This semester, The Pendulum will be working with a select group of international correspondents in study abroad programs all around the world to bring you first-hand accounts of the stories you would otherwise only find in major newspapers.
Everyone’s done for the semester and it’s time for new jobs, new cities, new friends and new news.
Nicole Esplin School starts in less than two weeks for Elon students. Whether you’re a casual or a competitive athlete, you probably want to begin school in shape and looking fit after summer. Over the summer working at cross country camp, one of my friends showed me this quick, full body workout that strengthens and tightens your arms, abs, and legs…and takes less than 10 minutes! The workout consists of three simple exercises: Crunches (or sit-ups), squats, and pushups. Start with 10 reps of each exercise, and then work down (9 reps of each exercise, 8, 7, 6, etc, all the way to 1). The key to make this workout effective is to complete every rep, and make sure there is little to no rest time between sets. By the end, you will have done 50 pushups, 50 sit-ups, and 50 squats…do this 3 times a week, and you’ll notice a difference in your tone and performance.
Nicole Esplin Strides can be a pain for many runners. The last thing most runners what to do after they finish a run in the summer heat is to run repeats at an even faster pace for at least 100 meters. But they’re necessary. In high school, I didn’t worry about strides when my coach wasn’t breathing down my neck and making me do them, and I paid for it in races. It’s similar to doing abs-you don’t realize how much you benefit from something pretty easy and quick until you start doing them. Once I started doing strides, my kick at the end of races improved, and instead of losing 5 places in the last 400 meters of a 5k, I found that I could even increase my place. Strides benefit runners in the long run, and you may not see improvement until you race, so they are extremely easy to put off until a later run. They are just as easy to keep putting off until you realize 3 weeks have gone by and you still haven’t done any strides. One way to guarantee to do strides at the end of a run is to choose one or two days a week to always do strides. My days are Mondays and Fridays, so when I being my run on those days, I know that my run doesn’t end when my route ends…it ends when my last stride is finished. I have begun to visualize the end of a race and how I want to feel during the last 5 minutes of my run. This way, I am thinking about racing, and reminding myself of my ultimate goal of breaking my PRs during cross country season. Strides can be as long as 200 meters or as short as 50 meters, but most coaches recommend 100-meter strides. They should be almost sprinting (and as a long distance runner, most of the time I end up sprinting). To start, I would suggest 4x100 meter strides with as much rest as you need. Just remember to keep moving during rest periods! Once you are comfortable doing that, you can run 8x100 meter strides, 6x200 meter strides, or even find a small incline and run some strides up a low grade hill to improve hill endurance and leg speed. If this article hasn’t inspired you to stride at the end of a run, I’ve attached a video from the 1972 Olympics where David Wottle runs most of the race in last place until the last 200 meters…you better bet he did his strides at the end of his runs! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LHid-nC45k&feature=player_embedded]
This semester, The Pendulum will be working with a select group of international correspondents in study abroad programs all around the world to bring you first-hand accounts of the stories you would otherwise only find in major newspapers.
Everyone’s done for the semester and it’s time for new jobs, new cities, new friends and new news.
by Kassondra Cloos, News Editor Over the past few weeks, Casey and Caylee Anthony have become household names.
by Adam Portoghese Intern with mCapitol Management - Washington, D.C. This summer, the Pendulum News Blog will bring you reports “From the Trenches:Reflections on Interning” for Elon University Students to share their experiences interning in various professional industries.
When I moved back home from Elon for the summer, I faced a problem: my room wasn’t big enough to fit everything from my college dorm (I blame Tanger Outlets grand opening for the majority of this problem). I decided I had to go through all my old clothes…and shoes. No, not like Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. It wasn’t stilettos I was cleaning out of my closet; it was running shoes-of every color, from every brand. While I admit, buying new running shoes is a guilty pleasure of mine (going out on the trails with a new pair of shoes will guarantee at least one running buddy to enviously eye your bright, clean shoes), buying new shoes frequently is essential for any runner. Jason Broll is a running specialist at Raleigh Running Outfitters in Raleigh, NC.
President Barack Obama made another media splash today with his Twitter “Town Hall Meeting”. Twitter users were encouraged to tweet a question to our nation’s president, simply by using the hashtag #AskObama. After a campaign to get him reelected that stormed the social media scene, Obama is changing the way the game is played yet again. Normally in a town hall meeting, questions are limited to those that can actually be there in person.
Everyone’s done for the semester and it’s time for new jobs, new cities, new friends and new news.
by Caitlin O'Donnell, News Editor Intern with The Post and Courier - Charleston, S.C. This summer, the Pendulum News Blog will bring you reports "From the Trenches: Reflections on Interning" for Elon University Students to share their experiences interning in various professional industries.
