What if? That’s the question surfacing the Keene State College rumor mill. With a town so closely connected to its college, there’s got to be a better and easier way to make business happen, right? With it’s new location across the street from campus on Winchester Street, owner of D’s Café Darren Humphrey is trying to make a push for Owl Cash or some form of a meal swipe to be implemented for students to use.

Multiple accredited colleges do it, such as the University of New England and UMass Amherst. Students are allowed to use their meal plan dollars at local restaurants. This system allows students to go out into the community and add variety to their diet. “It would definitely be good to have a variety of meals to choose from instead of constantly having to choose from Lloyds or Hoot [n’ Scoot] if we get sick of the D[ining] C[ommons.] Some places that I would love to be able to use a meal swipe at are places like Subway, Brewbakers and Fritz,” said Keene State College senior Mike Devaney.

Eating from the same spot for nine months starts to get boring after a while for most students. This system also allows for businesses on Main Street to have better business and a stronger relationship and respect for students, as they show support for the community they go to school in.

Tim Smith / Photo Editor

“I would like to see a whole list of local businesses that allow students to use a meal swipe at their restaurants and not just mine. I’ve been talking with the school for a while now about it and they seem interested. With my business being so close to the school, I think I can really form a great relationship with the students. My prices are already affordable enough, but I think adding a meal swipe option would be even better for students to come to the café and relax while getting a quality meal,” said Humphrey.

Owner of D’s Deli and D’s Café, Humphrey said, “Students wouldn’t be able to purchase alcohol from me on a meal swipe; it would just be food and your basic soft drink. I think that adding a meal swipe for local businesses would really attract more students to the college and would add another level of uniqueness to the dining options at the school.”

“I definitely would use a meal swipe at a local business,” KSC senior Joe Barbesco said. “I’ve been here for almost four years in May and I can tell you, I wish they had set something like this up a while ago. My other friends’ schools have off-campus meal swipes, so I think it’s time Keene did too. With our community and college being so close, why wouldn’t they have done it already?…I think giving students meal swipes to off campus locations just gives them another reason to get out of the door and go out into the community. It’s always nice to have a new variety and quality meal and a place to go that is different and where you can just relax for a little bit.”

Jurien Garrison can be contacted at jgarrison@kscequinox.com

Exercise: Wide Grip Barbell Curl 

Exercise: Wide Grip Barbell Curl

Equipment Needed: Barbell

Time Needed: 3 to 5 Minutes

• Place your hands on the outside of the hash marks on the barbell.
• While sitting, curl the Barbell upwards and come back down with it.
• Use a comfortable weight so that you are able to get good reps with this weight.

Exercise: Alternate Hammer Curl 

Exercise: Alternate Hammer Curl

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

Time Needed: 3 to 5 Minutes

• Use a comfortable weighted set of dumbbells so that you can get solid controlled repetitions.
• While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand.
• Curl the dumbbell upwards in your right hand and bring it back down.
• When you are done curling the dumbbell in your right hand, curl the dumbbell in your left hand
• Make sure you do this exercise slowly so that you get a nice pump.

Workout Intro

Welcome to weekly workout number four of the semester this week we will be working on legs. Remember to eat healthy, train hard and study hard.

Exercise: Dumbbell Curl

As usual warmup and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio.

Exercise: Dumbbell Curl

• HOW TO:
  • While standing straight up have a dumbbell in each hand.
  • Slowly curl the dumbbell upwards and come back down with the dumbbells.
  • You want to curl the each dumbbell at its own individual time.

Exercise: Pushups 

• HOW TO: 
  

  Exercise: Pushups

  • Start with your arms shoulder width apart, hands facing forward and on your toes.
  • Slowly lower yourself to the ground.
  • Push yourself back up to the starting position.

Exercise: Pushup Dumbbell Row 

• HOW TO:
  • While in pushup form have a dumbbell in each hand on the ground.
  • You want to be holding yourself up off the ground by using the dumbbells.
    

    Exercise: Pushup Dumbbell Row

  • Do an individual row with the dumbbell, slowly and controlled.

Exercise: Regular Dumbbell Row

• HOW TO:
  • Use an exercise bench as your stabilizer.
  • Make sure your slight bent over and you have a well-balanced athletic position.
  • Do a controlled row and slowly bring the dumbbell in with a pulling motion.

Exercise: Regular Dumbbell Row

Workout Intro

Welcome to weekly workout number six of the semester. This week we will be working on arms. Remember to eat healthy, train hard and study hard.

Exercise: Dumbbell Shrugs

As usual warmup and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio.

