Daily News

Posted on Aug. 5: Welcome Day a window on McMaster

It will be a taste of university life for approximately 1,500 new students and parents who will come to campus Friday, Aug. 8 for Welcome Day @ Mac 2003. Welcome Day is an opportunity for the University to welcome first-year students and their families to the McMaster community. The program is designed to provide students and parents with valuable information before classes begin in September. Visitors have a wide variety of events to choose from including tours and information sessions. As well, department, Faculty Society, MSU services and clubs displays will be set up in McMaster University Student Centre. Visitors will park in Zones 6 and 7 and will take a shuttle bus to the centre of campus, where most activities will take place. A large tent will be set up in the courtyard, where visitors can purchase Welcome Week MacPacs and pick up a barbeque lunch for $3.25. For a full schedule of events, click here

Posted on Aug. 1: Mirrors can make women feel worse about working out

Mirrored walls are a regular feature of gym dicor, but new research suggests that the reflections may make some women feel worse after their workouts. A study published in Health Psychology found that sedentary women who exercised in front of a mirror for 20 minutes felt less energized, less relaxed and less positive and upbeat than women who performed their workout without a mirror. Women who exercised without the mirror also reported that they were less physically exhausted at the end of their workout, while those with a mirror reported no change in their exhaustion level. The findings could have implications for encouraging physical activity among sedentary women, especially since the standard guidelines for exercise promotion suggest that workout rooms have mirrors on at least two of four walls. "As such, the recommended practice of placing mirrors in exercise centers may need to be reconsidered, especially in centers that are trying to attract exercise initiates," say Kathleen Martin Ginis, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster, and colleagues. "Certainly if a woman leaves the gym feeling even worse than when she arrived, she will not be particularly motivated to continue exercising in the future," Martin Ginis adds.