Are you making the most of your neighborhood pool? Until recently, the pool has only been useful to me when I’ve been in need of a tan, some eye candy, or a few extra dollars (made by life guarding). Last summer when I was injured and unable to run, I learned the art of exercising in the pool, and how useful neighborhood pools can be (and later, when my pool closed, how convenient they are!). From running in the pool to swimming laps, I’ve compiled a few great workouts to help you stay in shape if you’re an injured runner, or to get into better shape while cooling off in the pool! 1. Aqua Jog- Running outside is great when it’s not humid and 60 degrees out, but it can get dangerous when temperatures soar and humidity builds during the summer. When the only safe time to run is at 7 am, and it just isn’t possible to wake up that early, aqua jogging is a great substitute to running. The goal of an aqua-jogging workout is to mimic a run on land. Take advantage of the deep end of your pool and move your arms and legs in the same way you would if you were running on land. At first, it will feel weird. To help beginners flot, aqua jogging belts can be used, but I would recommend not using the belt, and starting out for a shorter period of time and gradually increase the length of the workout as fitness increases. Workouts can be long, steady jogs or more intense intervals, depending on what you want out of the workout. If you’re the type of person who gets bored running in the same place for a period of time, try visualizing that you are running outside or on a track. This has really helped me. Bringing friends and a stereo is another great way to be entertained while aqua jogging! Two examples of workouts are listed below. 30-Minute Interval Workout 10 minute warm-up (jog at an easy pace) 10 x 30 seconds fast, 30 seconds easy 10-15 min cool down 60-Minute Intervals and Endurance 10 minute warm-up 20 minutes increasing effort every 5 minutes 10 x I minute faster, 1 minute easy 10 minute cooldown 2. Swim laps- Grab some goggles and a cap (especially if you have long hair), and challenge yourself to swim a mile (64 laps). If the idea of swimming straight for 64 laps, or 1650 yards seems boring and daunting, switch it up by swimming 10 laps warm up, then add a short interval workout for the next 40 laps, and take it easy for the last 14 laps. The intervals can be as simple as one lap fast one lap easy, or as complex as 10 x 4 laps “build”, or increasing speed every lap until you reach sprint speed. Bring a kickboard along if you want extra leg work, and challenge yourself to swim half of it just kicking.
It all started with one 5k. Three miles, two feet, and one long blonde ponytail flying behind a skinny 7 year old girl with the biggest smile on her face. I’m still uncertain whether it was the endorphins from running or the door prizes given out at the end of the race, but from the moment I finished my first road race, was sure of one thing: I was a running adict. As a member of the cross country team in high school, my passion for running and all types of exercise grew. I set my sights on running in college, and am currently a member of the Elon track and cross country teams. This blog isn’t about training to become an elite athlete. There’s plenty of blogs like that on the Internet, and, they’re intimidating, I know. This isn’t meant to intimidate, it’s meant to inspire. My goal is to share the how and why of exercising. This summer, I challenge you to make a change. Become more active, even if you already exercise daily, make some kind of change so when you return to Elon, your friends, and most importantly, you will notice a difference in how you feel, act, and look. Whether you’re an experienced runner or new to the sport, summer is a great time to train for a road race. It can be a 5k, 10k, half marathon, or marathon. Set a goal race to participate in, and start training. Go out for runs, do core work, and actually train. If you don’t see yourself as a runner right now, start thinking “I am a runner”. Eat like a runner, think like a runner, if you’re going out for runs consistently, you are a runner. I really improved and started to love running when I began seeing myself as a runner.
Everyone's done for the semester and it's time for new jobs, new cities, new friends and new news. Instead of the regular, weekly Sunday Sweep, this summer we'll be posting twice monthly "cheat sheets" that span multiple topics in the news instead of just one.
Do you remember reading about these stories when they first came out in print? Here are this year’s top 7 stories, straight from the news editors’ desks. FALL *Creating a place to worship: New multi-faith center seeks to raise awareness and acceptance for students: Plans for a new building to replace the Truitt Center and create more meeting and worship space for all denominations on campus were unveiled early during fall semester.
According to insidehighered.com, a recent study focused on the research papers of first-year college students at 15 different schools and found many students "simply copy chunks of text from the sources they cite without truly grasping the underlying argument, quality or context." As a service to students and faculty alike, the Writing Center's purpose is to help students improve their writing techniques and develop strategies and practices that will make them be more effective writers in any situation. But how helpful is the Center, in reality? Paula Patch, English lecturer and college writing professor, said she believes the Writing Center is beneficial for students because writers are forced to compile more than one draft after visiting with a consultant.
While the Blog had some exciting international news this week, I am going to turn the focus back to Elon and Student Government Association.
The response to President Barack Obama's announcement of Osama bin Laden's death was swift. Within minutes of his speech, throngs of people, mostly college students, had gathered at the gates of the White House waving flags and chanting as images of the scene was played across millions of televisions.
