Campus Wellness seminar promotes healthy lifestyle through resistance training
USC employees felt the burn at a stress-relieving workout session featuring "anytime" exercises late Friday morning.
"Ready to burn some calories and have some tired muscles for the weekend?" Coordinator for Campus Wellness Tina Devlin encouraged a not-so-thrilled audience of USC faculty and staff at the Campus Wellness B.L.A.S.T. seminar.
B.L.A.S.T. stands for "Break Time, Lunch Time, Anytime Strength Training." The purpose of the program is to help strengthen muscles, improve muscular endurance, increase flexibility and reduce stress through exercises that are easily accessible.
Devlin said the program is an easy, effective way for USC faculty and staff to get fit.
"You can use simple tools to build muscle using strength and resistance techniques," Devlin said.
Fifteen faculty and staff members at USC attended B.L.A.S.T. and received complimentary resistance bands and exercise booklets to guide them in their exercise routine.
The training program is designed to increase awareness on the importance of overall body health.
Devlin and Campus Wellness graduate assistant Dayna Leblanc stressed the importance of adding both exercise and healthy nutrition to your daily routine. They also said small changes in routine and diet can make a significant difference in weight.
"Resistance training, like walking, can help prevent osteoporosis and build muscle mass, which can help you burn calories," Leblanc said.
Devlin said women should have a body fat count ranging from 18 to 25 percent, and men's should range from 12 to 20 percent. Being over or under a designated range, Devlin said, could put someone at risk for heart disease.
The B.L.A.S.T. seminar included examples of upper-body, lower-body and core exercises, which can be modified to your surroundings or needs. An easy beginner technique to warm up before exercising can be squatting and stretching, which imitates putting a book on a high shelf.
Devlin and Leblanc said it's most important to remember to warm up before you begin, stretch and to not forget to breathe while you're working out.
By decreasing caloric intake by just 250 calories per day and exercising for 30 minutes three times per week, you could lose one pound a week, which, according to Devlin, is the safest way to try and take the weight off.
"If you lose 10 pounds in a week, you're probably just going to gain it right back. You can still enjoy the pleasurable foods that you love; it's all about portion control," Devlin said.
USC faculty and staff became more attracted to the program with the focus on easy and simple ways to add exercise to your daily regimen.
Vanessa Hill, controller of the Alumni Association, said she was intrigued by the accessibility of the program and how it could be incorporated into her everyday life.
"I wanted to find new ways at the office that could help me lose weight easily," Hill said.
The accessibility factor is what makes B.L.A.S.T. unique among other exercise programs and seminars. Leblanc said that the exercises and techniques they teach are ones that can be done anywhere, anytime.
"You can make changes and do these exercises anytime — maybe lunchtime at your desk," Leblanc said.
Devlin and Leblanc also stressed the main focus is to make more healthy decisions daily. The best way, according to Devlin, to improve the increasing amount of weight and health problems in today's society is to make a more friendly, long-term effort to get fit.
"Wellness and overall health is what's most important for longevity," Devlin said.
Gene Meding, program coordinator for faculty development in the College of Nursing, said she could list a number of reasons why the B.L.A.S.T. program appealed to her.
"The biggest reason is because it's a good opportunity to relieve stress," Meding said.
Leblanc said you can increase your daily exercise by just choosing to walk around campus instead of driving, or walking through all of the aisles at the grocery store. She said Campus Wellness is also undergoing the Heart Beat: The February Walking Challenge to encourage more daily movement.
"I noticed that just by parking at the (Carolina) Coliseum, I walk almost a mile to get to Blatt (P.E. Center)," Leblanc said.
Campus Wellness provides free body composition screenings to any student or faculty member at USC, along with other beneficial programs found on USC's Student Health Services website.
The Campus Wellness offices are located in the lower level of the Strom Thurmond Wellness and Fitness Center for students and in the Blatt P.E. Center for faculty. For more information on Campus Wellness facilities and programs contact sawellns@mailbox.sc.edu.