Jurien Garrison can be contacted at jgarrison@kscequinox.com

Weekly Health Tips

I tried some new things in the dining common this week that I thought I would share! These are also easy to make at home.

Breakfast: Whole wheat bread, with two eggs and your choice of cheese. (I like mine over easy, with feta.)

Lunch: Mixed green salad – lately I have been putting pieces of butternut squash on top of my salad and it is delish! Also add pecans, walnuts and other sources of protein.

Exercise: Pushups

Dinner: Fish has a lot of vitamins to offer. Try eating salmon with squeezed lemon and mixed vegetables on the side such as broccoli, brussel sprouts and asparagus. (Salmon is a great source of vitamin B12 and vitamin D.)

Snacking: A great snack that can curve a sweet craving is peanut butter and celery. If not celery, try carrots.

Arianna Belsito can be contacted at abelsito@kscequinox.com

Exercise: Dumbbell Shrugs

• HOW TO: 
  

  Exercise: Behind The Back Barbell Shrug

  • While standing up straight hold a dumbbell in each hand. (You want to use a heavier set of dumbbells for this exercise.)
  • Slowly and controllably shrugs your shoulders up and come back down.
  • You want to do this exercise slowly because it will work your shoulders well.

Exercise: Pushups

• HOW TO:
  • Do a slow controlled push up.
  • For this exercise you want to do this five times for 20 reps.

Exercise: Behind The Back Barbell Shrug

• HOW TO:
  • While standing straight up either use a small barbell or a regular size barbell if you want to add more than the weight barbell options.
  • Place the bar behind you and shrug the bar just like to would shrug a dumbbell.
    

    Exercise: Skull Crushers

  • Remember do this exercise slowly because it will be more effective.

Exercise: Skull Crushers

• HOW TO:
  • Lay down on a flat exercise bench.
  • While using the listed equipment, place it behind your head while holding it. (This will be your starting position.)
  • Slowly bring the weight above your head.
  • You want to go slow with this exercise because it can be an advanced exercise.

Workout Intro

Welcome to weekly workout five. By now we are getting pretty deep into the semester, so I hope everyone’s semester is going well. This exercise will be targeting shoulders. As usual, warmup and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio.

Jurien Garrison can be contacted at jgarrison@kscequinox.com

Exercise 1: Standing Barbell Overhead Press 

Exercise 1: Standing Barbell Overhead Press

• HOW TO:
  • Use a small barbell that you can do comfortable controlled repetitions with.
  • While standing straight up, press the barbell upward above your head.
  • Bring the barbell down back to your chest once you have gone straight up with the bar.
  • Try not to push with your legs, just use your arms to make it more challenging.

Exercise 2: Dumbbell Side Raise

• HOW TO:
  • Standing straight up while holding the dumbbells by your side.
  • Lift the dumbbell to shoulder height and bring back down.
    

    Exercise 2: Dumbbell Side Raise

Weekly Health Tips

This week I decided to skip the weekly meal plan and just give a few helpful tips for all of you trying to eat healthy. The one thing I always struggle with is eating carbs. You will get mixed responses from people as if they are not good for you. The truth is carbs stimulate hunger and also spike your blood sugars which is why you tend to eat more. So as much as they can be good for you, it’s all about how much you eat. With that being said, if you decide to eat carbs in your meal such as pasta, eat it with some sort of protein in it like chicken or steak to help tell your body it is actually full instead of eating just pasta with sauce.

Arianna Belsito can be contacted at abelsito@kscequinox.com

Workout Intro 

Exercise: Standing Calf Raise

Welcome to weekly workout number four of the semester this week we will be working on legs. Remember to eat healthy, train hard and study hard.

As usual warmup and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio.

Weekly Health Tips

Here is an example meal plan to follow for a week:

• For breakfast, omelette with your choice of egg. Adding a meat to your omelette is good protein, such as turkey or ham. With the omelette feel free to add a piece of fruit with that such as an apple or an orange.
  

  Exercise: Seated Leg Press

• For lunch, have multigrain bread with two slices of turkey or ham. Grilled chicken is also always good. Again try to substitute mayo or another dressing with oil and vinegar!
• Dinner time, try to mix as many vegetables as you can. Anything low calorie and low carbs right before bed. Add grilled chicken and a  little bit of rice is fine! For a lighter dressing to top it off try either soy sauce or buffalo.
• Healthy snacking in between: Nuts, almonds, fruit or even a cheese stick.

Exercise: Standing Calf Raise

• HOW TO:
  • Stand in a shoulder-width stance with your toes flat on the edge of a box or step with your heels and mid-foot hanging off the edge
    

    Exercise: Dumbbell Lunge

    so you feel a stretch in your calf. (This is your starting position.)

