Post Tagged with: "opinion"

Workout of the week: Squats, deadlift, bench press

Sports April 30, 2013 at 8:18 pm Comments are Disabled

It is important to use proper form when squatting, as incorrect form can lead to injury. When completing any of the three traditional lifts, the squat, bench or the deadlift, make sure that you start out with a light weight and always use a spotter. Squat The squat targets the gluteus maximus, hamstrings, quadriceps, and requires you to stabilize your core. Implementing squats into your leg routine can strengthens your legs, increases flexibility, and strengthens the muscles around your knees. To begin, set the bar in the rack at about mid-chest level. Then position your feet shoulder width apart, directly under the bar. Place the bar evenly above your upper back muscles at the base of your neck. By lifting the elbow up, you can create a shelf for the bar to rest on so that it is not resting directly on your spine. Step forward and then begin the movement downwards with your weight on your heels and sink your hips by moving them backwards as if you were going to sit in a chair. Keep your chest up and look forward to maintain a straight back. Once your hips are parallel with the ground, drive your heels downward […]
Play by play: Life lessons from sports

Sports April 30, 2013 at 8:12 pm Comments are Disabled

Finals week. Ready- No? Tough tinsel. The coach is putting you in anyway and you’ve got some big plays to make. You’re coming late into the game and there is nothing you can do to change that, so you’ll have to roll with it. Take what you’re given and hopefully put on a little late semester magic. If you aren’t sure how you’re going to pull this off and hope seems lost, here is a rundown of some steps that should give you a game plan. Check the scoreboard. Even if you have been paying attention to the game the whole time, you need to forget about it for now and look at the scoreboard. It gives the honest facts of the right here and now. It doesn’t tell you how you got lucky by guessing C three times in a row after a string of all A’s and B’s on that last quiz. The scoreboard does not care about outliers, flukes, runs, momentum swings or any of that. It tells you that you have this grade,it can go up or down by this much with the final and how much time you have until it’s here. The situation is clear. […]
Workout of the week

Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:18 pm Comments are Disabled

Spring Training: Running Spring is finally here! What better way to enjoy the weather than going outside for a run? Running may seem basic, but there are actually many factors to consider if one plans on logging some miles this year. Let’s cover some of the basics to help you enjoy your run. 1. Shoes Purchasing running shoes is literally where the rubber hits the road. A good pair of shoes increases comfort and can help prevent injuries. The process can be overwhelming. So, do your research and get properly fitted by a sales associate. How long should a pair of shoes last? Generally you should be replacing your shoes every 300-400 miles or every six months. It is also important to consider what type of surfaces you will run on. 2. Warm up and cool down Each run should begin with a warm up and end with a cool down. The warm up raises the temperature of the muscles for optimal flexibility and efficiency. It also serves to slowly raise your heart rate, which helps minimize the stress on your heart. On average, your warm up should last between 5-10 […]
Play by play: Life lessons from sports

Sports April 15, 2013 at 6:06 pm Comments are Disabled

“Don’t worry about those other guys, just run your race,” words every track coach should tell their runners. Or the any-sport substitute: “Just play your game.” You cannot waste your time thinking what the opposition is planning to do- they are going to use their talents and try to take away your strengths. It works the same in every sport. What it comes down to is being able to play your game regardless. If your game is pace pushing, fast breaks, slow and steady, hard defense or attacking on the transition- you know if you play it right it will work out for you. The every man’s way of saying this is just do you. It may sound like an overstated piece of advice, but there is a reason it’s said so much. It is because nothing else anyone else does, thinks or says really matters. None of those things have power over you unless you relinquish it to them. It may help to think of your work or your life as a race, but understand that this isn’t the Olympic 100-meter dash or the Boston Marathon. It is more like a 5k fun run. There are no winners and no losers. […]
Israeli Apartheid: the new South Africa

