Kinesiology Major Jonathan Jackson Williams: How Consistency Leads to Fitness Success

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:00:00]:
Foreign. Sometimes the small wins that you, you hit your marks at. Kind of go under underrated because you just want to reach that big goal, right? So yeah, the small goals, don't, don't take those for granted because ultimately they're going to grow into what you really want to hit your marks at. And it takes time. It's not, you know, microwavable success. It takes three to four months to see a real transformation in your body. And that is not including the eating part, the nutrition, because it goes hand in hand. So I think those are the key factors of really seeing the fitness goals and hitting the marks.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:00:47]:
That's Jonathan Jackson Williams, a transfer student at Cal State Dominguez Hills majoring in kinesiology. We discussed the balancing act of physical fitness and self care and the importance of listening to your body. We touched on practical fitness tips, the significance of rest strategies to Prevent that. Freshman 20 and overcoming learning differences with resources and perseverance. Tune in to transform your fitness goals and your overall well being. This is the Academic Survival Podcast and I'm your host, Dr. Chandra McDonald. Statistics show that approximately 40% of students drop out of college every year.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:01:35]:
In fact, nearly 30% drop out their first year. Well, I am on a mission to improve these stats. Welcome to the Academic Survival Podcast. Today I have with me Jonathan Jackson Williams, who is a student at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Jonathan, welcome to the Academic Survival Podcast.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:01:58]:
Hi. Super excited to be here today.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:02:01]:
Yay. So, so let's start from the very beginning. I know you, you go to Cal State Dominguez Hills and before that you were, you're a transfer student, right?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:02:12]:
Yes, I am.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:02:13]:
Okay, so tell me a little bit about where you were, where you transferred from and your decision into going to Dominguez Hills.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:02:21]:
So I transferred from Mount San Antonio Community College.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:02:24]:
Mount Sack?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:02:26]:
Yes.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:02:26]:
Oh, I didn't know that.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:02:28]:
Yes, I went to Mount Sac and so I ran track there. My decision of, of choosing Cal State Dominguez Hills is there was really. They had a very good program in fitness and, and really what, what I wanted to do in kinesiology programming there and a lot of other colleges didn't have my major that I was looking for. And so it also came down the cost as well.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:02:54]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:02:55]:
And so it just was a win, win situation. I actually really do love it here. Great, great networking and, and people here at the school and very diverse, very, very diverse place. And so yeah, it, it's really a good match.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:03:15]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:03:15]:
Really a good match.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:03:17]:
Good. So your major is what?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:03:20]:
Fitness director option Kinesiology.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:03:23]:
Kinesiology. Which does not mean you're moving things with your mind, right?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:03:28]:
No.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:03:32]:
So tell us about the major.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:03:34]:
So the major entails of a couple things in terms of fitness, but not only just fitness, it. It branches off to. To nutrition, it branches to physical therapy. So so many umbrellas under fitness that you can do that are tied to the major. And so, yeah, I, I've learned a lot, learned a lot through this major.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:03:58]:
And you're specifically, you're interested in the, the fitness director aspect of it, correct?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:04:03]:
Yes, most definitely in the fitness aspects.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:04:05]:
Okay. And as a fitness director, what does that mean? Does that, is that like at a fitness facility or for a professional sports team? What does that mean?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:04:18]:
So fitness director. It means you can branch off to a couple of things. You can own a gym if you have a fitness director option because you're a director of that gym.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:04:30]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:04:30]:
