Staying in shape is no easy feat for the college student. A weekend of keg parties and late night Taco Bell runs can’t always be counteracted in the gym. The treadmill and weight room can only do so much; eventually what goes into your mouth sneakily finds its way onto your midsection.
The freshman fifteen is a reality for many students. Problems arise, however, when students resort to extreme measures to counteract a party lifestyle and unhealthy diet. We have all heard stories of women over exercising, restricting calories, and taking extreme measures to keep their weight down.
What we haven’t heard, though, are the drastic measures that guys take to stay in shape. It’s a common misconception that guys don’t worry about their appearance or suffer from any body hang-ups or insecurities.
“I always assumed that guys have a faster metabolism and are bigger than girls,” said Jen, a senior at the University of Massachusetts. “I just figured that they could eat all the beer and pizza they wanted without getting fat.”
Guys and Body Image
In reality, many male college students admitted to an overwhelming pressure to meet a physical ideal and be attractive to the opposite sex. Not everyone needs to achieve the washboard abs of Pauly D, but most guys admit to wanting a “built” or “muscular” appearance.
Building muscle is no easy feat, and when a healthy diet and daily weightlifting sessions fail to deliver results, some male co-eds turn to supplements. Supplements pick up where genetics leave off; they increase a guy’s natural ability to build muscle and deliver faster results. The pills are legal, widely accessible at retailers like GNC or Vitamin Shop, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t carry health risks or a hefty price tag.
“There are plenty of guys out there who are genetically gifted, having the rare ability to just look at a 45-lb plate and add an inch to their arms,” said Joseph Marshall, a representative at campusmen.com and certified personal trainer. “For the rest of us, supplements are vital to helping your body reach its full potential. They can be expensive, but the benefits are well worth the price. Imagine—being able to increase your strength by 10% right away, just by taking a few pills before you work out.”
Slews of Supplements
A “few pills” is an understatement. Most guys admitted to trying over a dozen supplements before discovering the perfect combination for their specific body type, schedule, and workout routine.
“I started working out for the first time last September,” said Boston College senior Joe. “Over the past year and a half I've taken just about every supplement that's out on the market - pre-workout drinks/pills, post-workouts drinks/pills, multi-vitamins, protein shakes, and everything else.”
Campusmen.com, a website devoted to weightlifting tips for college males, lists four supplements that are necessary for building muscle mass: protein, creatin, energy boosters, and a multi-vitamin pack.
1. Protein: Whey protein is taken by most guys in the form of a protein shake before and/or after a workout. Whey fills in the gaps of a regular diet and gives the body all essential amino acids necessary for building muscle.
“Eating a nutritious diet and consistently taking protein supplements after workouts will help shape your body and build lean muscle,” says Tommy, a freshman football player at Bowdoin. “It is important to take protein right after your workout to give your muscles the necessary nutrients to get bigger and stronger. Your work isn't over until you have finished your protein.”
2. Energy booster: An energy booster, usually a combination of caffeine, guraina, and ginsing, gives a guy the extra boost to power through a workout. Popular brands, NO-Xplode and BSN Nitrix, contain nitric oxide and caffeine to relieve fatigue and deliver an energy boost. These supplements, more intense versions of energy products like Four Hour Energy or Red Bull, pose the risks of an elevated heart rate, jitters, and dehydration.
3. Creatin: This supplement allows your muscle fibers to do more work which means more growth stimulation and more muscle. Usually creatin is taken in a preworkout drink, to deliver energy and nutrients to the body, so muscles benefit the most from the workout.
“I think a pre-workout drink that has creatin, caffeine, and nitric oxide is the most important thing,” said B.C. senior Joe. “I've tried BSN's NO X-Plode, MRI's Black Powder, MuscleTech's naNO Vapor, Gaspari's SuperPump, and USPLabs Jack3d. Jack3d is my favorite - it gives me the best pump, tastes pretty good, and the negative side-effects aren't as bad with it as some of the others, but for the most part it's just a matter of personal preference.”
Negative side effects? The side effects for some supplements can include the jitters, breaking out with rashes, mood-swings, energy crashes, and dehydration. Multiple students admitted to suffering from these side effects, but also mentioned that the benefit of the products far outweighed the risks.
4. Multivitamin: A regular multivitamin available at GNC is advised, but serious weight lifters recommend a more extreme vitamin that is specifically geared to increasing muscle mass and strength. Popular products, like Animalpak, are geared to athletes and body builders and deliver all of the amino acids essential for protein growth.
Campusmen.com refers to these four supplements as “the basic bread and butter of body building.” But these basics come at a hefty cost – together these pills and powders can cost upwards of $300 a month.
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Why do guys care?
