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The Importance of Meal Prepping

By: Andrew Howle

To begin with, meal prepping is a highly underestimated way to become fit. Most people think that only working out will get you lean. However, this is far from true in the real world. Although working out is essential to reach fitness goals, eating clean is just as important. I speak from experience in my two-year fitness journey. Working out would get you bigger. However, filling your body with essential proteins and macros fuels your body to build muscle. Meal prepping has many other overarching benefits besides building muscle.

It saves me a ton of money in the long run compared to buying fast food every day. This is because, like most kids my age, money is valuable. This valuable asset of money is taken away progressively faster by being spent on fast food like McDonalds. However, meal prepping at the beginning of the week is a much cheaper option for getting my body the nutrients it needs. The money spent on ingredients to make the food can be used for other dishes throughout the day rather than one meal. Routinely making meals saves me roughly one hundred dollars plus a month.

Another vital reason meal prepping is essential is the initial workout gains produced from the meals. I need to be able to hit critical protein, carbs, and fats to help my body recover appropriately from an intense workout. Meal prepping is the number one way to create this muscle. I have been meal-prepping constantly for about a year and a half during my workout journey. I fully endorse the necessity of meal prepping for all athletes and bodybuilders worldwide because it is so monumental to the body.

To Conclude, meal prepping is a very serious way to put on pounds of muscle. I have seen this happen to myself and others around me. This is a call to meal prep your food and live a better lifestyle.

Favorite Vacation Spots

By: Logan Mims

Number 1 on my top 5 places I have vacationed to is Garden City Beach, South Carolina. I know this is not the most exciting place, but it’s not necessarily the place but it the the trip itself. Every summer, my dads side of the family goes to the beach together for a week and we call it Mims Family Beach Week. It is truly one of my favorite weeks out of the whole year. My dad has 2 sisters Aunt Natalie and Aunt Ashley, and they each have 4 kids. Aunt Natalie has 4 girls who are all close to me and my siblings age and then my Aunt Ashley has 3 boys and 1 girl. They are all younger than us, but we still love them being there. My dads mom, Mimi, is the one who organizes the trip every year. She absolutely loves everyone being able to get together every year!

The house we rent is on the inlet so every year we rent battle boards and kayaks for all of us to play with out in the water. There is also a pool which is very convenient for the younger kids so the parents can keep a close eye on them. One of my favorite things about family beach week it at night when all the younger kids go to bed and the bolder kids stay up and play cards and board games with the adults.

My absolute favorite thing we do at this tradition we started 7 years ago which is the Mims Family Talent Show. One night out of the week, everyone gets to participate in the talent show. The acts are not something that was just planned the night before. We all have this planned weeks before the trip so it is always so fun to participate and watch everyone else’s acts. Our beach week might not be located in the most exciting place but it is so special to our family and is always such a good time. Overall I would have to rate Mims family beach week a 10/10!!!

How Many Times a Week Should Athletes Lift Weights?

By: Ford Wilder

A widespread question among athletes, and teams is how many days a week should one be in the weight room. There are various answers to this question from multiple specialists, trainers, sports scientists, etc. Many say athletes should only lift twice a week. While some say athletes should train up to six times a week! I do not believe there is a particularly wrong answer to this question, but I do believe there is a best possible answer.

I believe that athletes should lift 5 to six times a week in the offseason for maximal growth and gains. This is because I have noticed very little progress or effectiveness with a low workload. LIfting only twice or three times a week in the offseason gains progress but at a much slower rate than lifting upwards of five times a week. The offseason is the time to try and become the very best athlete you can be. And by lifting very frequently your body will see the changes. Your body will be fatigued from this heavy workload, but that is fine because you are not playing games during the off-season. This is where you prepare yourself for the upcoming season of whatever sport(s) you play. I lifted five times a week during this past summer during my offseason and I saw great results by doing so. I even sometimes went six times a week with 4 upper body days, two being a push day and two being a pull day. The other one or two would be a lower body. This was quite strenuous on my body, but I mostly certainly developed quicker than if I had been on a two or three-day-a-week split.

