Original: March 8, 2011 Issue 12
By: Sierra Vinson
Staff Writer
Clubs, students and coaches weigh in on working out
Have you been doing nothing all winter and want to shed some pounds for the spring? Then it is time to hit the gym so you will be spring ready and confident in whatever you are wearing.
Running, biking, jogging, or power walking are all great ways to help decrease the pounds that is stopping you from feeling fabulous in those mini-skirts or shorts. But what else can people do to get the body they desire?
The Advocate recently interviewed coaches, clubs and students on what they are doing to get ready for the spring fashion season.
According to Paola Castillo, the president of the Montgomery College Rockville Campus Yoga Club, yoga is a great exercise to help shed some pounds and get the body that you deserve.
“Something that doesn’t make you break too much of a sweat is doing yoga. I’ve found it a very cleansing exercise. I say cleansing because it releases your stress and I say exercise because some of the moves can be hard and I’ve broken a sweat doing them!”
Castillo encourages people to join the club and states that once the weather becomes a little warmer and the days longer, practices will take place outside on the Rockville campus fields. For now the club meets in the Student Activity Center in the Campus Center building.
“If you want to join us, we meet Tuesday from 4:30-6:00 or Wednesday from 5:30-6:00…But if you can’t come, there are tons of yoga materials on you-tube, from simple to hard poses,” she said.
Other students on campus prefer other methods of physical activity to prepare for the spring season. Elijah Murphy is preparing himself for spring by “Doing a lot of running, lifting, and playing soccer.”
Mark Crutchfield, the coach of the boy’s basketball team at Montgomery College Rockville and the athletic director of all three campuses, knows what to do when it is time to get into tip top shape.
“We do dynamic stretching while we are moving, warm-ups, sprint intervals, weight room three days a week, and of course basketball conditioning,” said Crutchfield. He also offers advice for people who have not kept up with exercise during the winter season and want to get ready for the spring and summer.
“I see a lot of non athletes that want to get into shape but really don’t know how to do the exercises correctly. As a result, they end up being disappointed because they don’t see good results. When you’re trying to prepare for a tryout or even just trying to get into shape you need to have a good state of mind because if you don’t, you will give up and lose interest in pursuing your dream to make that team, or lose the weight that you’ve wanted to lose for a long time. When I’m training my team and pro athletes I first work to get the mental condition up and then I build them so that they will be ready to perform their best”.
If its yoga, playing sports like soccer or basketball, hitting the gym with friends or just running around a track, get out there and be active!