I couldn't get my google earth map to embed and I have been working on it for hours and don't have time to fix it before this is due, so this is my interactive map, but below is a picture of the one that I can't figure out how to embed. So I will include the descriptions of each part below.
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Synopsis:
The Student Recreation Center provides a way for Arizona
State Students to stay healthy and fit while away at school. “Schools have the
opportunity to provide resources for teens and parents on healthy and wellness related
issues” (Rooks 10) Exercise and wellness are very important to me. In my
opinion and also from an ex-athletes perspective staying fit is more of a
necessity rather than an option. After playing sports my whole life and then
stopping half way through high school I soon realized how easy it was to stay
in shape while playing sports, and how hard it was to keep motivated to go to
the gym after I had stopped playing. However, once I started to get the hang of
it, it became much more natural to me like a habit instead of a chore I dreaded
every day. Working out and exercising daily not only keeps your body fit and in
shape, but also calms the mind and helps bring out positive energy along with
relieving stress. “Exercise essentially burns away the chemicals like cortisol and
norepinephrine that cause stress. At the same time, vigorous exercise releases
endorphins into the system. Endorphins are morphine-like hormones that are
responsible for the feeling of elation, or well being that distance runners get
from running” (Hupston). In my opinion a healthy mind is a happy mind and the
only way you are going to become happy with yourself is when you achieve those
personal goals you set for yourself and stay dedicated like one should. “Exercise
not only improves your appearance. It can also improve your health” (Madden 1).
The Student Recreation Center offers a way to stay fit and healthy on top of
much more. It’s a place to lay out by the pool and hang out with friends, it’s
a place to run and get your mind off things, a place to gain motivation and a place
to gain happiness as well by changing an unhealthy lifestyle into a healthy
one. This center is more than beneficial for the students of ASU and the
community. In order to find happiness, one must first be happy with themselves,
and what’s a better way to learn to be happy with yourself than to exercise
daily and not only make yourself look better but also make yourself feel better
mentally and emotionally.
In this project I intend to evaluate different regions
in the SRC that have a particular meaning to me and describe each areas
importance to this center and the positive aspects of each. One area I chose to
explore was SRC recreational pool. People wouldn't necessarily consider lying
out by the pool to be very useful besides the fact that it can give one color
and maybe some relief and relaxation from a long week, but it can also burn
calories. It's almost like "killing two birds with one stone" you get
the chance to relax and hang out with your friends, but also burn calories by
laying out while the sun is beating upon you, causing you to sweat. The
second area I plan to evaluate is the elliptical area upstairs. Running is a
great way of exercising simply because it works out your entire body as a
whole. As a little girl I used to absolutely despise running, but then as I got
older I soon realized how in shape it keeps you and that it's really not as
hard as it seems once you get the hang of it. Third, I chose to evaluate
the snack bar downstairs. Although it’s not open all hours that the gym is open,
it is very helpful to those who attend the gym. It offers many things from
waters, fruits, vegetables, protein shake, etc. All of these things promote a
healthy lifestyle and are sold to students and members to make sure they are
working out while staying hydrated at the same time. Then finally I picked the
SRC Intramural fields to evaluate. The SRC fields are home to many practices
late at night during the week and also games for the intramural sports. These
fields provide a place to play sports either recreationally or professionally
on a team and help to keep people in shape by offering large amount of space to
play games or practice sports. It's very motivating to see people in such
amazing shape you envy to look like physically because it only pushes me to
work even harder to reach this personal goal of mine.
Exercise and wellness like I previously stated before is
very important to me. Although it gets very tiring going to the gym every day,
it's not as much of a drag anymore because I know that I will soon see results
and eventually reach my personal fitness goals. It's not only a way to keep in
shape and stay healthy, it's also an escape from the everyday stress and
schoolwork that people are constantly dealing with. There are major health
issues facing this particular generation due to the increased use of technology
and it is very important to make sure that you are staying healthy and eating
right in order to live a healthy life. “There is growing public concern that
this generation will suffer severe consequences if lifestyle changes are not
implemented nationwide” (Rooks, 45). This is why exercise is so important and a
center like ours at ASU is such a good example of the importance and necessity
of exercising. I whole-heartedly believe that the SRC at ASU was an amazing
investment. With all that it has to offer, it’s hard to prove that this center
isn’t useful for students. Without the Student Recreation Center, students
would be limited with access to working out and continuing to live a healthy
lifestyle.
Annotations:
Elliptical:
Upstairs in the Student Recreation Center there is an
area sectioned off for elliptical machines of all types. Elliptical machines
are great for running and work out ones entire body as a whole. Personally
these machines are my favorite because I feel as if they make me feel as if I
am working really hard due to the fact that the exercises can be very
challenging and cause you to sweat tremendously proving that you are really
pushing your body to the next level. “America’s Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention says heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United
States…killing more than 630,000 Americans” (Madden) in 2006. With heart
disease being the leading cause of death, it’s important that people stay
healthy and keep their body in shape in order to lower the chances of one
becoming sick with this disease, or any disease for that matter. Running is a
great way to stay fit and works out your cardiovascular system, keepings your
lungs in shape as well! The elliptical machines provide more exercise to the
body than one would think. These machines have multiple workouts to choose from
in case one might not be familiar with certain routines to follow. These
workouts consist of extremely challenging to simpler routines, all putting more
emphasis on certain parts of the body. While running on the elliptical machines
it feels as if I am leaving reality for the hour duration that I’m running. I
am perfectly content that hour listening to music and feeling the burning
sensation my legs begin to feel because I know that this will only show
improvement and bring me closer to these fitness goals I want to reach. “The rhythmic running on
the open road or treadmill can relax and clear the mind” (Hupston). As proven,
running is a great stress reliever as well, which is one of the reasons why
many people love it so much. Once you begin running more often,
it becomes a lot easier because your body is able to build stamina. As awful as
it may seem, running truly is an amazing source of exercise which gets the
whole body moving which is why I find these machines so important to this
center.