In-season weightlifting is completely different from the off-season though. This is where I believe you should only lift three to four times a week. While in season, the main focus of in-season weightlifting is to maintain strength and explosiveness and to prevent injuries.

Athletes do not want to be fatigued, but instead be at their full capabilities and fully recovered by game time. You can still train for increasing gains in the offseason, but you should do this type of training two to four days before your game(s). I have trained 5 days a week during this football season. You may think I just contradicted myself, but I have taken a certain approach to continue to get stronger but also not be fatigued when it comes to game time. I have 2 upper body days, 1 lower body day, 1 full body day, and 1 recovery lift day. Three of these days are high-intensity, but I do these lifting sessions earlier in the week so I am not fatigued for game day. The other two days aid in injury prevention, explosiveness, and muscle recovery. This is how an athlete can continue to get stronger in the season, but also stay fresh for their games.

Ultimately, I am a firm believer that athletes should lift many times a week in the season and the off-season. The weight room is a vital tool that can lead to great success for athletes if it is used properly. I have noticed the results myself as long as I have taken an intelligent approach to not overworking myself during the season. Also, I have found a way that works best for me while in the offseason which has led to efficient gains. Lifting weights as many times a week as one possibly can without messing their performance up is key to separating yourself from others.

Benefits of Participating in Track

By: Andrew Howle

To begin with, the track is an exceptional sport for any individual to try on their high school sports team. It offers numerous paths that athletes can participate in, whether on the field or in running. Many people claim track is largely a social sport, being moderate during practice. However, I would argue differently about that comment. Although social relationships are built from the sport, it has many long-term benefits for athletes. These benefits are specific to a large number of events track athletes participate in during meets. These events can help students increase their speed on the track and grow their discipline, which correlates to their performance on the field.

The sport offers Many running events from short, medium, and long distances. This variation allows students to excel in a specific category they may be best at. I personally run sprints because my body is not built to run long distances at a constant pace. I would collapse and face the plant into the ground. That is a reason why the track is so different from other sports. There are multiple events that an athlete has a probable chance of excelling in meets. However, these athletes’ records will only be broken if tasked with frivolous practicing and conditioning. These practices may be drawn out sometimes, but lead to a long-term increase in speed for the athlete, which is a significant benefit of the sport.

Another benefit of the track is the heightened characteristic of discipline correlating to performance in field events. These field events offer a different challenge to young athletes who may need to be faster. These challenges can have many obstacles, including the biggest one of form. An athlete must have exceptional form to do well in their event. Deciding who’s the fastest or strongest person on the field is not a challenge. However, it is a battle of technique among athletes. This technique is gained through intense discipline in performing actions exactly correctly to get a PR and prevent injury. Discipline could not be any more of a benefit gained from the sport.

To conclude, track is an amazing sport to try out during your high school career. It offers a long line of benefits to children who participate in it.

Should South Carolina have a good basketball season?

By: Milling Galloway

In the past, South Carolina has had a prodominantly decent basketball program. Our women’s team has been amazing, but the men on the other hand have been just ok. Last year brought a change to the program with the second year head coach Lamont Paris. The team went 26-8 with a new freshman super star that shocked many people. All though the team ended up losing in the first round of March Madness, they still proved so many people wrong. I truly believe that the attitude and respect of this team brought them close together.

This year, we have one of the best players in all of high school, Five star Cam Scott, who is supposed to be the next big one and done. In the scrimmage, he had a good showing, but did not make a lot of inside shots like he was supposed to make. He did end up making a lot of threes which is a great sign that he will help us a ton. I think our portal players and new up and coming freshman will add a sense of hope and a good feeling to many of the South carolina fans that have not had this feeling in a while. To be completely honest, I feel good before this season that we can make a run. I have not been able to say that about past years. In a sense, there is a sense of excitement which is truly crazy to think about. If the team can just go out and play for one another, we could be a scary team. We just can not be another traditional South Carolina team and go out and loose and loose more to mediocre teams. I am tired of just losing over and over again. The shame is unbearable. I just hope this year can be different.

