First Post After Graduation

This blog was started for a class, but now that I have no school I feel compelled to continue it for pleasure! Here goes...

Well, the kids starts school tom. and I am embarking on my first day of job hunting after their summer vaca and my graduation from COLLEGE at an older age. :) How will it all pan out?

I have not worked for money in 13 years so it should be interesting to get a job with adults!!

Reflection Post

As I looked back on my posts from the beginning of class I feel as though I did not stay completely true to my topic. Originally I was going to post about fitness and exercise motivation. Although I think I did good with pictures and descriptions, I feel as though I gave up on the motivation part and just went right to informing people about the New ODU Recreation Facility. I think in the end it worked out well though. I should have kept up more with the goings on at the facility, and I would have improved my blog with more recent photos of some of the classes or the events being held there. Even a video of a spinning class or people rock climbing would have made the blog more interesting. I like my pictures and I really started to enjoy the indoor rock climbing aspect. I did not know that it was a popular growing sport in the public and university sports world. After my interview about the rock wall, I wished I had tried it, and took some footage from above. I think my participation would have made my blogging about the rock wall more believable for my audience. I could have motivated them to try it if they were afraid. I have learned that there is a lot more to journalism than I thought. The 5 W's need to be thought of when writing about a topic. Thank you!

Challenge 3-The ODU Indoor Rock Climbing Wall!

Hey everyone, I spoke to Bridget Nemeth who is the Coordinator for the Outdoor Adventure Program at ODU. She oversees the indoor rock wall, and she agreed to let me interview her and get some more information about the rock wall at the ODU Recreation Center. After the interview I will post information about how to get started climbing! Oh yes, if you don't know what belaying is, here is the definition. This post uses this word several times.

Belaying is one of the Climbing Techniques in Rock Climbing. It is securing the climber during his climb. This technique is done by a person on the ground. Click her for more on belaying techniques.

I had about 8 questions to ask Bridget, here they are...
1. How did you get involved in rock climbing? I got started while I was an undergraduate at University of Maryland. I got started both indoor and outdoor and still do both.

2. How do you get over the fear when you start climbing for the first time?
At first I had issues with partner trust. You know, trusting the person who is belaying you. Getting comfortable with that person is vital, and knowing they are trained to support you helps keep you calm. Equipment failure sometimes enters your mind when you first start also. This is why inspections should be done on all equipment regularly. More climbing helps get you over the fear also. Practice makes permanent!

3. Do you have any special events involving climbing at ODU? Yes, we have been planning rock climbing events like Sunday Funday where there will be timed climbs and bouldering problems to be worked out as well as other competitions in the future.
4. Have you had any close calls on the wall or climbing outside? No, I really haven't. As long as you have the proper equipment and the right support, rock climbing is fairly safe.
5. So no funny stories? No, I never said no funny stories, ha ha! The trainer from the company that builds the rock wall was training us, and I was belaying him. At the top of his climb he jumped off the wall which made me be pulled up in the air where I met him halfway up the wall. This was shocking but funny. It also proved that the belayer could not be pulled all the way up to hit the roof. Also, one of the guys who works at the ODU rock wall was climbing outdoors, finally reached a top ledge and found himself face-to-face with a hissing goose!
6. Is rock climbing an expensive sport? No, other than if you choose to purchase shoes, a student climbs for free. Even though there are fees at the private walls, the initial cost of shoe is the only big ticket items you will face.
7. Is the ODU rock wall well used? Yes, the first 3 weeks in operation brought in 700 people to climb and the participation is still very high!
8. How can I start climbing at the ODU rock wall? If you go to the front desk, you will sign up for a 2-hour climbing clinic. After 24 hours, you will then take a belay test. If you pass the test, you can start climbing!

SEE CLIMBING VIDEO

All this talk about rock climbing...

Hey, my last few posts have been about the rock climbing trend, but let's get back to the heart of the matter--ODU indoor rock climbing! My next post will be about what's going on at the rock wall at our campus. I will give the info you will need to get certified to start climbing! Also, see my upcoming interview with Bridget Nemeth, Coordinator of the Outdoor Adventure Program. Hear what she has to say about rock climbing and hear few funny stories about what has happened on the rock wall.

Portable Rock Climbing Walls!

I ran across these pictures today. I had seen a rock wall like the picture on the bottom, but I had never seen one the size of the picture on the top. This is super instense. Stay alert while I find the price of renting this sucker...!