So you can own that gym or you can branch off to nutrition because it ties to fitness, because you have to eat well and you have to, you have to work out and you can be a personal trainer. You can also do a fitness class like on online. You can have your own business online because of fitness director option. And so those are the main ones that I know of. Physical therapy can go into fitness director option because of the aspect of. You're working with the body and it just ties to fitness.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:05:08]:
Wow, that's a lot.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:05:09]:
And so, yeah, so there's many of ways you can look at fitness director option. And so, yeah, I think that's a, it's a really good major. And I've learned a lot from it.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:05:19]:
And all around it sounds like everything you need to have like a healthy lifestyle. And I have a little bit of experience in that. I am kind of undergoing physical therapy. I haven't been in a minute, but I was, that's okay. I was doing physical therapy because I did get injured during weight training. And then today I, I went on a run today and I had to go really slow. The last time I had a physical therapy, my physical therapy session, he did say that I could go back to running, even though it was a shoulder injury. He just, he wants me to, he wants me to take it slow.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:05:52]:
Like, don't go doing sprints, which, which I will do, by the way. I, I will get on the track and I will. And I will run a sprint and then be like, ooh, that was a lot. I don't remember having to huff and puff this much at the end with this major. Like, what have you. What have you found to be like, most rewarding?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:06:13]:
The rewarding part would be just knowing how much I'm still learning about the body, about fitness and things that I just didn't even know that that ties into a fitness, especially when I took anatomy. I think that was the, the turning point of me learning more about the body because I already knew how to like, work out, eat well, but really learn how the body works and operates when you really need to treat your body, you know, like a car. And so that's how one of my professors that put. It's like treat your body like a car. You could take it to, you know, get an oil change or, or just anything like a tire. And so, but we don't do the same when we're, when it comes to our body. And so really listening to your body when you feel like you're out of gas when doing a workout or you're trying to push to your marks and goals, sometimes the small wins that you, you hit your marks at kind of go under underrated because you just want to reach that big goal. Right? So, yeah, but he says the small goals don't, don't take those for granted because ultimately they're going to grow into what you really want to hit your marks at.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:07:23]:
And it takes time. It's not, you know, microwavable success. As he also stated. And I, I think as well too, it takes three to four months to see a real, you know, transformation in your body. And that is not including the, the eating part, the nutrition, because it goes hand in hand. And so I think those are the key factors of really seeing the fitness goals and hitting the marks and really telling this to myself as well.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:07:54]:
You said something that reminded me of a book that I'm reading called, well, I just finished it called Psychology of Money. And it said it's basically like, don't underestimate the power of compounding interest because you're not going to get rich overnight. But if you are steadily saving money, you will eventually see that you have, that you've grown a nice, a nice little amount of money there. And it's all about the compounding interest. And so what I hear you saying is that it takes time to reach your fitness goals and, and it's the step by step, it's a little progress, but overall it's like a, it's a lifestyle change.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:08:37]:
Absolutely.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:08:38]:
Just like you have to learn how to live within your means, you have to learn how to diet and fitness within your.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:08:47]:
Absolutely.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:08:48]:
Yeah. So what do you specifically want to do?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:08:52]:
With this degree, it's very interesting. I really want to, to have my own gym and open up multiple gyms for not only just the athletes, but for the general public and really see people be happy and transforming their body. That's the main goal, why I'm doing this. And see the happiness on their faces, like, okay, yes, I can do this. I, I can accomplish this. I did it. I hit the goals that I need to. I ate well, I changed some things about my body.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:09:23]:
