With New Year’s resolutions of weight loss running rampant, Mississippi State University’s Sanderson Center and nutrition center offer ways to keep these resolutions. A combination of healthy eating and exercise can result in achieving resolutions of weight loss, getting fit and a healthier life. For those people new to working out and getting back into shape, or even those who are used to daily exercise, the Sanderson Center offers a program that applies to all levels of fitness. This cross-training program involves exercising in all areas of the Sanderson Center, including the weight room, swimming pool, track and racquetball courts.
To begin, enter the strength and conditioning room (weight room) and ask one of the instructors in the black “Bulldog Strength” shirts how to begin a cross-training program. The instructors will then take measurements of your body composition and create a personalized program focusing on your needs.
The program offers incentives, such as water bottles and T-shirts for the completion of each of the cross-training stations. After the program is completed, the instructor takes body composition measurements again, to see the results.
“Positive results are seen 100 percent of the time when using the cross-training program,” Fitness Director Greg Altorfer said.
Many students at the Sanderson Center said they are changing their ways of living to ensure that they keep their resolutions. Kasandra Cole said she made her resolution to get in better shape. To achieve this, she is eating healthier with a diet of low carbohydrates and salads. She has also been walking and running at the Sanderson Center.
“I hope I am more successful this year than others because I have made this resolution since puberty. However, it is easier this year because I have someone to go with me and motivate me,” Cole said.
About 3,000 people attend the Sanderson Center daily at the beginning of every year, with New Year’s resolutions and spring break in mind, but toward the middle of the semester, the number tapers off to 2,200 people per day.
The Sanderson Center offers a way to keep resolutions for body toning, even if you don’t have a comfortable level of fitness knowledge. However, exercise is not the only ingredient to a better body, eating healthy is also vital.
The Nutrition Center also offers individual help for healthy eating. To find a personal plan for eating, contact Claire Pitt with the Nutrition Center at 325-8455. Pitt encourages students to “make an appointment to talk about goals, see about previous eating patterns and improve.”
Pitt said she has found that students usually consume too much sugar. Drinking soft drinks and sweet tea throughout the day causes high sugar intake. To keep resolutions of healthy eating and a better body image, Pitt encourages students to “establish healthy eating patterns with a well-balanced diet, by drinking plenty of water and not skipping any meals.