lowering yourself back down to the starting position.

Couple the above exercises with regular walks or jogs around campus, and you will be well on your way to combating college weight gain. For more information on dorm room exercises and avoiding college weight gain visit www.AvoidTheFreshman15.com. You don’t have to be stuck with unwanted weight gain just because you are a busy college student!

Diana Keuilian, Certified Personal Trainer, and author of “Avoid The Freshman Fifteen“, has a proven method for avoiding college weight gain. Visit http://www.AvoidTheFreshman15.com to learn more. She is also the head Fitness Trainer for the nation’s leading online fitness site http://www.HitechPersonalFitness.com and board member of http://www.HitechTrainer.com

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Many of us have the same reasons for wanting to exercise and lose weight…..look better, feel better, lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, decreased risk of some cancers, lower risk of heart disease, etc.

But did you know that making your waistline thinner will also make your wallet fatter?

It’s true! Losing weight will help you earn and save more money. “Studies have consistently shown that obese employees are paid less than normal-weight employees doing similar jobs” (Source: HealthNewsDigest.com - Palo Alto, CA)

A comprehensive study of wages in 1998 found that obese workers earn significantly less than than non-obese employees. How much less? About $3.41 per hour. This discrepancy was found only in those workers who had employer-sponsored health insurance, perhaps suggesting that the higher costs of insuring obese individuals was being passed on to the employees themselves. (Source: Bundorf and co-author Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the Center for Health Policy/Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research).

So it’s possible that losing weight could eventually add substantially to your paycheck. But did you know that losing weight may also lower the amount of money you personally pay out in medical costs?

According to a study recently published in Health Affairs, obese Americans pay $732 more for health care each year than do normal-weight adults. So what would you do with an extra $732? Considering that $732 is more than double the annual cost of most gym memberships, it seems that joining a health club pays for itself.

We all have great reasons for wanting to lose that excess weight, and how we have two more: potentially higher wages and lower out-of-pocket medical expenses.

However, we do need to issue one word of warning…..when losing weight you may find that you need to spend some of that ’saved money’ on a new wardrobe. After all, you will have to buy some new ’skinny’ clothes!

Tracie Johanson is the founder of Pick Up The Pace, a 30-minute exercise studio for women focusing on fitness, health and nutrition for maximum weight loss. Please visit http://www.letspickupthepace.com/ for more information.

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Walking is one of the safest and most effective sports for fitness, but to become fit, you have to move fairly fast. You should exercise vigorously enough to increase your heart rate at least 20 beats a minute more than when you rest. Walking at a leisurely pace will not raise your heart rate very much. You can increase your speed by taking longer steps or by moving your feet at a faster rate.

To lengthen your stride, swivel your hips so that you reach out further forward with your feet. This causes you to twist your body from side to side, which forces your toes to point to the outside when your feet touch the ground. By pointing your feet forward after your heel strikes the ground, you will gain a few inches.

To move your feet at a faster rate, you have to move your arms at a faster rate also. Every time one leg moves forward, the arm on the same side moves back and the arm on the other side moves forward. For every step forward, there is an equal number of arm movements forward. To move your arms faster, you have to keep your elbows bent. The fulcrum of your arm swing is at your shoulder. The straighter your elbows, the longer your arms swing as a pendulum from your shoulder, reducing the frequency of arm swings. Bending your elbows shortens the swing and allows you to move faster.

Dr. Gabe Mirkin has been a radio talk show host for 25 years and practicing physician for more than 40 years; he is board certified in four specialties, including sports medicine. Read or listen to hundreds of his fitness and health reports at http://www.DrMirkin.com

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