I can see results in my face, in my, you know, every part of my body. And, you know, I think that's the rewarding part is just seeing how happy someone can be about transforming their body and so touches me a little bit because everybody wants to have these goals. And so if they don't hit it in a certain amount of time, they feel, you know, self conscious. And so I think, you know, they don't really take into account the small wings of just getting up and going, exercising or just eating well and meal prepping and taking the time to really focus on what really is important, which is just a lifestyle change.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:10:04]:
You said a word, transformation. And I hear that that's really what everybody is paying for. What I mean by that is when it comes to, like, fitness, we're looking for a transformation, but when we go to get our hair done, we're looking for a transformation. When we go shopping and we're looking for new clothes like that, that's like, ultimately, that's what we all pay for. Whether it's the new car, the new clothes, a new home, it's transformation. We are steadily trying to move from one state to another. And that transformation, the physical one, is a big one because it's, it can be life changing. Well, not can be.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:10:46]:
It is life changing.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:10:48]:
Yes, it's very life changing. And so I think we just got to remember to tell ourselves, you know, congratulate ourselves for a good job or just even waking up and going to the gym or meal prepping, making sure that we eat the correct micro macros, we're getting our proteins, we're getting our veggies, what we eat is on our plate is healthy to, you know, what we need in our body and getting adequate sleep too. I think that's another underrated piece.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:11:17]:
I am so guilty.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:11:18]:
Even if we, even if we don't get the, you know, proper sleep at sometimes even just taking a nap, that will work because your body's refreshed, your body needs rest is, is the main thing. You're not going to see goals without Getting some form of rest and recovery. And so I think the recovery piece is, is key and is lost, I feel like, because everybody wants to be at the gym. Go hit the gym twice a week, three times a week, whatever. How many times a week they want to get. But they're not really resting their body.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:11:48]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:11:48]:
Because they get sore. But they're like, I gotta hit the gym because I don't want to feel lazy if I don't get it for one day. I see, see another pound or whatever pound of my body, whatever it is you're going to see, it's going to be an up and down process. It's going to be that type of movement.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:12:03]:
Yeah. I think that we have in our minds what. Well, let me speak for myself. I have in my mind what fitness looks like and feels like. There's a certain feeling like that exhaustion, that sweat, like that makes you feel like you have worked out. And a lot of times that that rest that your body needs doesn't feel like progress. It doesn't. We associate.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:12:34]:
Well, I associate progress with doing. And so when I am not doing, I feel like I'm not making progress. And so taking that rest, although I know I need it, I'm bad at it. And I know that like when I'm, when I do weight training, I get really sleepy and that's like. Yeah, it's like. And it's like my body obviously needs it. I get sleepy from weight training. But yeah, like those days off are important.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:13:01]:
And sometimes it doesn't feel like it, sometimes it doesn't feel like progress. But just knowing is encouraging. It's like, yeah, you don't have to push yourself every day.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:13:10]:
No, you can, you can. Literally. I learned from. I think my coach told me he's like in track and field in junior college, says even on our off days, you're still winning because you're recovering your body and getting ready for the next practice. Yeah, you're treating your body. You're going in cold tubs, you're stretching, you're rolling out your muscles that are sore. And so I think that's really where it clicked, was like, oh, snap, I see progress because I rested on Tuesday. I had a really hard workout Monday, so I'm resting Tuesday, getting treatment.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:13:46]:
There's a light workout. I'm still putting workout in, but I'm resting essentially. And then Wednesday I can go back at it and be at the top, top end goal or top weight training that I need to do. If it's, if it's running up and down hills. If it's just being in the weight room chest day or leg day, Any day. Speaking of.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:14:08]:
Yeah, speaking of running up and down hills, have you ever been to Sand Dune Park?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:14:11]:
Where was it?