Tag Cloud?

atom (4) body (6) cardio (7) center (24) climbing (23) clinic (3) cloud (2) college (4) com (2) comments (10) exercise (11) facility (3) fitness (21) follow (3) free (8) gyms (10) health (6) indoor (13) introduction (5) journey (3) kinda (3) labels (8) map (5) naked (6) nation (4) natural (4) nude (6) odu (20) opens (4) phenomenal (3) pics (4) pictures (3) posted (10) process (4) pump (3) pumpuup (8) purpose (6) rec (9) recreation (14) rock (35) shots (3) sports (4) started (3) states (3) think (6) tour (3) trends (14) united (3) wall (10) workout (3)

created at TagCrowd.com

Indoor rock climbing intensity!

Can you believe this intense rock wall? I never even knew such a big gym existed. I bet a facility like this costs a fortune to develop, but I bet the payoff is awesome.

Natural climbing!

This post is still in the theme of rock climbing. I think it is somewhat beautiful, and free, although some people might think it is exhibitionism. Can you imagine being naked with no one around and feeling the wind and sun on your body? I wish I felt this good about my body and let go of all the boundaries I have made for myself.

I read a comment about nude shots of people climbing and they said "what about the old, out of shape body, why are they not pictured." Well, I don't think age matters, but I do think an out of shape body cannot climb like this. I want to think that this woman is not showing off, but is using her body as a form of art just like all the painters have done over time. It's kinda sensual, but kinda artsy. Her other shots show her lifestyle as super active and as a free spirit. For her life it all fits in.

Hot trends of the college nation

We are a nation of obesity and excessiveness. Many if us struggle daily with eating properly and getting enough exercise. The statistics speak for themselves when 1.5 million heart attacks occur in the United States each year with 500,000 deaths, according to the Women's Heart Foundation. Many of us wished we had started our healthy habits during our early years. Fortunately, many of the colleges around the United States are putting more money and effort into developing fitness centers on their campuses. Not only are the traditional super gyms popping up, but some colleges are adding new fitness trends, like indoor rock climbing walls. Not only does this activity create muscles, but sports like rock climbing are fun and safe.

At Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, the new recreation center on 48th street, breaks the barriers and opens doors to alternatives in exercise. These new fitness trends widen the scope of exercise to include climbing as a sport and an viable exercise.


View Larger Map

Follow this link and Take a look at the ODU Recreation Center and see the indoor rock wall.

Take a look at the pics below to see a phenomenal place to workout!

Too bad I have not gone there. But you should. I am in the process of making plans to go through the process of going through the process of going there. Yes, schedule a tour and a clinic so you can get moving! I like to move it! (video a bit exploitive but nice fit posteriors!) Happy St. Pats!

I took a journey to the center of the fitness world on campus

Wow, I finally got over to the new rec center on campus. It is so big and beautiful! I need to schedule a tour and a clinic so I can get up in the gym workin' on my fitness. Ha! Here are some pics so that you can get an idea of what it is all about, but the best way is to go over yourself. These pictures cannot do it justice.

Where in the heck is the New Rec Center at ODU?

It's been too long since I posted. My plan for class was to use the WHERE factor for talking about the subject of the new rec facility. It has opened and I wanted to go check it out. I feel like I have betrayed the cause because after all the hullbalu, I did not even get to work out there. I am starting to realize that reporting is difficult, and one has to be devoted to the story. Today the love affair begins! Check back after Comm 366 when I show you WHERE you can find an awesome workout!

New Recreation Center Opens!

Let the workouts begin! Old Dominion University's much-anticipated new Recreation Center opened Friday, Feb. 27, for tours and clinics, and Monday, March 2, for usage of the facility. Here are some new pictures! Yee Haw!! Did any of you go?

A College Fitness Trend?

As I went on a quest for pictures ideas for our latest assignment I realized that something interesting is happening in the college fitness world. The colleges seem to be putting a lot into their fitness facilities. As I browsed around to see what other colleges are doing I realized that most of the pictures of college rec center looked very similar. Their entrances are very bold and modern--and inviting. The floor plans are airy and bright. Other colleges are also adding rockwalls, and can you believe it, an indoor golf course, just like ODU has added an indoor hockey area. This blows my mind! Are we spending too much or is too much ever really too much in order to motivate and help get people healthy? Another mysterious question...hmmmm. Enjoy the slideshow of other college fitness centers and see if you see a trend. I a working on the resolution of the pics, sorry.