  • Push your toes onto the box or step so your heels rise.
  • Lower yourself back to the starting position. Make sure you feel a stretch in your calves.

Exercise: Seated Leg Press

• HOW TO:
  • To really get the full effect of this workout, add weight with every set of squats you do.
  • For example your first set of squats should feel light, where as your last set of squats is heavier.
  • This helps build muscle a lot faster and creates a more intense workout.
    

    Exercise: Seated Leg Press

Exercise: Dumbbell Lunge

• HOW TO:
  • Stand straight up with a dumbbell in each hand. (This is your starting position.)
  • Lunge forward, and make sure the kneecap of your leg so that when you lunged forward on touches the ground.
  • Come back to the starting position and repeat with the other leg.

Exercise: Seated Leg Press

• HOW TO: 
  

  Opposite Toe Touches

  • Fix the seated leg curl machine to a position so that the footpad lies just above your heels.
  • Curl your legs back and steadily toward you and squeeze your calf muscle.

Opposite Toe Touches: 100 reps

Regular Form Crunches: 100 reps

Regular Form Crunches

Welcome to week two of the weekly workout! I’m happy to say that I’ve got some changes coming to the Weekly Workout. First that I never thought that this

Exercise One: Barbell Incline Bench Press

column would grow into something like this. It’s cool to hear back from the student body and to be able to see a page of the weekly workout. From now on, Arianna Belsito will help out with the column. Arianna will be contributing to the column with her weekly healthy food solutions. She will also be showing the demonstrations of the abdominal exercise portion.

As usual, open up your workout with 15 minutes of cardio and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio.

All of the exercises should be done in 5 sets with 10 (5×10) repetitions each.

Exercise One: Barbell Incline Bench Press

• HOW TO:
  

  Exercise Two: Barbell Bench Press

  • Properly adjust the seat to comfortable usage level.
  • This exercise is pretty hard so you want to use a weight you can get comfortable, controlled reps with.
  • Firmly grasp the bar with both hands.
  • Lower the bar down to your chest and hold it there for 5 seconds.
  • Slowly bring the bar back up

Exercise Two: Barbell Bench Press

• HOW TO:
  • Use a weight you are comfortable with.
    

    Exercise Three: Dumbbell Bench Press

  • While laying on a flat barbell bench press use a firm grip. Slowly lower the barbell down to your chest.
  • Hold the rep at your chest for 5 second and slow press the barbell back up.

Exercise Three: Dumbbell Bench Press

• HOW TO:
  • Lay flat on a workout bench.
  • Use two dumbbells.
  • At the same time slowly press the dumbbells upwards and bring them back down.

Exercise Four: Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Exercise Four: Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

• HOW TO:
  • Adjust the flat exercise bench to a 45 degree angle.
  • Use two weighted dumbbells that you are comfortable using so that you can get slow controlled repetitions.

Here is an example meal plan for everyone trying to start eating clean and feeling good about themselves!

• Monday Breakfast: Whole wheat toast or English muffin, with protein source of peanut butter. To add to it, eat a banana or some sort of fruit.
• Monday Lunch: Try to get all cravings out of the way at this time, that way you have the rest of the day to burn it off. Maybe eat a cup full of pasta, with light marinara sauce.
  

  Ab Circiut: Bent Knee Raises (100 reps)

• Monday Dinner: Spinach salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Add a good source of protein such as grilled chicken, or maybe even a couple pieces of steak (if available).

Remember throughout the day to drink at least 2-3 liters of water. That equals out to 4-6 water bottles a day. Water is a huge key and is useful to so many parts of the body. It helps keep your muscles energized. as well as keep your skin looking clean.

Bent Knee Raises (100 reps)

• HOW TO: 
  

  Opposite Toe Touch (100 Reps)

  • Lie flat on the ground and bring your knees to your chest.

Opposite Toe Touch (100 Reps)

• HOW TO:
  • Lie flat on your back.
  • Raise the upper half of your body and touch your opposite foot. (Right hand to left foot).

Side Crunches (100 Reps Each Side) 

Side Crunches (100 Reps Each Side)

• HOW TO:
  • Lay on one side of your body.
  • Raise half of your body up and come back down.

Welcome back, I hope everyone had a great break. For all the new people I’ll reintroduce myself, but for my consistent followers, hello. To my new followers,

Exercise One: Alternate Dumbbell Incline Curl

my name is Jurien Garrison. I’m a junior here at Keene State College and writing and fitness are my outlets. I thoroughly love journalism because it is my life and my career and I can do what I love to do. I’ve learned in life that if I can push myself in the gym and learn to fail, I can see how much I can fail and then teach myself to succeed. This method will help me succeed in life. I want everyone to feel that way.