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:14:12]:
Sand Dune Park.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:14:13]:
No, I have not.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:14:15]:
It's. I think they charge you now to work out there, but they didn't used to. And it's awesome. It's just a. A super large sand dune. It's in Manhattan beach. And it's. It's good.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:14:26]:
It's a good one. Or even running the Santa Monica stairs. Have you done that?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:14:30]:
I have not done that either.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:14:32]:
Okay, two things you'll have to check out. Especially if, I don't know if you enjoy working out outdoors, but two things. Two things I'll have to check out. All right, so. Okay. For students who are interested in also going down this same path, maybe someone who's graduating from high school and is looking to have this as their major, what are some of the things that you think are most challenging about this major?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:15:00]:
I think what's challenging is knowing that you're coming from high school where there's a setting where you're pretty much given the information. And so going into this major, you're going to have to do a lot of research on your own and really push yourself to not only just know the information because of a class, but knowing once I get that piece of paper. And so I think once you switch your mindset to that, it's like, okay, how can I use this when I'm done with this major and I get the paperwork? How can I use it in the everyday life? What can I take from the classes that I've taken to help other people on their journey to their fitness goals and reach what you really want to get to where, which is fitness and being a personal trainer, if that is your goal. When you're a personal trainer, you got to make sure, hey, you have to be able to eat well, you have to be able to sleep, you have to be able to recover. You have to know all of those things and the steps that it takes in charting each and everybody's notes down. Because you need to know that. I need to know what every. Everybody, Every individual is different.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:16:13]:
So for someone over here, they may need to do more legwork and focus on their nutrition. Somebody over here may need extra time stretching and working on their form. And so there's different layers to what you need to accomplish. Each and every day that you're in a class, you got to just kind of switch your mind to how can I use this post College? Yeah, that's kind of, kind of how I look at it. And it took me a while to really do that. I think this past couple years I kind of switched my mindset to, to that.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:16:44]:
Okay, what have you found to be the barriers or challenges in this field?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:16:51]:
Being able to manage my time and do the assignments on time and not rushing and being thorough with my work. I think that was a challenge. And so also just, you know, for me it's, I have a learning difference. So it takes me a lot, a lot of time to understand information for the average student. And so I have to take extra time, extra days to grasp some concepts that a normal student will grasp in a day or two or that night or whatever. And so for me, I just had to learn how I learn and figure out what ways are effective to getting to understand the information, putting it on a piece of paper, even in group projects or just projects that I've had to do by myself. And so I think just the extra time it takes for me to understand the concepts, it can be a bit challenging because I can get a bit discouraged. Hey, like, why didn't I understand that the first time? You know, this is how my brain operates and I've accepted it.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:17:56]:
And so I love that.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:17:58]:
Those are just challenges that I deal with on a day to day basis.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:18:01]:
Okay, okay, so you mentioned that you had a learning difference. What, what exactly does that mean? And how comfortable are you sharing that?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:18:08]:
Most definitely, I'm most comfortable. It's called auditory processing disorder. And what it entails is I can read something, but I don't really process it as fast as enough as the next person who doesn't have this learning disability. And so processing and memorizing the information takes me a lot longer and comprehension is a little. It's difficult in a sense to where I need to go back and reread the work that I have. And so it takes me an additional hours just to understand at least like one concept or a couple of concepts. And so for me, it's challenging. I've dealt with it my whole life, of course, but I have, you know, have a team around me, my parents, I have a life coach that I have keeps me organized.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:18:56]:
And so from there that's the less steps that I have to take and really just understanding. I take time out of tutors, I go to tutoring a lot more. I'm in there so many hours after hours in the library, early up mornings, looking at videos, writing stuff down, and ultimately just doing extra Work.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:19:15]:
Jonathan, this is fascinating. You have no idea like, how fascinating this is. Because it takes me a long time to get, like, stuff done. And so I'm like, I'm listening to you and I'm like, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I think I may have stumbled on something thing here. Omg. No, I am, I am not joking. So, quick story.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:19:45]:
When I graduated from high school, I. I had a. I had a decent enough GPA to get grants, right? But then when I got into college, I was so overwhelmed with the amount of reading because I don't read fast. For me, I know for sure it has something to do with my eyes. When I read one line, when it's time for me to read the next line, sometimes I'll reread the same line because my eyes don't track well with what I'm reading. And so it, It. It would take me a long time. And so I am so, like, thankful for audible because I, I can go through books now so quickly, and I don't have a problem with learning.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:20:24]:
But if. If the only way for me to get the information is to read it, it is going to take me longer. I have to take notes when I'm reading in order for me to comprehend it. And so, yeah, so it takes me a while to get stuff done, but, oh, when I turn it in, you're gonna have a fantastic product. Trust me.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:20:42]:
