Finding a balance at the gym

By Brittany Benjamin

Amidst the clanking of knocking barbells, the whirring sounds of stationary bikes and the unmistakable smell of sweat, junior Daniel Sumpter is in the middle of a pull-up at the gym.

As he strains under the weight of his body and pulls his head over the cold metal bar, he reaches the end of his set of 15 pull-ups. With a sigh, he lowers himself from the bar and straightens.

These pull-ups are only one part of Sumpter's workout routine, a routine that used to be a daily ritual.

Sumpter, who used to work out every day last year, has reduced his workouts to two or three days a week. He says this cutback is due in part to an improved body image and his girlfriend, sophomore Mair Wallis.

"I no longer feel the need to attract women to me," he said. "I played with buff action figures when I was a kid, which made me believe it was the ideal body shape."

Like Sumpter, many Santa Clara students frequent the gym on a weekly, and often daily basis. Students sporting spandex and carrying water bottles make the hike to Malley Fitness Center, attributing these visits to wanting to lose weight or maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Sophomore Stephanie Di Sano is one of these students. Although she now lives off campus, Di Sano is a self-proclaimed "gym rat." Like Sumpter once did, Di Sano works out on a daily basis. In these workouts, she tries to work on her endurance and balance.

"It's a stress reliever for me. It's like a meditation thing," she said. "You just turn on your headphones and go."

Di Sano, who played club sports in high school, began frequenting the gym to stay fit. Also a member of 24 Hour Fitness, Di Sano says Malley offers just as many exercise choices as a professional gym.

"I think we're really lucky we have such a good gym," she said. "Sometimes it's even frustrating because it's so crowded."

It's safe to say that Santa Clara students have built a reputation for being physically fit.

Confirming this, Men's Fitness Magazine ranked Santa Clara the 16th fittest college in 2006.

Santa Clara, and the other 25 schools that made the list, were rated based on students' responses to 17 questions. They included questions on their amount of physical activity, how much fast food they ate, smoking and alcohol consumption. Other questions measured their overall satisfaction with the fitness services offered at their schools.

Stellar ratings aside, workout naysayers still maintain that too much importance is placed on physical fitness at Santa Clara.

"It seems very stereotypical," said junior Michelle Johnson. "It's like a fad. It makes sense to be healthy, and it's smart, but I feel like it's over-emphasized."

Johnson said she exercises two times a week by going for walks or jogs. She measures physical fitness in terms of activities that make her happy.

"Usually a healthy person is happy," she said. "It's how you feel about the way you look. It's more important than how you physically look."

For many Santa Clara students, finding a healthy level of physical fitness can be a challenge. Students have to maintain a careful balance between overdoing it and being too lethargic in their exercise routine.

According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, a national medical organization representing more than 93,700 physicians, a good goal for many people is to exercise four to six times a week for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Nonetheless, they recommend asking a doctor how much exercise is right for you.

Sumpter puts it in a different light.

"Working out every day isn't going to hurt you," he said. "But if you're starving yourself and working out multiple times a day, that's when you'll get injured."

Sumpter, who started weight training after he injured himself playing soccer in his senior year of high school, injured his wrists at the gym his freshman year. Through an intensive workout schedule, he placed too much strain on them, never allowing them to heal.

Though his wrists have since healed, he still wears support bands.

While some students like Sumpter work out almost too vigorously, students like Johnson say they do sometimes feel lazy for not going to the gym.

For those people, there are easy ways to sneak exercising into everyday activities.

According to the AAFP, students should take the stairs instead of the elevator and go for a walk during lunch or coffee breaks.

For students who live off campus, intensifying house or yard work to a faster pace is a good place to start.

Sumpter's last advice: "Don't stress out about it -- stress causes you to gain weight."

Contact Brittany Benjamin at (408) 551-1918 or brbenjamin@scu.edu.