SRC Pool
The Student Recreation Center pool is a great resource
at this center for countless reasons. The main reasons why this area of the
center comes into great use would have to be that it’s a place to relax while
hanging out with friends, a place to easily burn calories while bathing in the
sun and also a place to work out when the machines and rooms inside don’t sound
too appealing. Laying out by the pool while hanging out with friends is an
activity almost anyone especially away at college love doing. Although laying
out by the pool doesn’t particularly count as a daily exercise it does cause
the body to sweat leading to a loss of water weight because of the body trying
to cool itself down in hot temperatures, like Arizona’s perfect sunny weather
for example. It may not be noticeable but it’s easily proven that it’s a much
better way to spend the day compared to watching TV on the couch. Another
option you have while at the pool would be to exercise, simply by doing a few
laps. “Swimming is an easy way to become initiated into a regular workout
regimen because of the low amount of stress it places on your body” (Ray). Just
like running, swimming is considered an aerobic exercise and is a very good
stress reliever. However, unlike running, swimming eliminates “the pounding on
the bones and joints” (Ray) which may be the reason why some people refer to
swimming as their key way of exercising. Some people would say that their
reason for not exercising is simply because it is not something they enjoy.
Swimming provides an alternative for people with injuries due to the fact that
your body feels lighter in water and can also be looked at as a type of leisure
activity, making it more reasonable to use as a way of exercising. All in all
the pool is a great place to spend free time; it’s a place to relax and hangout
with friends while at the same time it’s a great place to workout. Its
recreational and professional purposes make it a very important aspect of the
SRC.
SRC Fields
The SRC Intramural fields are not only very useful to
students at Arizona State University, but also to its community. These fields
contain goals for soccer, volleyball courts, areas to play baseball or softball
and enough grass area for may other sports. These fields get a lot of use
pretty much all hours of the day, every day of the week. Many sports teams use
these fields to hold their practices and intramural games. Students also use
these fields for recreational purposes like playing small games with friends or
simply to workout in a bigger area and with fresh air compared to inside the
Student Recreational Center. Unlike the area upstairs in the SRC specifically
for running machines like the elliptical, the Intramural fields allow people to
do all kinds of exercise. Whether there are games being played or practices are
being held, you will always see a couple of people off to the side doing their
daily workout routines because they prefer the outdoors while exercising, which
is perfectly okay because everybody is different and has their own ways of
doing things. Personally I enjoy working out inside because it’s not as hot and
because I don’t know enough of my own techniques to feel that I would get a
good enough workout. The fields provide a place for people to do whatever they
want on an area purposely made for recreational purposes. People join sports
because they enjoy them or because it might be the only way they think they’ll
stay in shape since you are forced to stay in shape while playing a sport.
Either way these fields get a lot of use and are very important to the school and
also to the community because there is always something taking place on them;
Whether it be a sports team having practice, or a couple of people doing
sprints these fields are put to good use and great way to provide attention to
the importance of physical fitness and staying healthy.
Snack Bar
On top of everything the Student Recreation center has
to offer, it also has a snack bar downstairs right as you walk in. This snack
bar however not open all hours that the gym is open offers a ton of things promoting
good health and ways to stay hydrated during or after working out. Most gyms
that I have been to personally do not offer an entire snack bar with a stock of
snacks and smoothies like the one provided in the SRC at Arizona State. Anyone
who goes to the gym enough knows that it is almost impossible to get a good
work out in without water or some sort of drink promoting hydration for the
body. Although members of this center are lucky enough to have the option of
buying waters or a Vitamin Water in case you were ever to forget. It is very
important to stay hydrated especially while working out. “Drinking water or
water-rich fluids on a regular basis can help you maintain a healthier weight
or even lose weight” (Miller). Just by drinking water on a daily basis can help
move you towards a healthier lifestyle. “Drinking water instead of soda can
quench your thirst without adding calories to your diet and may suppress or
distract your appetite if you drink it when you experience a food craving”
(Miller). This area in the Student Recreation Center promotes
an importance of staying hydrated while working out because of the fact that it
supplies its members with drinks and food that are healthy and good for the
body. I find this part of the center very important because some people who may
forget to eat breakfast or have a scare of passing out while they were working
out have the option of purchasing something healthy to give their body energy.
Works Cited:
Hupston, Fleur. Natural News [N/a], 2010
Madden, Johnathan. The Importance of Exercise
Shamrock Eden Publishing, 2011
Miller, Christa. “What are the Health Benefits of Being
Hydrated” Livestrong. 14 June 2011
Ray, Linda. “Benefit of Swimming as Exercise.”
Livestrong. 31 March 2010
Rooks, Linsdsey. (2010). Masters Thesis. Journey to Wellness, 52 pages