Absolutely. The product's gonna be there.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:20:45]:
It is gonna be there, and it is gonna be awesome. But it is gonna take me some time. So I, I thank you for sharing that because there's There are other students who may hear this and say, wait a minute. If I get the help that I need, there's always a workaround. And that's what I hear you saying, is that you found your workaround in order for you to be successful at reaching your goal.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:21:08]:
Yes.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:21:08]:
That is awesome.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:21:11]:
I am a part of the disability access program for my school. And I took a test and I look at, you know, I look at all the marks that I needed to hit. But it wasn't until this year where I really, like, saw, like, oh, wow, I need to improve on this. Good at this. Okay. I'm not afraid to ask for help now. Professors know about it. They finally have the documents to where I can get the help that I need the assistance.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:21:38]:
Because, you know, you could tell a professor, but they have a million students in the court, in the class. Yeah, you have to continuously to remind them, like, hey, like, I need the extra help. And so A lot of professors do. They give you the grace that they understand what you're dealing with. If you tell them up front, keep reminding them. Others don't. I've dealt with both sides.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:21:59]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:21:59]:
And so just for me, it's just being diligent about saying, look, I have this learning difference, but also, I'm not gonna let this stop me. So I just learned to embrace it. Learn how to, you know, take flashcard notes if, you know, I need to. I listen to the actual lectures a lot longer. I relisten the lectures, which is very, very helpful just to listen to them and write notes down and you can pause them and you can really be interactive with your professor that way.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:22:29]:
Yeah. It's time consuming to read to, to sit through a lecture and then, and then have to listen to it again. Do you have a way to do that on the go, like to listen while you're running, while you're working out, while you're driving?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:22:43]:
Yes, I do. I've done that before too. I have my headphones and I'll listen to the lecture back over again. I go to office hours. Thank God for office hours because, you know, you're able to get that one on one attention that you need that you wouldn't be able to get in class.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:22:58]:
I want to put, I want to say something about office hours. All right. For those students who don't want to go to the office hours, you have to, you'll be surprised at what you learn when you go to office hours. Because, you know, I think sometimes students forget that their professors are people too. And like, they have good days, they have bad days. They, you know, they try their best to explain things, but they don't always explain it. Sometimes they think they have communicated stuff that they actually haven't communicated. And so when you go to office hours, you can learn a lot.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:23:30]:
I had a professor, it was a criminal justice professor. I don't remember what the assignment was, but he. Well, I know that it had to do with our term paper. And there were things that he wanted in the term paper that he did not put in the syllabus. He never explained it in class. And I only found out from going to office hours that, like, I remember specifically. He's like, I want at least 10 references. I'm like, I didn't know that.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:23:54]:
When was I supposed to know that? When were you going to tell us? He never did.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:23:59]:
Yes. Wow, that's crazy.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:24:02]:
Yeah. So, yes, go to office hours. You will be surprised at what additional information that you learn. Plus, I Think it lets your professors get to know you. If you're at a large university where you have very large classes, it gives your professors an opportunity to get to know you by name and not just a number. And then I think it also shows that you're interested. Like, you're invested.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:24:23]:
Yes, it definitely does. It shows that you're invested and also it gives them an insight on how, like, you really learn and operate. So if you tell your professor, hey, I'm struggling with this concept, could you stay with me after and to where I can understand it in my own terms and putting in my own way of learning. And I think that's important because you can see some information and then it'll leave your head in a matter of moments. And so I think you go to these office hours and you learn it his way. It's like, okay, this is the information that I see on paper, but how can I put this information in my own words so I can learn the information? I can grasp it. It's. It's a very key component.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:25:05]:
And you get a little bit of brownie points at the end of the semester where you're lingering. A C or a B, he might boost you up to his a B.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:25:13]:
Yes.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:25:16]:
He sees you actually trying.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:25:17]:
Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. It can. It can make the difference.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:25:24]:
It really can.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:25:25]:
Yes. Yeah. All right.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:25:28]:
Teachers are human.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:25:30]:
Yes. Yes. Okay. So I want to transition to practical experience. So we've talked about, you know, this fitness, but fitness is not about just reading and know, having a head knowledge. Right. You got to at some point move your body. And so I want to know, like, what practical experience you have with this field of fitness or anything that you have coming up.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:25:53]:
So coming up, I made a phone call to 24 Hour Fitness and asked if they have any internships and they, they do. They what they need to do. They need it for. For my school. They need to ask about, like, if they do that type of thing. But they, they have internships for my field of work. And so I had made a phone call a couple days ago asking, like, is there anything I can do to be inside the gym or shadow somebody?

