Caffeine craze sweeps college campuses
by Sarah Orr
health page editor
Coffee, Mountain Dew, Vivarin, and
chocolate all have something in com
mon. They contain the active ingredi
ent caffeine and they are used daily by
college students everywhere to stay
awake during class, to pull all nighters,
and to have enough energy to get
through the day.
Caffeine is a chemical stimulant that
primarily affects the central nervous sys
tem, cardiac muscle, and the respiratory
system in humans, and has a very bitter
taste. Caffeine has also been shown to
affect metabolism. It increases the level
of fatty acids circulating within your sys
tem. Some studies have shown that this
Yoga becomes
fitness phenomenon
by Sarah Orr
health page editor
Yoga has become one of the
hottest fitness activities in the
country. Many enjoy the relax
ing, body-shaping exercise phe
nomenon. Even Penn State
Behrend offers a yoga class, and
a yoga club has formed in recent
months for several interested stu
dents looking for a way to par
ticipate in the craze. You may be
wondering what exactly yoga is
or what healthy benefits it may
have to offer. I hope this article
will shed a little light on the mys
tery.
The yoga practiced by a major
ity of health nuts today has its
principles deeply rooted in reli
gious beliefs of the Hindu faith
dating back some 5,000 years.
The term yoga was derived from
the word meaning "union" in
Sanskrit because it pertains to
more than just an exercise rou
tine. The certain form of yoga
that we practice today was re
ferred to as hatha yoga. It was
intended to prepare a
participant's body to pursue the
union with the divine while
heightening the awareness of a
"higher" spiritual state.
There are three fundamental
aspects of yoga used in exercise.
They include breathing, medita
tion, and postures.
Breathing is central to the be
liefs established about the life
force called "prana - in ancient
times. It was said that shallow,
rapid breaths impeded the life
force, prana, from entering the
body properly and af-
person s
The Dog and Cat are two yoga postures that go hand in hand and add
flexibility to the spine. They involve arching your back and reversing
the position.
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aids in enhancing fat oxidation, but
there are serious questions raised if
caffeine actually has any affect when
dieting.
Caffeine may seem like a harmless
drug, but it could and has had many
serious health implications. One prob
lem associated with caffeine is over
dosing. If you happen to overdo your
caffeine intake, you may experience
some of the following side effects;
restlessness, nervousness, excitement,
insomnia, flushed face, dieresis, gas
trointestinal disturbance, muscle
twitching, rambling flow of thought
or speech, cardiac arrhythmia.
Another problem with caffeine is
addiction. This is a hidden danger be
cause it may occur without the victim
fected the mind and body nega
tively. Long, deep breaths let the
I ife force flow freely and are
highly encouraged.
Meditation is the second aspect
of yoga that provides the partici
pant with a calmed mind. Many
find the benefits of this aspect of
yoga to include a release of stress
and an increase in energy. Medi
tation reinforces the principles of
yoga and helps focus the breath
ing of an individual. This pro
motes a sense of well being and
balance.
The third aspect of yoga is the
variety of postures it teaches.
Another word for the postures is
asanas. One of the popular posi
tions in yoga is the Dog and Cat.
It increases flexibility, particu
larly in the spine. It is a combi
nation of two poses flowing into
one another. One begins this ac
tivity on your hands and knees.
Keep hands slightly in front of
your shoulders with your legs ap
proximately hip width apart. In
hale as you tilt your tailbone and
pelvis up, let your spine curve
downward, while dropping the
stomach low as you lift your head
up. Gently stretch. Exhale and
move into the cat position by re
versing the bend of the spine
while tilting the pelvis. Draw the
spine upward and pull the chest
and stomach in. Repeat this sev
eral times, flowing from the cat
into the dog, and vice versa.
If you are intrigued and would
like to begin taking yoga for
yourself, the yoga club meets
twice a week on Monday and
Wednesday at 9 p.m. in the
Junker Center.
PHOTOS BY ROB WYNNE
becoming aware before it is too late.
Regular caffeine consumption will
naturally decrease sensitivity to it.
When consumption is reduced, the body
becomes particularly sensitive to ad
enosine. When this happens, blood
pressure drops sharply leading to an
excess of blood accumulated in the
head, which causes a headache. This is
just one of the symptoms of withdrawal.
Some other symptoms may include,
but are not limited to irritability, ner
vousness, headaches, fatigue. nausea,
lack of concentration, and vomiting.