You may be reading over this list, taking in the crazy cost and dangerous side effects, thinking this is ridiculous, only meat heads or Jersey Shore juiceheads go to extremes like this. Is replacing a bowl of cereal for two meals a day any less bizarre? Or what about a hundred dollar juice cleanse? Guys and girls go to extremes to shape up and attain the perfect body type. Whether it’s to impress your crush at a party or look hot in a swimsuit, we all have our reasons.
Several college males mentioned that spring break, although three months away, presents a pressure to get in shape quickly. Most Her Campus collegiettes™ dread slipping into a bikini after the months of winter hibernation. We’re so hung up on banishing our cellulite and shaving off our love handles that we don’t take into account that guys feel the same pressure to tune up their bodies before hitting the beach.
“Spring break is supposed to be the time of your life, the time to let loose, drink a ton, and hook up with lots of girls,” said an anonymous senior at Williams College. “But you can’t do that looking like a string bean.”
Segway to Steroids
It isn’t easy to convert a runner’s build to that of a body builder’s in a few months. Supplements can help, but problems arise when they serve as a gateway to dangerous and illegal substances like steroids or prescription pills.
Steroids were used by some of the males surveyed. The only way to legally get steroids is through a prescription from a doctor, which is usually given to a male in delayed puberty who hasn’t developed the proper amount of testosterone for his age.Anabolic steroids, which increase men’s testosterone levels and ability to build muscle mass, can deliver fast results and make a guy bigger, stronger, and leaner in two weeks time.
“Everything is totally awesome until the night comes when you are in the shower and you see your hair falling out,” said Ruggiero from campusmen.com.
This is just one of the many side effects of steroids; they can also lead to depression, mood swings, testicle shrinkage, infertility, increased risk for prostate cancer, reduced sperm count, baldness, development of breasts and severe liver damage. There is also the risk of contracting HIV or Hepatitis from shared needles among steroid users.
Steroids have devastating effects, and in severe cases can even end a life. Guys just like girls, struggle to measure up to impossible standards, and in the process are sacrificing their health.
How to help
Exercise addiction can easily go unnoticed, or worse praised, as over-exercisers are applauded for their dedication and commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Unlike steroid abusers, over-exercisers may not show any signs of a disorder or an unnatural physique. In fact, just the opposite occurs; the exercise addict is usually rewarded for his “built” appearance. Maybe he finally gets a sideways glance from his crush? Or his girlfriend can’t keep her hands off him?
Exercise addiction can be difficult to spot, but not impossible. If your boyfriend, gay best friend, or even gal pal struggles with the following behaviors, then exercise addiction may be a possibility:
- Working out multiple times a day and/or for lengthy periods of time
- Exercising at a high intensity to the point of injury
- Skipping class, work, or social plans or other to make time for exercise
- Working out at abnormal times of day
- Never missing a day of exercise, even when sick or injured
- Suffering extreme mood swings, depression, or anxiety when missing a workout
Above all, there is one defining characteristic that distinguishes healthy enthusiasts from exercise addicts, says Ian Cockerill, a sports psychologist at the University of Birmingham, England: “Healthy exercisers organize their exercise around their lives, whereas dependents organize their lives round their exercise.”
If exercise is the top priority in a guy’s life and it has interfered with other relationships, commitments, and even his personal health, there could be an issue. Maybe your boyfriend couldn’t meet your parents, because he wouldn’t have time to squeeze in a workout after class? Or when you get home from a dinner date he goes for a “midnight” run?
Helping someone who suffers with over exercising is not easy and should be done with extreme caution and sensitivity. Rather than attacking or accusing the person, Cockerill recommends having an intimate conversation where you explain your genuine concern.
It also helps to validate other aspects of the individual aside from his physical appearance. Instead of swooning over your boyfriend’s chiseled biceps, let him know that he has a great sense of humor.
Another common treatment includes encouraging guys to take up more social forms of exercise such as yoga and cycling, instead of the solitary pursuits of running or going to the gym, which can be breed perfectionist tendencies. Try to convince your guy to head to a yoga class with you – letting him know that he gets to check out your goods in spandex can’t hurt.
Fortunately, exercise addiction can be treated, but it is important to examine why these issues come into play and realize how many of us struggle with the pressures to meet physical ideals. Whether it’s overdosing on steroids or a starvation diet, no muscle measurement or jean size can be worth jeopardizing your life. So, as we all make our New Year’s Resolutions to shape up, let’s vow not to go to extremes, but to seek moderation that makes us look good and feel great.
Let’s hear it collegiettes™, how are you going to “find balance” in your diet and exercise resolutions in 2012?
Sources:
Campusmen.com
College men from across the country
Lisa Cleary, Registered Nurse
Ian Cockerill, Sports psychologist at the University of Birmingham, England
WebMD: http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-lifestyle-guide/sports-supplements
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