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:26:29]:
Oh, that's awesome.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:26:29]:
And he said. And he said yes. So he needs to talk to his supervisor to just give me the okay and the sign off of shadowing someone and because there's obviously liability and those type of things. So he has to ask those type of questions questions sometime this week or next week. So, yeah.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:26:47]:
All right.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:26:47]:
I'm waiting to hear. Hear back. But there's a steps in the right direction.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:26:51]:
Oh, absolutely. And I love the fact that, like, this kind kind of goes back to something you said earlier about, like, doing research, like, on your own that. On your own part. Because you. You did that on your own.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:27:03]:
Yes.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:27:04]:
Like, just, like, taking the initiative. Oh, that's awesome.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:27:08]:
Yeah, it's. It's a very good experience. And I hope I get the internship. Complete these hours for my internship. Yeah, just completing it, but just really taking in the experience of being in a gym of the ins and outs of helping somebody, you know, work out and seeing what. What type of knowledge I can gain from the professionals at the gym. And so I can implement that in my own way. And so it's a good experience.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:27:37]:
So you're going to be doing this internship, but you have already had experience of being in the gym. So what do you see as being some of, like, the biggest challenges that the fitness industry will be facing or is facing just based upon, like, your. Your experience.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:27:58]:
So from my personal experience, I think just maintaining clients and managing the costs, one of the hardest things you would have to look at because you want to make sure that your clients are getting a bang for their buck and not just being, you know, lied to or messed over in a sense of really getting what they. What they need and what kind of goals they want to hit in their fitness journey. And so that. That would be, you know, the two things. Maintaining clients. Because clients come and go out of your gym, so if they don't feel like this is a rewarding process, they're going to leave and go to the next gym or, you know, kind of give up on themselves. You're just gonna have to motivate them in a way where it's just like, you're doing a great an example, but you're just saying you're just doing a great job at an exercise and just telling them, like, you know, motivation, and tell them, keep going. Tell them, like, you can accomplish your goals.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:28:56]:
Continue along this process. Don't give up on yourself is a key thing. If you miss your mark one day, there's always tomorrow. So you could, you know, reach your mark again and. Or make a new mark.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:29:11]:
Fitness can really be a metaphor for life, right? Like, don't give up on yourself. Keep going. You can reach your goals.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:29:18]:
Yes. Yes, you can. It goes hand in hand. It really. The body and the mind work like clockwork.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:29:25]:
So I have a couple of questions about technology. There's the Oura ring to track your sleep. There's the Fitbit or the Apple watch to track Things, you know, there's all this connected fitness and there's all the ways in which we're sending all this data to, you know, big tech. How do you see technology impacting the role of fitness or the fitness director?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:29:45]:
I think it's a really good add on, to be quite frank. I think when you have a watch, a fitness watch on, you're able to track your steps or you're walking, you're getting your cardio in. And so when you're not at the gym, you're still having movement. By just having movement in your body or just, just moving, you're doing something right, you're doing something correct. You're losing, you know, adequate weight down and your water weight and just those type of things that you can accomplish post gym if you're not able to get in the gym. And just having those accessible to you.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:30:23]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:30:24]:
Is a great add on because now you're like, okay, now I'm in the gym. Oh, I've seen some pounds I've lost just by walking. Oh, okay. I feel better about myself. I can do this. I can be in the gym more often. And if I can't get there, I know I'm doing something active. Just being active is, is the best thing that you can ever do.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:30:43]:
And along with just eating well and tracking that, yeah, you're pretty much doing 90% of what you need to do sometimes.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:30:54]:
I know that people can be kind of like a slave to, or just heavily connected to that, that wearable. I remember a friend telling me that he was on the track working out when he realized that his watch wasn't working. He stopped working out so that he could charge it up. Like, he literally stopped the workout to go charge up the. So that he can, so that his, his workout can be recorded.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:31:21]:
Oh, man. I would have kept going.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:31:25]:
But then you can feel like you didn't get credit for it.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:31:27]:
Yeah, you're doing fine. You, you're, you're outside, you're moving. Yeah, that's the whole point. Yeah, your movement, just getting your body to move and, and, and just having that, I think is important. I, you know, I even tell myself that I got to move my body. I got to make sure I walk around exercise for the day, if I can now time in the summer. So I'm actually exercising a little bit more fitness. So.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:31:51]:
Yeah.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:31:53]:
So have you ever heard of the. I think they call it the freshman 20?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:31:57]:
Yes, I've heard of that.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:31:59]:
All right, so you, Jonathan, are the guest speaker at freshman orientation, and you're Going to talk to the freshman class about fitness and how to avoid the freshman 20. What are you going to say? What are you going to tell them? Top three things.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:32:19]:
Top three things. Okay, number one, I would say go grocery shopping and get your own food and cook it. I think that's one way you can avoid pounds being seen on your body. Number two, just go to any local gym on your campus and try to go at least a couple times a week so you're. You're being active.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:32:40]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:32:41]:
And then I would say, number three, really look at your plate. Like, evaluate. Okay. Do I have more fried and fatty foods on my plate than greens and protein and, you know, natural foods that I need are going to help my body, or do I just have a bunch of junk food sitting around me with the juice, with the white rice? Any fatty food, like the burritos, the burgers, fries, cookies, any. Any sweets. Is it. Is it more sweet and tasteful than beneficial to my body?

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:33:16]:
I love that. Evaluate your plate. Is there an app for that? Like, can you take a photo of your plate and it tells you you need too much rice?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:33:28]:
I think there is a way. I think you can. I think there is my fitness power. You can. You can do that. Maybe take a picture and really see, like, hey, I'm more protein. Or just look it up. You know, look up nutrition articles or just a nutrition worksheet that states, like, all the proteins, all the good foods, and all the bad foods.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:33:51]:
And, like, there's like, a slower go mode that's. That's kind of how I look at it. So green, yellow, and red. So that's kind of how come, like, when you're driving. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:34:02]:
I need you to explain that. Green, yellow, red.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:34:05]:
Yes. So how I look at it is green. So obviously greens. It's the tie on the word greens on your plate. And so that means. Is like, okay, these are green foods or good foods, proteins. Yellow would be, you know, some juice here and there, some. Some cereal that's, you know, sugary.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:34:26]:
I would speak slow on that because that's just, you know, gonna prevent. It's not good to wake up in the morning, just eat sugar body.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:34:34]:
Right?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:34:37]:
So I was slow on that. I would eat it, but I would have a protein shake. So I won't, you know, balance it out a little bit. And then red, you know, just junk food.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:34:49]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:34:50]:
Really? The junk food that you have in your kitchen that would be like, you're flaming hot. Your flaming hot Cheetos, the chips, the cookies, the. The whatever else Licorice, Any candy of sorts.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:35:06]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:35:06]:
And so that, that's kind of how I look at it. You might want to stop eating that as much.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:35:11]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:35:12]:
You can, you know, just kind of came up with it when was driving one day I was like, this kind of makes sense.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:35:18]:
I like it. I like it. Jonathan's green, yellow and red. You gotta, gotta come up with a, with a catchy title for that.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:35:26]:
I will. I would, I would definitely driving your body. How about. Oh, I like that you're driving your body.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:35:35]:
Driving your body. Yes, I like that. Let's not drive it into the ground.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:35:43]:
Yes, that's not driving in the ground. Let's be cautious.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:35:47]:
Yes. Green, green, yellow and red. That's awesome. What are you doing these days for fitness these days?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:35:55]:
I have a weight training program that I think I'm doing whenever I hit the gym. So I'll create a program that I create sets of like two sets of 10 barbell or, or I'll have like bench press day, squat day even. I would have it for in the gym and at home.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:36:15]:
Okay.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:36:16]:
Doing exercise. So if I go to the gym, it's specifically for the weights that I have there and I just print that out and I'll just stick to it. If I can't make it to the gym, I do an at home regimen that will look like, you know, going on a YouTube video and searching up arms and chest and incorporate some abs at the end and then arrest and recovery at the, you know, when I'm done with my workout, whether that's taking a cold shower and then just kind of relaxing my body throughout the day or just kind of getting to bed early, I will be tired.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:36:57]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:36:58]:
And so doing those things would really, you know, really help see where my, my fitness goals, reaching and so those are the things I'm going to off.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:37:07]:
All right. Okay. Well, Jonathan, thank you so much for coming to the academic survival podcast. Is there anything that I didn't ask that you might want to share?

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:37:20]:
Probably just like really honing in how you believe in yourself. And really I think, I think that's a good thing incorporating because you got to believe in yourself that you can accomplish these things because it starts with you. It's your journey. And so I think a lot of times we look at other people's journeys and we kind of get discouraged, whereas we should just admire it from afar and just like, you know, this is my own personal journey. I can take some pieces from, from them, but that's their journey, not my journey. So just really Being falling in love and in the journey in the process, because it is a process. We're, you know, it's not microwave. You can't throw it in there.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:37:56]:
And, you know, see that? You got to kind of get your pots and pans and cook it. So I just like, look, it's my own journey. Trust God through this process. And whatever he wants me to go through and whatever he wants me to, you know, really hone in on, I'm gonna do that, and I'm gonna take it a step at a time, take it a day at a time, really fall in love with it, because it's a process. It's not easy. It's not supposed to be. Supposed to be difficult. Supposed to have days where you wake up and you get.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:38:26]:
Catch a cramp and you got to go ahead and get a foam roll and roll that thing. Oh, let me tell you.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:38:31]:
Oh, my gosh. Talk about. Sometimes I catch the cramps in my toes, and I'm like. I'm like, kind of stand up, stand up, put. Where's the cold floor? Like.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:38:42]:
Yes, that's. That's the key. That's the difference. And, you know, recovery. I stress it enough because I've been there. I've had days where I did too much, tweak something, and now I gotta go ahead and lose time. So I'm thinking about saving time. Like, okay.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:00]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:01]:
If I need to take a day off. And taking a day off is fine, I think. You know, take, like, you want to have your goals. You want to be in the gym six days, five days for it. Like, be in the gym, eat well, but also take your time.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:16]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:16]:
If you're feeling sore, take a day off. You know, it's still gonna be there in the morning.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:21]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:23]:
Take a day off. Relax. Kick up your feet. You know, go do something. Touch nature a little bit.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:28]:
Yeah.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:28]:
Call somebody. That's. That's the key.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:33]:
All right, well, thank you so much, Jonathan. Enjoy your holiday weekend.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:39]:
Thank you. I will.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:40]:
Okay, bye.

Jonathan Jackson Williams [00:39:42]:
Bye.

Dr. Shandra McDonald [00:39:49]:
That's it for today on Academic Survival. If you want to share your story on how you survived your freshman year of college, you can reach me at info@shandralmcdonald.com we'll be back next week with more ways to survive your academic journey. Until then, happy studying.