This new workout is going to build lean muscle.

All exercises are done 3×10.

Exercise One: Alternate Dumbbell Incline Curl

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells  

HOW TO:

Exercise Two: Alternate Hammer Curl

– Adjust the exercise bench to a 45-degree angle.

– Use two dumbbells.

– Curl the dumbbell upward so that your bicep is fully contracted and come back down with it.

Exercise Two: Alternate Hammer Curl 

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

HOW TO:

– While standing, hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Exercise Three: Wide Grip Barbell Curl

– Curl the dumbbells up at opposite times.

– Make sure to go slowly so that you can contract your arms.

Exercise Three: Wide Grip Barbell Curl

Equipment: Small Weighted Barbell 

HOW TO:

– While standing have a wide grip while holding the barbell (far spacing between your hands).

– Slowly bring the barbell up while curling and come back down with the barbell.

Exercise Four: Machine Bicep Curl

Exercise Four: Machine Bicep Curl

Equipment Needed: Machine Bicep Curl Station

HOW TO:

– Use the machine bicep curl station. Adjust the seat so you can comfortably be able to curl the bar. Slowly curl the bar. Use a weight level you are comfortable using so that you can get good repetitions.

Thank you to all who have read my column this semester and have done the workout thoroughly. I hope everyone finishes this semester strong

Exercise One: Push Ups

and has a great winter break. Here is the last weekly workout of the semester.

As usual, warm up with 15 minutes of cardio. All of the exercises should be done in five sets for ten repetitions each set.

Exercise One: Push Ups

HOW TO:

Lay with your chest flat on the ground.

Have your hands shoulder-width apart.

Exercise Two: Hammer Curls

Push straight up from this position and go back down.

Exercise Two: Hammer Curls 

Equipment Needed: Dumbbells

HOW TO:

Have a comfortable weighted dumbbell in your hands by your side.

Curl upward with the dumbbell and contract your bicep while curling upward.

Exercise Three: Dumbbell Bench Press

Use a comfortable weighted dumbbell and do these repetitions slowly.

Exercise Three: Dumbbell Bench Press 

Equipment: Dumbbells

HOW TO:

Lay flat on your back on an exercise bench with a comfortable weighted dumbbell in each hand.

Slowly press the dumbbells up and slowly lower them back down.

Exercise Four: Abdominal Exercises

Make sure to pause for 3-5 seconds at the top and at the bottom of your rep. Do not touch the dumbbells together at the top. Use a comfortable weight so that you can get good slow repetitions.

Exercise Four: Abdominal Exercises 

HOW TO:

Do four abdominal exercises of your choice.

Welcome back everyone! I hope everyone reading this had a wonderful Thanksgiving. This workout is a great way to get back into the swing of things and help burn off some of those holiday calories. As usual, warm up with 15 minutes of cardio and cool down with 15 minutes of cardio. All of these weighted exercises should be done with a weight you are comfortable with and with a weight you can do controlled reps with. Remember, controlled reps are the best reps!

Exercise One: Bench Press | Equipment: Bench Press | Time Needed: 5 Minutes

HOW TO: 

Lie flat on your back on the bench press.

Slowly lift the bar off of the rack and bring the bar down to your chest.

Hold for a few seconds once the bar is lightly resting on your chest and bring the bar back up.

Make sure you take your time with the exercise. Doing it slow is doing it right.

Exercise Two: Rope Triceps Pushdown | Equipment Needed: Rope Pushdown Extension | Time Needed: 5 Minutes

HOW TO:

Standing upright with your torso straight and a very small inclination forward, bring the upper arms close to your body and perpendicular to the floor. The

forearms should be pointing up towards the pulley as they hold the bar. This is your starting position.

Using your triceps, bring the bar down until it touches the front of your thighs and the arms are fully extended perpendicular to the floor. The upper arms should always remain stationary next to your torso and only the forearms should move.

After a second hold at the contracted position, bring the bar slowly up to the starting point.

Exercise Three: Side Dumbbell Raise | Equipment: Dumbbells | Time Needed: 5 Minutes 

HOW TO:

Standing straight up, hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Lift the dumbbells to shoulder high. You can either lift the dumbbells at the same time or lift them individually. Take your time with this exercise.

Exercise Four: Front Dumbbell Raise | Equipment: Dumbbells | Time Needed: 5 Minutes

HOW TO:

Standing straight up, hold a dumbbell in each hand.

Lift the dumbbells in front up you to shoulder height. You can either lift the dumbbells at the same time or you can lift them individually. Take your time.