By Abigail Youngblood
Archivist
As students begin to venture into a new year and with summer quickly approaching, the gym becomes a priority to many students. As they look to keep fit, it’s important knowing what workouts and healthy habits are actually beneficial and which are simply myths.
Athena Skapinakis is a trainer at the Student Recreation Center and was able to shed some light on common questions and ideas many people have when it comes to working out.
Many people, especially women, will not lift weights over five pounds in order to prevent building large muscles but according to Skapinakis this is definitely a myth. You will still continue to build muscle although not as quickly if you are lifting everyday. Even if the weigh is five pounds or less, your muscles will bulk up.
Working out with a trainer versus working out on your own? Both of these are great ways to workout, but working with a trainer is especially “good for people with issues with consistency and also for encouragement,” said Skapinakis.
The SRC is currently booked up for the quarter and the trainers are not taking on any new students as of now. The best time to sign up for trainer is the first day of the new quarter they will set out a sign-up book at the front desk of the SRC and they fill up fast. The training sessions are free to all CSU Bakersfield students and you get to workout with a trainer once a week.
Stretching before you work out is something that many people will skip because it often seems like an unnecessary formality, but stretching can be very beneficial to a work out. It helps with flexibility and, “It’s great for preventing muscle cramps and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness,” said Skapinakis.
The Mayo Clinic, which is a medical research group, states that if there is a specific sport you play to find stretches that cater to those muscles.
Are sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade actually beneficial your workout? These sports drinks can be really great in that they offer electrolytes, said Skapinakis and she went on to say they are especially great if you are diabetic.
The Diabetic Health and Wellness website says that electrolytes should be replenished by your diet but, “Sports drinks are fine if your blood sugar is low, especially after exercising, but if you’re blood sugar is high drinking these could be dangerous.”
According to the Medical Dictionary, “Electrolytes control the fluid balance of the body and are important in muscle contraction, energy generation, and almost every major biochemical reaction in the body.” The electrolytes can be found in calcium and sodium as well as many other things that play an essential role for the bodies health.
Making time to workout always seems to be a struggle in and of itself and many people plan around arranged times such as the idea that you should get 30 minutes of activity a day.
“30 minutes a day is great start,” said Skapinakis.
The Livestrong website offers exercise plans for college students and good tips on how to exercise through the day. They suggest you, “Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise per week.”
Finding time to workout on a busy schedule can be difficult but many students make it a point to workout, whether it’s to relieve stress or simply keep healthy. Physical education and kinesiology major Fernado Cabrera, 20, usually hits the gym four days a week for about an hour and half each session. PEAK major Gabby Parada, 21, does two-hour sessions and starts out with cardio.
