Fitnessprogramsare plentifulat the Dixon Center

by Brian O'Connell sports editor

Cafeteria food, take out food, and ice cream are all examples of foods that can quickly add pounds on to a normally slim body.

But there is hope: the Dixon • Center offers many programs to help students stay in shape during the school year.

:, •'.Aerobicschedules are available to students, faculty, alumni, and community members," junior trainer Angela Thornton said

"Two big programs other than the aerobics schedule include the cardio vascular workouts.

"The Dixon Center has seven cardiovascular machines available ranging from the treadmills to the rowing machine to the stepper.

"When someone is new to the

Dixon Center and out of shape, the best workout is a cardiovascular exercise on the treadmill or on the bike.

"We usually like to start people out on the bike and treadmill for about IO minutes on each machine to get a feel for them," Thornton said. Sometimes people will not want to start out on those machines and may not want to work out for ten minutes depending on their preference of exercise. They rriay may decide to jump on the stepper or the rowing machine."

Other workouts for Dixon Center members include the weight machines and the free weights which take up a majority of the space in the Dixon Center.

"We usually like to start new members out on the machines and then move them up to the free weights when they are ready," Thornton said. "We also usually start more females than males on the machines." Preference does play a major role when new members start out with their workouts.

"It depends on what people want to do first, the machines or the free weights. It can also depend on their preference," Thom- workout ideas

Stretching is always the best thing to do before and after a workout.

"Stretching should always be done before and after a person does a workout," Thornton said. The amount of time depends on the condition of the person. If a person is in good shape, stretching is not difficult at all, but if the person is in poor condition, it is always a good idea to do a good stretch.

Athletes can always be found in the Dixon Center doing cardiovascular workouts. In the end, fatigue does set in after a while.

"To stay in shape, I usually ride the bike and lift for 30 minutes each," first year student and cross-country runner Jen Przasnyski said. "But after I finish, I am exhausted."