My Favorite Things

By: McKenzie Gray Mills

This week on my top favorite things, I’ll be talking about the best class at Wilson Hall. Digital Media is definitely the most fun class Wilson Hall offers. This class allows us to create content to share with others in our own unique way. It’s nice to have a teacher that has so much knowledge on the subject. Our teacher probably has about eight different accounts on instagram. He is a content creator for all sports related things that go on in the school. There’s not really any guidelines when it comes to what you can post. As long as it is approved by our teacher and would be enjoyed by viewers.

We are allowed two to three people in each group. My group this year has three people. Last year it had two. Last year we started off the first semester with interviewing for different grades. We started with the three year olds and worked our way up from there. We asked questions that would get some pretty funny answers. The last semester we asked different people to film a day in their lives. This got a lot of love because it was fun to see what our classmates did when not being in the classroom. This year we have started out with the interviews again. The parents really enjoy this content.

Digital media two students get to help out a little bit more. We have gotten to make some videos that are played during teacher meetings. Our first one we asked an assortment of students what it means to them that we go to a college preparatory school. Getting to make those videos can be a little more tedious, but an honor to be involved with. This class truly is what each one of us look forward to in our day.

The Best Fast Food in Sumter

by: Alexis Dawkins

I spend more time at fast food restaurants than I do at home. I get in trouble sometimes because I rarely eat at home, but fast food is more convenient. I eat a lot of food and have a list of my favorites.

Starting with my favorite, Chick-fil-a. This is my number one go-to when I’m hungry. With an order of a chicken sandwich with a large fry with either a sweet tea, diet coke, or frosted lemonade, depending on my mood.

Next up is Zaxby’s. This is not everyone’s favorite but it is a good place to go even though sometimes it is not necessarily the quickest option. Here my order is a big zax snack with extra zax sauce and either a diet coke or sweet tea. Sometimes I throw in some fried pickles if I’m in the mood for them.

Mcdonalds is a go-to for so many people, especially late at night. A lot of people get burgers but I’m a chicken nugget person. I always get a ten piece chicken nugget meal with fries and either sweet tea, diet coke, or a chocolate milkshake.

Cookout is a fun late night trip. If I go then I usually just get a milkshake and fries or cheese bites. Sometimes when I do get food I like getting a tray with chicken tenders and fries and cheese bites with a sweet tea. Cookout sweet tea is by far the best sweet tea in summer.

Sonic is one of my favorite places to go for a quick bite to eat. Getting their pickle fries (fried pickles), which does not sound like they would be good but they really are. I like running through and getting an ocean water or lemonade slushy.

These are not everyone’s favorite places and some are not my favorite but they are good places to stop when looking for some food that you do not have to cook.

This week’s lineup of Crumbl Cookies are (October 28- November 2)

By: Morgan Aycock

Semi sweet chocolate chunk
Pumpkin cake
Dirt cake
Blue monster ft Chips Ahoy
Peanut butter ft Reese’s Pieces
Halloween cake batter blondie

My ratings are:

Halloween cake batter blondie

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A smooth cake batter cookie packed with white drops and a splash of spooky sprinkles

Cake batter is one of my favorites, so I think this would be very good. It is also perfect for Halloween and I like how it has sprinkles inside of it. I would love to try this cookie.

Peanut butter ft Reese’s Pieces

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A thick peanut butter cookie packed with irresistible REESE’S PIECES candies.

I think this cookie would be really good and I like Reese’s. I think adding candy to the cookies is a good idea because of Halloween.

Dirt cake

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A chocolate cookie coated in cookies & cream crumbs, swirled with fudge frosting, sprinkled with crunchy chocolate streusel, and finished with a gummy worm!

I like that they have fudge frosting and it resembles a dirt cake perfectly.