There are ways to break the cycle,
however. Some people are able to quit
"cold turkey," however this procedure
isn't the most effective route for the ma
jority. Most people addicted to caffeine
PHOTO BY KRISTIN RODGERS
Student Chayanant Hongfa enjoys working out daily in the Jageman Fitness Room with the new equipment
it's a weighty issue: tips :4 :- .17: n ; 4-.:. , :c1i fliques
by Ryan Anthony
staff writer
Winter weather is on the way, and
for most people that means it's get
ting a bit too cold outside to go for a
run. It's time to start up a winter sea
son workout routine. If your new ex
ercise includes heading over to the
Junker Center and hitting the weight
room, then you have some things to
consider before you begin.
Get ready to sleep a lot because lift
ing weights will wear you out a lot
more than aerobic exercise. You will
be tired when you are done with your
workout, but unlike aerobic exercise,
you will still feel the effects the next
day and, hopefully. the day after that
too.
This is one of the most important
things to know about weight lifting:
Pain is good. You might as well teach
yourself to enjoy the pain, because it
is a necessary part of lifting weights.
One lifter in the Junker Center weight
room said, "If you don't like the sore
ness, then you might as well not work
100 Mile Mania Update
Who is your athletic inspiration? Miles.
Andre the Giant
What words of wisdom can
you offer exercise beginners?
Even if it gets tough, stick with it.
Who is your athletic inspiration?
•4
Andre Agassi
What words of wisdom can you offer exercise
•
beginners?
Just do it!
must wean themselves off gradually.
Caffeine fading may prove successful.
The best way to begin this treatment is
to keep track of your caffeine intake for
a week, recording any all foods, drinks.
or pills ingested that may contain the
chemical. Keep a meticulous log. At
the end of the week evaluate your re
sults. See where you are unexpectedly
consuming caffeine and other places
that you may eliminate it. Make a con
scious effort to adjust your habits to re
duce intake. Lots of sleep and exercise
can counter the uncomfortable effects
of withdrawal.
Although these drawbacks to caffeine
seem somewhat mild or harmless, over
doses have led to death. Toxic levels of
caffeine have been documented of one
After working out a muscle group,
your muscles should be sore for at
least the next couple days. This is
what weight lifters call delayed onset
muscle soreness, or DOMS. It basi
cally means that if your muscles are
not sore the next couple days after a
workout, then your workout did not
do any good. Soreness means that the
muscle is rebuilding itself and this re
building is what makes your muscles
bigger.
It takes calories to rebuild a muscle,
so in the long run, weight lifting burns
more calories than aerobic exercise.
It helps you lose weight, too, because
your body's metabolism will begin to
stay higher than normal.
When you are ready to begin work
ing out with weights, be sure to warm
up your muscles, first. Do a few min
utes of cardio or a couple sets with
light weights. Stretch both the
muscles you plan to work out as well
as compliementary muscle groups.
For example, if you are going to work
out your back, stretch your back, and
Who is your athletic inspiration? Miles R
Brandi Chastain
What words of wisdom can you
offer exercise beginners?
Do your best, and don't give up.
Ryan Brewer
Allison Jawdy
Sundeep Bhatia
individual ingesting 24 grams. The le
thal dosage that is reported to be fatal
in 50 percent of the population is 10
grams administered orally. As with all
drugs, this typically depends on the size
and weight of the person and will vary
among individuals.
You shouldn't take any unnecessary
risks, however. Be conscious at all times
what goes into your body. Whether
studying for that molecular biology
exam. finishing a 20-page English pa
per. or working on a senior design
project with your group, plan ahead to
get the work done early and lay off the
caffeine.
also your shoulders, chest, and ah\
When you first pick up a dumb
bell or climb into a machine, start
with a light weight. Do not try to
start with more than you can handle.
Increase weight as you become
comfortable with the exercise. You
should work with a weight that k
heavy enough that you cannot do
more than eight to ten repetitions.
Doing the exercise until your
muscles cannot handle any more
repetitions is called going to failure
and you should do this with each set.
This means that if you are doing it
right, you should slightly decrease
the weight with each set.
Be sure to give muscle groups it
few days to rest before you exercise
the same ones again. Also, keep in
mind that you have legs too. Too
many people focus only on then
chests and arms and never even
think about working out their legs.
Do not let the snow get in your
way of your exercise. There are still
a few weeks left for you to get up to
100 miles.
Miles: