Stressed, Depressed?

In this post I am going to solve a lot of your sadness and stress. The cure is soul music. It is in the name, it is good for your soul.

What do Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin have in common? If you answered, they are great singers then you are half right. They can also soothe your soul.

There are a few reasons for this. One is the emotion and energy that these singers and others belt out each word. Another is the happiness that they project, even in the tough times that they had to deal with.

I have two recommendations from these guys to cheer you up. Just as my previous posts, do not make these the end all be all of your soul listening, Pandora is your friend.

Live at the Harlem Square Club. Listen here.

Directions: Listen close. Because this is a live show please pretend that   you are there and Sam is singing to you. The only next step is to listen. I promise that you will feel better after this.





On a similar vain, Aretha Franklin: Soul '69 will also soothe your soul. Listen Here.

Directions: I think you know what to do.


Remember music is power. It is in your hands. But if you are upset, don't neglect your soul.

Distractions

One last thing to keep in mind when you are studying is you want to limit the amount of things that could possibly distract you.  While some distractions may be good from time to time, you do not want something that is going to catch your attention every other minute. 

Make sure you put your cell phone on silent.  I am a person that doesn’t always do this to start and then when I get into actually studying I realize what a big distraction my cell phone is.  I am tempted to look at it to talk to people or check my email.  Even when it is on silent sitting out sometimes I am still tempted.  My phone has a light that blinks when I get something new so I may just look to see if the light starts blinking.  What I have learned helps prevents me from checking my cell phone is putting it away.  Out of sight out of mind.  By putting it away I am not tempted to constantly look at it because my phone is not in front of me as a constant reminder.  I use checkpoints in my studying to decide when I will check to see if there is anything new.

If you are a person that uses their computer while they study Facebook, Twitter, and any other type of social media can be a constant distraction.  If you can, turn off your Internet if you will not need it.  This is an easy way to prevent yourself from going on such sites.  If this is not enough to stop you from going on the sites because you are a person who will turn your Internet back on I learned of a program called SelfControl.  SelfControl makes it so that you can choose the websites that you want to block to keep from distracting yourself.  You are able to select the amount of time that you would like the sites to be blocked.  Once you have set SelfControl there is no way to undo it.  It does not matter if you turn of your computer; the program keeps working and will not allow you to go on the websites listed until the set time runs out.  I have found SelfControl to work the best for myself just because very often I will need to access ANGEL while I am studying.  I have also noticed that once I cannot access these websites I have no desire to.  

Picking the Perfect Place

You have planned your study schedule, organized your lectures, and decided when you would take study breaks and sleep.  Now it is time to actually start studying which is probably the hardest part of the entire process.  When you decide that it is time to start studying like your study schedule tells you you should be doing you must decide where you would like to go to get your studying done. 

Make sure that you think of a place that will have least amount of distractions.  Sometimes this is hard to think of, especially during finals when the last thing you want to be doing is studying because of the nice weather or you are daydreaming of the freedom you will have once you have finally completed your classes. 

You probably do not want to go to a place this is really loud or has a television on in the background.  These are the two biggest distractions that anyone will experience.  If there are people talking around you, you may be tempted to try and eavesdrop because most likely even if they are talking about the most boring thing that you would never be interested in otherwise, when you are studying anything is more interesting than concentrating on what you learned in class.  Televisions are also distracting not just because of the noise that they make, but because of the graphic imagines.  Your eyes will be drawn to whatever is on the screen because it is colorful and moving. 

Your dorm or apartment may also not be the best place to select to study.  This is somewhere that you always are and should be the place during finals week that you look to go back to so that you can relax and sleep.  If you stay there you may be tempted to lie in your bed, make food, clean up, ect.  By staying in your dorm or apartment there will also be people around that are not studying because they may be finished with their finals or just do not care.  They will try to talk to you and make noise that will distract you.  It is best to get yourself away from situations such as these.

The areas that I find most beneficial to study are the library, in classroom buildings, and at the HUB.  The library is a study environment; if people are there they are there to study.  There are many different rooms to go depending on the type of area that you prefer to study in.  Many people also find classroom buildings beneficial to for studying because it is a similar environment to what you will be taking your final exam in and it is the place that you are used to learning.  Having relatable things such as these will help put you in the mindset that this is the time that you should be focusing on your academics.  Finally, while downstairs in the HUB may be distracting on the second and third floor there are a few study cubicles.  If you are one of the lucky people to get one of these you will be set.  You have your own desk area where you will not be able to look around for people to distract you and there are outlets if you need to plug in anything.

Make sure you think ahead of time where you want to study.  Finals week everyone is looking around for the perfect spot.  Plan it out and try and get there early to make sure you have the prime location where you will be able to maximize your time.

Mix and Match

One of the key factors to consider when working out is habituation. Not only do our bodies get “tired” of our workouts, but our minds do as well. To keep ourselves interested, and to make sure that we are getting the most effective workouts, it’s important to mix up workouts and do them in a rotation. My piece of advice – try every piece of equipment in the gym, just once. This will help you to figure out which machines are your favorite, and choose which of those you would like to include in your workout rotation. Today, I decided to split my workout between three machines: the treadmill, the Stairmaster, and Jacob’s Ladder.

Try this workout:

10 minute run on the treadmill

5 minutes on the the Stairmaster

10 minutes on Jacob’s Ladder

The beginning run will warm your body up, and get your muscles ready to work hard on the next two machines. Set the pace to something comfortable, but not at an all-out sprint. Your warm-up should raise your heart rate to about 50%-60% of it’s maximum. Everyone has different levels of endurance, and only you know your own body, so it’s at your discretion how hard to push yourself.

The Stairmaster targets calf-muscles, but is still considered a cardio workout. It keeps your heart rate up, while working your calves as if you were walking up a flight of stairs. Adjust the settings to what feels best for you – the more steps per minute, the better cardio workout you will get. 5 Minutes on this machine will be enough to send your calves to the edge of burning out.

Jacob’s Ladder is one of my favorite machines. This rung-ladder machine provides an intensive full-body workout. You need to use both your legs and arms at all time to climb up the ladder, which causes higher calorie expenditure than does a machine that isolates arms or legs. My favorite part about this machine is that similar to cycling, it is completely self-motivated. There are no settings; it is all about how fast you decide to climb up. If this is your first time on this machine, you may find that you need to take a break somewhere in those 10 minutes – the intensity of this full-body workout will may tire you out more quickly than you would expect.

Jacob’s Ladder can only be found at Penn State’s White Building - get there early in the morning if you want to avoid a line!

Thursday’s Post-Workout Meal:

Make your own salad from Fiddlehead soup and salad cafe to complete your “mix and match” day.

My favorite salad:

mixed greens

walnuts

grilled chicken

grapes

bleu cheese crumbles

herb trio vinaigrette 

Picking Music: Homework

Do you hate homework? If you answered yes to that question, music may be able to help you. If you feel like your homework is getting monotonous and you want to break it up with a little bit of music, I think I can help.

There are a couple things to think about when you decide what you should be listening to when you have homework to do...

You dont want to be distracted by the music. This is important. You don't want to pick music that catches your attention too easily. If you like to sing along don't pick music with words that you can resist to sing. Instrumental like jazz, funk, classical, or Indian classical works really well to keep you on task.

What kind of work are you doing? If you are studying you may want something that is more subdued so you can allow yourself to think. Classical or Indian classical works well in a flash-card type of study situation. On the other hand something with a nice repetitive beat works well with paper writing. Jazz, funk, or soul will help you groove your way through a paper. I suggest typing on beat to the music, it is fun!

What music do you like? If you can't stand classical, then I would not listen to it while you study. But instead pick something that you do enjoy that has similar qualities to classical.

Overall the trick is to pick something that you like as well as something that will keep you on track. Here are some recommendations. (I provided youtube links, remember these are jumping off points, and I recommend typing them into Pandora and going from there.)

Paper - Derek Trucks Band, Papa Grows Funk, Soulive, Robert Randolph, Miles Davis

Studying - Chopin, Bach, Ali Akbar Khan, Ravi Shankar

Remember these are just jumping off points! Pandora some of them and then find some artists you like from there, also add some variety, combine Chopin and Ali Akbar Khan in the same station to mix it up a little bit.

Cold-Weather Running

With the weather taking a turn for the better (or so it seems), it’s time to pick up those running shoes and get outside again. Don’t be fooled by the sunny glare outside your window – it’s still too cold to throw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and hit the road. Make sure you step outside before getting dressed for your run, so that you’ll be able to better dress yourself in preparation. Let’s be real, how often does the weather app on your phone accurately match the weather outside?

If you’re going on a cold-weather run, it is important to prepare your body first. It may seem as though wearing thick clothes such as a sweatshirt and sweatpants would be best for staying warm, but this is actually not the case. The most efficient way to dress in order to stay warm on a run is in many layers of tight clothing. The science behind this is that the fibers are more tightly bound, and can more easily trap air, which will heat up on keep your body warm as you run. Wearing bulky clothing will allow wind to blow through, without giving it the chance to heat up.

Try running tops and spandex such as Underarmour Coldgear. These articles provide a tight fit and a great base to layer on top of. On cold days, you may find that it also is slightly harder to breathe due to the cold air. Take it easy, and go for a lower, slower run. A 5-k (3.2 miles) is my favorite great cold weather run.  Remember, it doesn’t matter how fast you go, it just matters that you got out there and did it.

Wednesday’s Post-Workout Meal:

Natural peanut-butter on whole wheat bread with banana slices.

make sure the peanut butter only contains peanuts and salt and that the bread is FULLY whole grain, not a mixture!

           

Whole wheat bread is a great post-run option because it restores the carbohydrates (energy source) that were lost during your run. the peanut butter serves as a good source of fat as well as protein, and the banana adds potassium and is much better than processed, sugary jelly. 

Feel free to post your runs!!

The juggling act

As the week begins to pick up and we have less time to devote to ourselves than we do to schoolwork, it becomes hard to find enough time to squeeze in a workout that we feel good about. On days like these, I like to use one of the most efficient cardio machines in the gym – the arc trainer. When it comes to cardio machines, “effective” means that it is effective in calorie burning, as well as strength training. The arc trainer is a machine that allows you to get a good cardio workout while also reaping similar benefits to lifting weights. Especially for those who are looking to lose weight as a benefit of working out, the arc trainer will provide the most weight loss in the allotted time that you work out than will any other cardio machine.

A 30-minute session on this machine will have you feeling like you not only got a good cardio workout, but a strength-training session as well. When you really have no time on your hands, this 30 minute workout may still seem like an endeavor, but let’s face it, if you weren’t taking a break working out, you’d probably find yourself in a 30 minute session on Facebook instead (we’re all guilty of it).

Another perk about this workout is that it is low impact, so if you really feel as though you can’t pull yourself away from your work, you can bring your materials with you and study while working out.

 

Tuesday’s post-workout snack:

Greek yogurt topped with walnuts and honey.

Greek yogurt (make sure it’s plain and 0% fat – my favorite is Fage 0%) is a great source of protein, which is necessary for after a workout. Walnuts are a great “brain” food – they are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been found to increase cognitive function, As for the honey, it has no real benefits, but it makes it taste good, and is much better than processed sugar or flavored yogurt. Add blueberries or bananas if you want to added potassium!