Editorials April 15, 2013 at 5:46 pm 6 comments

Oh, the good days we live today: the times of oppression and institutionalized racism are most definitely behind us. We Americans pride ourselves on the utmost principles of universal human rights declared by the UN: of all persons born free and equal and having the right to life, liberty and security. It’s great that we call ourselves a democratic society while financially assisting in the institutionalization of an ongoing apartheid system in Israel – while funneling over 30 billion of your hard-earned U.S. tax dollars in military aid over the span of a decade to an oppressive Israel to ensure that Palestinians civilians are being denied the universal rights valued intrinsic to all humans. They’re being stripped of these rights only to be maimed, shot, brutalized and ethnically cleansed. Former president of South Africa and veteran of South African apartheid Nelson Mandela has brazenly remarked on the ongoing Israeli apartheid and occupation of Palestinian land. In 1997, at the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, he remarked on its atrocious realities, “That injustice and gross human rights violations were being perpetrated in Palestine. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians” […]
Mason at the movies

Lifestyle April 15, 2013 at 5:43 pm Comments are Disabled

This week, the Office of Student Involvement (OSI) will host screenings of two critically-acclaimed, Academy Award- nominated films, free for Mason students. Wreck-It Ralph On April 20 and 21, OSI Films celebrates Siblings Weekend with its free screening of Disney’s clever, hilarious and heartwarming “Wreck-It Ralph.” Wreck-It Ralph (John C. Reilly), the villain of an arcade video game, longs to be as beloved as the game’s hero, Fix-It Felix, Jr. (Jack McBrayer). So, he abandons his game in search of one in which he feels he belongs. Traveling through several video game worlds, including the first-per- son shooter “Hero’s Duty” and the candy-coated kart racing game “Sugar Rush,” Ralph finds a kindred spirit in Vanellope Von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman), a spunky “glitch.” Together they battle the forces that threaten to shut down the game world forever, and Ralph must find it in himself to finally become a hero. “Wreck-It Ralph” is so unbelievably creative and witty. Its fascinating worlds are fully realized, and its characters are lively and likable. The eye-popping visuals and thrilling action sequences are perfectly complemented by slapstick humor, nostalgic cameos from classic video game characters and heartfelt scenes that pack an emotional punch. Its imaginative premise is […]
How to get to Mason from the other side of the world: Part Two

Lifestyle April 15, 2013 at 4:16 pm Comments are Disabled

Over the series of three articles, Stepan Gordeev shares his experiences as an international student I am a student from Russia in my freshman year here. In the previous article, I described my experience with US exams preparation, applying and being admitted to Mason. This time, I am going to tell you about last summer—when I was already admitted but didn’t yet know what to do. The first thing I had to do was decide where to go—to one of the Russian colleges or to Mason? My whole life, I was prepared to go to a Russian university, with all its cons and pros. When I applied to Mason, I didn’t think the choice would be that hard. As it turned out, leaving everything and everybody behind is not so easy. I spent a lot of time thinking about this. In one of the corners—superior education, more developed economic state and a whole new experience. In the other corner— my own familiar culture, family and old friends. I asked many people about their opinion, and guess what? Exactly half of them tried to convince me to stay and not go to the land of imperial greedy capitalist-consumerists. Another half passionately […]
Single-Mindedness and Religion in the JC

Editorials, Featured March 24, 2013 at 11:22 pm 1 comment

Every week there is at least one time – where I walk thought the JC in the early afternoon on weekdays, and there is at least one kiosk that, in some way or another, talks about SOME kind of Christian denomination (or Christian organization on campus) or another. Whether it’s the ‘Lutheran Campus Ministry,’ the ‘One God, One Message’ group, the ‘Tuesday Night Encounter’ group, or, more recently, the group with the sign that says, “What does the Bible really say?” I respect their right to free speech and the freedom to practice their religion, however there’s one problem in how they got to where they are: they don’t read their religious texts with an open mind. If anything, they’re biased toward the faith they call true. I’m not saying these people are necessarily wrong, but when it comes to promoting religion, it seems like they give don’t give a fair shot to both Christianity and whatever religion they are trying to get people to leave. I’ve spoken with several of these Christian organizations, and I can tell that they don’t give other religions enough open-minded thought or consideration. Pretty much every religious person is guilty of that to some degree […]