<p>Actually, I'm totally just kidding. But, I was seriously wondering, how hard is it to get buff at Princeton? I'm looking for a good weight room, but I wasn't sure what kind of meal plan would work out. I did the cheapest one. </p>
<p>Also, for those of you already there, how long does school work take, and what options are available for sports? I like running, playing soccer, playing basketball and stuff...</p>
<p>An alum told me that Princeton's a pretty jocky school, meaning that people like to work out. You can certainly hit up the gym, or run around campus or whatever.</p>
<p>Yep, any and all of those things are easy options...varsity athletes stay buff playing their sports; lots of non-varsity athletes stay buff playing club sports (soccer, rugby, etc.); many people of all skill levels play basketball at Dillon; and of course, a whole lot of people strap on their iPods and cruise around campus.</p>
<p>Dillon's weight room is decent, but can get pretty crowded. School work takes as long as you want it to take...I know people who spend <1 hour per day, and I know people who spend 10 hours per day (outside of class).</p>
<p>If you want to get a gorgeous body super fast, join rowing. Seriously. You burn calories like no get out, and it's second only to cross-country skiing for the quality of workout you get (meaning how many muscle groups are used).</p>
<p>swimming uses the most muscle groups =P</p>
<p>WOOT FOR SWIMMING. Actually, I read somewhere that swimming burns the most fat calories, second to sleep? I don't know if that's true, but swimming does definately tone your body very well, especially if you're a guy and continually do fly. I'm a girl and made that mistake (I'm short). Now when things fit my shoulders, they don't fit anywhere else. Dammit.</p>
<p>MAN! we should all have sleep marathons.</p>
<p>False. Swimming does not use the most muscle groups.</p>
<p>I swam for years. Ick. But swimmers make the best rowers, along with ballet dancers. You use similar muscle groups and you've trained the correct twitching muscles. There's a reason we like to recruit from burnt out swimmers ;)</p>
<p>actually it does use the most muscle groups. there are benefits in taking online physical education =P i also swim, but have many friends who row and run xc. according to our text book and every other health fitness magazine ive ever read, swimming uses the most muscle groups and also is the best for toning/staying in shape.</p>
<p>Ditto. I've heard swimming is one of the exercises that gives the best total body workout. It gets your heart-rate up and you're also toning muscles because you're pulling against the water (but you don't feel it as much as with lifting weights). Elliptical machines are also supposed to be good. </p>
<p>Rowing sounds great! Does Princeton have club rowing?</p>
<p>It appears that the internet is torn between the right answer - I just googled it, and BBC says that "Rowing uses more major muscle groups than any other sporting activity" Another place claims that "Nordic skiing is a low impact exercise that uses all major muscle groups and studies show that X-C skiing burns more calories than any other sport" Yet another says "Swimming is a fun and competitive sport that uses all major muscle groups and promotes healthy bodies" So maybe they're all sort of tied?</p>
<p>Also, "Rowing one 2,000 meter race has been compared physiologically to playing two back to back NBA games." - that's something I had never heard. Crazy.</p>
<p>Elliptical machines are of the devil, as is swimming. And as far as I know, there is no club team - I would imagine that would be difficult, personally, since rowing isn't quite like, for instance, baseball - you can't just pick up an oar and go ;).</p>
<p>pwettyfish - since you're the aquatic expert here on CC could you explain more about rowing teams and rowing?</p>
<p>Oh boy... I'll try and keep it concise.</p>
<p>Basically, at Princeton, as far as I know, there's just a competitive team. Well, techinically, 4 competitive teams. There are heavyweight and lightweight men, and openweight and lightweight women. The cut off for men is 165, i believe, and for women it's 135 (but the entire boat has to average 160/130, so aim for 130). If any of you women are interested, I can hook you up with the freshman coach.</p>
<p>There are two 'seasons' - sprints in the spring and head races in the fall. Sprints are 2,000 meters, it takes about 8 minutes, they take place on lakes and you go head to head - whoever crosses the line first wins. This is where the college teams have their emphasis. In the fall, we do head races, which are on rivers, and are between 5 and 6 thousand meters long. They take anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the length and whether you're going upstream or downstream. Princeton races a little bit of head races, but really, the majority is sprints.</p>
<p>There are two types of rowing (sweep and scull). We do sweep in college, which is 1 oar. Technically there are pairs, fours, and eights; the focus is on 8's in college. So, you have 8 rowers, plus a coxswain. I know the lightweight women's team was racing 2 8's and a 4; it all depends on the size of the team. There are two sides - port and starboard, but that's not too important. If you walk-on the team,you'll probably learn both sides.</p>
<p>Walk-ons are WELCOME in rowing. My current coach started her freshman year; by the end of her senior year, she was going to national team camps. At first you'll have a disadvantage simply because you haven't been in boats before, but you'll catch up quick.</p>
<p>Rowing is an awesome sport, but it's a LOT of work. You have lactic acid build up, you get covered in river water (I row on the Mississippi which is gross. Princeton rows on Lake Carnegie, though, which was made just for us and is gorgeous). But it's totally worth it. I hate sweating and working hard and all those things but I love rowing.</p>
<p>You've all probably heard horror stories of 5 AM practices (which are actually my favorite, but anyway). Princeton doesn't have those. Because we don't have to fight for water time with anyone but the NATIONAL TEAM, practices are in the afternoon after classes are out (I believe maybe from 4:30-6, but I'm not exactly sure, and I know it will probably vary by team). But it's not an early morning thing you have to worry about.</p>
<p>Also, all the water sports people hang out at Cloister, so we'll be mingling with the swimmers, divers, and water polo-ers as well.</p>
<p>Any other specific questions? Or is that good enough, at least for now? Y'all can always hit me up on AIM if you want me to fill your head with more wonderful rowing nonsense (funnylikeajoke)</p>
<p>prettyfish - thanks so much for the info!</p>
<p>Wow. Thank you so much for the information! </p>
<p>But one thing I'm still confused on is how do ballet dancers make good rowers? I can see how the male dancers would make good rowers in that they have a lot of arm power, but what about the females?</p>
<p>Oh, and I forgot one more question. I understand that HS rowers practice all year round, as in row during season and work out in the weight room off season. Is this the same for college?</p>
<p>Any competitive college crew will practice year-round.</p>
<p>qtip, any disciplined athlete coming from another sport can make a good rower. In fact, 80% (or is it 90%?) of the power in a stroke is said to be derived from the legs, not the arms (so coming from activities like soccer, dancing, etc. would be a good thing).</p>
<p>In the Triangle Club's fall show this year, one skit had an uber-enthusiastic freshman running down to the boathouse: "Hey, I just joined crew!!!"...three days later:"Hey, I just quit crew!!!" There are a LOT of freshmen who check out crew for the first day or two and are scared away by how hardcore the coaches can be. But if you stick it out, it can be a lot of fun (hard work, but great friendships, awesome competition, and as prettyfish alludes to, a sure path to a rock-hard bod!)</p>
<p>70% is what my coach says, I used to think it was 60 - in any case, it's HUGE. You jump off the stretchers, then lay back, and then finally use your arms - it's basically not at all. </p>
<p>As far as I know, there are captain's practices on the ergs during the winter, but I can't say that for 100%.</p>
<p>It's definitely hardcore, especially at a college level, but it teaches you such discipline and is just so amazing - I just got back from crew practice, where we actually ended up running 4 miles in the rain and hail. Definitely a character building experience for me.</p>
<p>Mike - are you on (Princeton) crew?</p>
<p>I certainly am...feel free to email/message me if you have any questions.</p>