More info to help unravel the New Rec Center mystery!

Make sure you look at your email! Scott Harrison from the Rec Sports dept. has another email update about the New Rec Center! Here's the link to the Rec Sports dept. website that reflects the emails he sends. By the way, the Rec Sports dept. is located on 47th street right before the intersection of 47th and Killam.

Do you know how to get to the New ODU Rec Center?

I just realized (from a friendly reminder) that some people may not even know where the New Rec Center is located since it is so protected right now. If you are on foot it's easy to just follow the maglev monorail to the end of the line toward Powhatan.

Another route is to travel down 49th steet toward Powhatan. If you look to your right before reach Powhatan you will see it (through the construction of course).

New ODU Rec Center

A Mystery? New Rec Center at ODU?

I like the slideshow that we made in Flickr last week so I added more to the New Rec Center slideshow. This facility is very mysterious and as I took more pictures of it, I felt like I was investigating a shrouded place. The gates around the whole facility, and even one of my classmate’s difficulty getting into the facility last week has made me feel like this place and even finding info about it is a secret. What is the deal? We will watch the mystery unfold in the next few weeks. Come back for more pics of progression.

Pump You Up Now!

Here's my last interview with Neeraja Chimata, a
graduate assistant for Group Fitness and Wellness at
Old Dominion University. She is supervising my involvement in Monarch Quickfit.
I asked her the following questions:

1. Has the QuickFit program been successful and do you have a lot of
participants?

The program is being successful with 70-75 participants in Spring and Fall semesters.

2. Is it used for motivating people and for research for you?

It is a program in which the participants monitor themselves throughout the program. The program has pre and post assessments to set goals. The research part of the program is only to know about the participant participation and improvement.

3. How do you think the university could best motivate students and
faculty to stay fit and healthy?

The University must provide more funds and support from different areas to develop fitness programs for their students, faculty and staff. The participants can best utilize the campus recreation and their programs online at http://studentaffairs.odu.edu/recsports/ and take the best use of them. Also get updated with the new Student Recreation Center which has more opportunities for staying fit like Group fitness classes, open recreation, Outdoor adventure programs, intramurals and sports clubs.

Why ODU Fitness?

My intention is to follow the construction and ultimately the opening of the new ODU fitness center in March. Come back for pictures of the building, the inside and more updates of the progress. And don't forget to look for the rec sports emails or check out the Transition to the SRC webpage for the same info.

My next interview will be along the lines of getting motivated and staying motivated with Monarch Quickfit.

Interview with Dr. Kevin Marbury

I used an interview my group did from last semester in PR class for my interview with Dr. Kevin Marbury, the Director of Recreational Sports at ODU. He made some changes to this interview and gave me some new information. First of all, it’s exciting that the facility is really opening in March. If you have noticed, the rec sports department has been putting out emails every week informing the ODU community of what’s happening and what going to happen with new rec facility. I told Dr. Marbury that I thought these emails were effective. He said that they will be coming with more frequency soon. I would love to see some events promoting it around campus! If you want to see the whole interview, I will email it to you, but here are a few key points that you may not have known.
The project started out as only renovations to the existing building, but after evaluation, they decided to just redo the whole thing except for the pool. The project was originally supposed to start around 2002 and last 24 months, however there was a budget crisis in Virginia so it was put off until the government was more stable and could afford to give ODU funding for the renovations.
The Recreational Sports Department is made up of five program areas: Open Recreation, Fitness and Wellness Programs, Intramural Programs Outdoor Adventure Programs, Sport Club Programs, and Employment Opportunities. More about the interview later…

Tantric Yoga?

Ok, I was looking at my RSS feed site Health and Fitness Zone.com and realized that it had changed one of its topics to Experience The Tantric Yoga Exercise. I got a giggle out of this. But alas the article was not as racy as I thought, but interesting. Check it out, it's exercise!

Interviews

I interviewed the attendant at the Webb Fitness center. I was really interested in knowing if people ask him about the new rec facility. He rolled his eyes and said, "ALL THE TIME." I sensed that he was frustrated by it. I also asked him if there was a good turnout of both students and faculty. Much to my surprise he said he was a good mix of the two and a mix of ages. So old people like me are hitting the gym too. He also said that the gym at Webb was not always brimming with people. There were only certain times that it was really busy. That got me thinking about how to motivate people, which got me thinking about the Monarch QuickFit program I was involved in. (see earlier post about the program)

My next interview is with the Monarch QuickFit trainer....

