Category Archives: Forum

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Fitness Friday: What not to do over break

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By Blake Dykes

Fall break. Alas, I know I am in desperate need for some time off, which I’m sure you all are as well. Although you’re going to be free from school during your break, you do still have to workout. Sorry if that ruins your fantasy of laying in bed all day and then staying up all night eating ice cream from the carton.

Remember all the thing we have talked about in the past, I’m sure most of you will be spending every living second with friends, but remember not to fall into the hypnosis of splitting a “Little Caeser” with them every night. Instead, try to encourage your friends to workout with you. If your friends happen to be as lazy as some of mine (love them anyway), you may need to rethink how you word your proposal. Maybe say, “Hey, want to get toned lean legs?  Great, come do this workout with me and you will!” Opposed to saying, “Hey come run five miles with me until you throw up.” It’s all about the wording. It’s ok to make it sound better than it is, afterall, it is for a good cause, right?

Another thing that you have to be conscious of, if you take one day off (which is okay every once in awhile) it makes it hard to want to workout the next day, so you take just one more day off, then two turns in to three, and three into four. It’s a vicious cycle. Sometimes our best workouts happen when we don’t feel like doing them. To avoid letting yourself slip into becoming a couch potato, make a list of things you will get done everyday before hanging out with friends or your evening plans. You are more likely to actually follow through with these plans if you do them in the morning. Get up before anyone else, that way you don’t have to miss out on anything. You don’t get a six pack by sleeping until one every day.

I’m sure you all will do great over the break though, but sadly, this is my last “Fitness Friday” and Monday was my last “Motivational Monday.” There are only so many articles I can write about nutrition and how to be fit.  If you ever have requests on an article you would like to see written or have any questions on health you can leave a comment or email The Bagpiper and I will give you feedback.

But don’t worry, I’m not going to leave you completely empty handed. I find a lot of my motivation and some great workouts on various fitness accounts on Instagram and Twitter.

Twitter accounts: @BeFitMOTIVATION, @HealthTips, @TheGymClown, @sugar_nation

Instagram accounts: WORKOUTS_DAILY, GETFITFORYOU, MOTIVATIONWALL, GETFIT_, HEALTHYRECIPES, HEALTHYANDCLEAN

With all that being said, I’ll leave you with this quote.

“Loser’s quit when they’re tired. Winner’s quit when they’ve won.” -Unknown

Columns, Forum

#SPEAKOUT: The great candy collision

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By Danielle Sheally

There are tons of different textures of candy crunchy, smooth, sticky, hard, and gooey.

I think the two best candies on the face of the Earth are Heath Bar and Hershey milk chocolate bar. These are such classic candies that you can’t go wrong. These bring so much comfort when a bad break-up happens or when the most tragic loss in your life comes around. In addition, these candies are easier to fit in your purse or backpack, so they are easily accessible whenever cravings strike.

Heath bars hold so much history that one can almost taste history in the making.  From 1914 until today, the Hershey company has been making smiles run across children’s with their Heath bar. The thing that is most appealing about Heath bars is that they melt in your mouth, but they are also have crunchy toffee on the inside.

Predating the Heath bar is the Hershey Plain Milk Chocolate Bar.  Manufactured since 1900, this chocolate bar has been a symbol for America.  Though, on the outside, it looks and is called plain, it has an explosion of flavor when savored. The Hershey Bar has an amazing amount of sauciness sewn together with smooth decadence.

We ponder, as individuals, what the most frequently chosen candy is when the goblins and ghosts come out to play. Maybe I am right or maybe I am wrong; we’ll let the ghosts decide.

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Motivational Monday: Death by cardio

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By Blake Dykes

Well, I hope all of you had a great weekend and managed to eat better than I did. Friday I found myself eating handfuls of puppy chow and the following night, I resulted to eating chocolate cake from the pan. Now, I’m not justifying the poor eating choices, but I think it’s pretty much obvious  that every once in awhile you just can’t cure a craving with low-fat Greek yogurt. What is most important about these unhealthy binges we all occasionally encounter is that we don’t let that one time affect how we eat after that. Sometimes people will make one unhealthy eating choices and think, “Well, I ruined my diet so I might as well quit,” and then proceed to eat a bag of Cheetos. This is not ok. Recognize what you did wrong, forget about it, next meal eat your healthy food, and go work it off. I’m not saying this is a free pass to eat a gallon of ice cream, I’m just saying if the inevitable happens, move on and don’t let it get in the way of your goal you’ve worked so hard on.

With all of this being said, I find it appropriate that we talk about how to control these random cravings as much as possible.

  1. Wait 20 minutes before going to the kitchen. This gives you time to actually think through all that you are going to eat and the affects of it. Try to find something else to do to preoccupy your mind, and maybe you’ll forget about the urge to all the donuts.

  2. After you’ve waited it out, and unfortunately just know that you will end up eating donuts, see if there is any healthier alternative recipe, or other snack that could satisfy your needs.

  3. If not, set out a reasonable about of food you wish to consume. Don’t let this be a free pass to eat a whole pack of Oreos. Remember portion control. Never just eat out of the bag, or like me, the pan or package. (In all fairness I only had like three bites.) You’ll lose track of how much you’ve eaten and overeat, probably leaving you with one huge stomach ache.

  4. Never eat dessert when hungry. It shouldn’t be considered a snack or a meal. If you’re hungry eat something wholesome and healthy, and then if you still want the dessert you can have it.

Those are just a few things you can do to limit the amount of calories you take in on those nights that your sweet tooth is really calling for some sugar. But here is a nice little workout that you can do later to not feel so guilty.

Death by cardio

  • 100 jumping jacks

  • 30 frog jumps

  • 75 mountain climbers

  • 25 jumping lunges (one each leg)

  • 100 jumping jacks

  • 20 push ups

  • 75 squats

  • two minute plank

  • 60 high knees

  • one minute wall sit

  • 60 butt kickers

  • 50 crunches

  • 100 jumping jacks

  • 50 mountain climbers

Now go get off the computer and get started on this workout.

Blake Dykes, Columns, Forum

Fitness Friday: Tips on how to eat and toned arm workout

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By Blake Dykes

As the weekend approaches, I want to give you a few things to think about when choosing meals and eating.

  1. Savor your food. Often times I will scarf down my food in a matter of two minutes and don’t even taste what I just ate. By taking time to eat slower you will consume less food, because it provides time for your brain to register when you are full and you are less likely to overeat. This method of savoring food also can leave you feeling much more satisfied.

  2. Use a smaller plate. Ever since a young age we’ve been told, “Eat everything on your plate.” That rule eventually expires once you’re old enough to determine when you’re full or not. People often times are caught up in the illusion that they haven’t gotten enough to eat they finish off every last crumb. If you start using smaller plates, opposed to plates the size of your placemat, you will consume less than half the calories, while still obeying the old rule of eating all the food on your plate.

  3. Drink a glass of water before each meal. Drinking water before every time you eat can help fill you up, resulting in less of an appetite, which equals less calories consumed. This is especially helpful in the sense that often times we trick ourselves into thinking we are hungry when surprisingly we are dehydrated. Make sure you drink, drink, drink.

  4. Measure your portions. I know I’ve said this before, but I can’t stress enough how important it is to know your portion sizes. With technology becoming such a big part of our lives, it’s easy to get out a bag of pretzels and scroll on Twitter, eating, tweeting, eating, and eating some more. Before you know it, you look at the clock and realize you’ve been on Twitter for an hour and unknowingly consumed an entire bag of Snyder’s.

  5. Get the good fats. Often times people pick up a foot they thought was healthy, read the label,see the fat content, and instantly put the product back on the shelf. News flash, just because peanut butter has more fat than those  “low fat” barbecue chips does not make them a better choice. Our bodies need fat to survive, but it’ all about finding the healthy fats, such as peanut butter, almond butter, low fat cheeses, beans, nuts, guacamole. So don’t let those “low-fat” Oreo’s your feasting on fool you.

With this being said, time for a good workout to kick off to your weekend.

Toned arm workout

  • 15 push ups

  • 25 bench dips (can use a chair)

  • 15 bicep curls (each arm)

  • 25 wide- arm push ups

  • 50 alternating shoulder touches (in a pushup position, alternate touching your arm to the opposite shoulder)

  • 10 Hersey Kiss push ups (your index fingers and thumbs should be touching, resembling a Hershey Kiss)

Keep in my mind you don’t want to lift weights too heavy for you, they will hurt your back.

Weekend Challenge: Get three meals a day. Often times people think fasting will help them lose weight, when in reality skipping meals leads to bingeing on the next meal, supporting weight gain.

Columns, Forum

Columnist explains the genius of ‘South Park’

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By Isaac Mathewson
 For 16 years, “South Park” has entertained and offended people all over the world. With over 200 episodes, a feature film, several video games and a huge amount of merchandise it continues to be Comedy Central’s highest rated shows, as well as being one of the most popular animated shows in history.
 I myself have been a fan of the show since I was about 10 and to this day it is one of my favorite TV shows as well as a major comedic influence in my life. Now with it coming into its 17th season, I have decided to give some of my viewpoints on the many criticisms of this hit show.
 Ever since it first aired in 1997, “South Park” has been a target for criticism for many reasons. It has often been criticized for its coarse use of foul language, toilet humor, racial slurs, and violent images, among many other factors. While many viewers claim that these elements are funny and at times it is well written social satire, others see it as inappropriate behavior that is offensive and is “corrupting” our children. I am going to explain the truth behind these criticisms.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show’s creators, have said that “South Park” is social satire that is meant to be viewed by adults only. They say that at, literally, the very beginning of every episode. It has a lot of adult content both in its subject matter as well as in the topics it covers. One of the biggest issues, if not the biggest issue, is the pervasive language in the show. This is also the theme of the film. Many parents have complained that the language corrupts youth. However, the real truth behind the pervasive use of language is the fact that the creators say that this is what children say when they are alone, and they are trying to accurately portray kids in their dialogue and their ideas.
Another major issue is the portrayal of prejudice, most notably the way the character Eric Cartman constantly torments fellow student Kyle Broflovski for being Jewish. Many people have criticized this because they feel that this is making prejudice and racial slurs look acceptable. The reason behind this is that the creators wanted to show what it is like to be the only Jewish kid in school, as co-creator Matt Stone went through that phase himself. It is also meant to show human behavior, and how we as a species treat others who are different.
 The show is not without its flaws. Sometimes it can be too over-the-top, and it can be disturbing and occasionally disgusting. However, what we really need to do is look at it based on its writing and the topics that the show covers. Some of its writing is very good and it does at times have good messages. If anyone wants to see the art behind “South Park,” I would recommend the episodes “Osama bin Laden Has Farty Pants,” “Margaritaville,” “Make Love Not Warcraft,” and “Chin Pokomon.”
 I am psyched about the upcoming 17th season, and I hope that the show continues on for several more years. Hopefully, we can all look past the adult content, and appreciate the show as  well written satire, as well as some of the best comedy of the past 20 years.