Monarch Quickfit

I neglected to communicate that I am doing a fitness program through ODU call Monarch Quickfit. I signed up for this because it was free and it motivates me to exercise. In the beginning a staff member at the gym gets your info (yes I was pinched an inch) and sets you up on a program for 8 weeks. You have to supervise yourself which isn't so hard because you have a pressure to do it from the trainer--just because. I know that the info they get on me is research for them and MAYBE THE REST OF THE FITNESS WORLD!!!!!!!!! Schedule an appointment with Neeraja Chimata at nchimata@odu.edu .

Well, I have been doing great with exercise, except yesterday when I pushed myself to workout extremely hungry. Don't do this. I got dizzy and was miserable almost all day.

Pump U up

I'm Ok You're Ok

Well, I have not excercised in about a week. The kids were sick then I didn't feel well. But now I am back on track. I realized that shit happens and that it's ok to stop but then always get back to it. I walked earlier outside and after class I will do weights. I feel ok about it all. Faith baby--faith!

S.

I am not alone up in the gym working on my fitness!

I went out looking for other sites like mine where a normal woman is trying her darndest to get fit and healthy. Knowing how hard it is for me, it's nice to know that others share the fight.

Here's an attractive blog that I found pleasing:

http://www.workinonmyfitness.com/

Ipod Tragedy

My ipod seems to be broken. The screen says that I must use itunes to restore. I can't find the cable. The wetness of the ------ in the toliet was too much for it. How will I work out without MUSIC! I am going to find a way.

Ipod-Pee Pee-Treadmill and Attempted Fitness

Ok, I know that's a weird title, but listen to my weird day yesterday. I finally get the gumption to go to the gym. I finally use the handy dandy ipod holster my parents gave me so I could be "hands free" with my ipod. I holster that baby on my pants, and go to the bathroom (before I go on the treadmill which makes me pee if i haven't peed before hand-TMI) I pull down my pants to pee (again with the p-word) and plunk goes the holster (fell off my pants) with the ipod in it into the toilet bowl. In a mad frenzy I slosh my hand into my own pee water. Yes, that's right. To make a long gruesome story short-it still worked and I was very happy-Wet but happy.

Ok, so I am a bit traumatized since I had to recover from the whole toilet bowl thing, but I manage to get on a treadmill and start walking. Yes! I made it to the gym and I am actually exercising! Ok, then the madness with the ipod starts again. I don't have it holstered on my hip because the holster is wet with water and ... I accidently pull the wire for the headphone too hard and the ipod rips off the headphones and slip under the belt of the treadmill. Un-be-lieve-able. Thanks to a very nice teenager, I was able to retrieve the ipod from underneath the belt. I told him the whole toilet story which I am sure traumatized him too. I PUT THE IPOD AWAY.

And through all that I treadmilled for 30 minutes and did weights for 20!!!!!

Anyone have similar phone or ipod stories?

New ODU Fitness Center

Today I was thinking about the new recreation facility here at ODU. I think everyone on campus is wondering when it's going to be open for business. I think this issue has been going on for awhile. Last semester I did a PR campaign on it and the fact that it was so late in opening was one of it's PR problems. Also, the fact that noone really knows if it will open by spring. On a positive note, it is a fantastic building and has state-of-the-art equipment--or will it by the time it opens-ha ha!

Here is a link to a virtual tour that's a bit cheesy, but gives an idea of what we are all waiting for. Us Internet Explorer for best results.
http://studentaffairs.odu.edu/recsports/news/ODUHandPE.mpg

Click here for a nice rendering of the site.

Anyone know more information about the opening?

I got a personal problem with fitness

Sizzling bacon, pants are tight.
A muffin top that's not so nice.
What is happening around my belly is very much
like a bowl of jelly.

Hi my name is Susan Platt. I am a student at Old Dominion University, (and the author of the clever poem above:) and I really want to get healthy. Everyday it's a struggle. I had high hopes to exercise and eat healthy today, but another day has gone by and fitness got left behind for studying and everyday responsiblities. I am a group with two guys in a Public Journalism class. and we are working on the same issue--Fitness and Health. I have created this blog to get some support (hopefully we can support each other) and get some ideas and insight from fellow bloggers about this subject.

Here's the question, and the mystery: How do I get and stay motivated to workout and eat healthy?