Blue monster ft Chips Ahoy

Crumbl Cookies’ description: A cookie popping with brown sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and CHIPS AHOY!® Cookie Pieces, then topped with creamy blue vanilla frosting and a mini CHIPS AHOY!® Cookie.

I think this would be good but I don’t really like Chips Ahoy. I think it’s a good idea to add this in the menu.

Pumpkin cake

Crumbl Cookies’ description: Two fluffy tiers of spiced pumpkin cake layered with smooth vanilla bean cream cheese frosting and topped with crumbled pumpkin cake pieces.

I think the vanilla bean cream cheese frosting would be really good, but people that have tried it say that the pumpkin is spicy.

Semi sweet chocolate chunk

Nothing much to say about this one, it is good but I don’t like how they do this every week.

Why Aaron Judge does not deserve the hate he received from this postseason

By: Benson Elmore

Aaron Judge was coming off of a phenomenal regular season with a Yankees team who won 94 games, which ranked first in the AL East. But as soon as the postseason began, Judge went into a terrible slump, batting .184 in the whole postseason with nine hits in forty-nine at bats. Though Judge did not have a great postseason, he does not deserve half the hate from anyone, including the Yankees fans who began booing the legend during a game. Here are a few reasons why Aaron Judge does not deserve this outrageous hate

His Exceptional Regular Season

Aaron Judge had an outstanding regular season, showcasing his incredible talent on the field. He led the league in home runs, setting him apart as one of the supreme batters in baseball. Judge consistently delivered clutch performances, contributing significantly to his team’s success with key hits and lockdown defense. His combination of athleticism, determination, and leadership solidified his status as a fan favorite and a legend of the franchise, making the season one to remember for both him and the fans. A player who leads the league in home runs for the season does not deserve all of this hate.

His huge leadership role

Aaron Judge has emerged as a very important leader for his team, embodying the qualities of a true captain both on and off the field. His work ethic and commitment set a high standard for his teammates, inspiring them to improve their own performance. Judge’s calm clutchness in high-pressure situations and his ability to rally the team during tough moments have created a strong sense of brotherhood and leadership. Additionally, he is always willing to mentor younger players, sharing his insights and experiences to help them grow. His leadership not only contributes to the team’s success but also keeps a positive and competitive atmosphere within the clubhouse.

He was not the only player who performed poorly this postseason

During the postseason, Aaron Judge wasn’t alone in facing struggles. Several other Yankees players also ran into difficulties. Giancarlo Stanton, who had been a key power hitter, struggled to find his rhythm at the plate, contributing to the team’s lack of production. Gleyber Torres had moments of potential but often crumbled under pressure, leaving runners stranded in critical situations. Additionally, the pitching staff did not do great, with key pitchers failing to deliver in must-win games. These collective struggles just made the challenges the team faced worst as they fought in the World Series, highlighting that Judge’s performance was not the only player that sucked this postseason for the Yankees.

It’s baseball

When you play a sport where you get millions to hit about .240, you cannot expect production 100% of the time. None of these players deserve half of the hate they are getting because of how good the pitchers were this postseason. At the end of the day, it is just baseball

Dunkin Donuts Review

By: Olivia Cogswell

Dunkin Donuts is a well known food chain. People enjoy the fact that they serve breakfast all day and have a wide variety of drinks and food, specifically caffeine. They are also known for the wide variety of donuts, munchkins, and other bakery items. However many people do prefer to buy Starbucks over Dunkin, even though Dunkin is cheaper, faster and better in general.

Dunkin’ Donuts has a wide variety of coffee. You can get it hot or iced and it comes in three different sizes. They have lattes, cold brew, Americanos, Macchiatos, Cappuccinos, and Espresso; that you can fully customize to make your own. You have the ability to add sugar, syrup, espresso shots, cold foam, and so many more options to get the desired drink that you want. They are fast and affordable coffees that are anywhere from three to eight dollars. Starbucks, however, gives you the same options to customize your coffee, but the price can be double that of a Dunkin coffee. People also tend to wait in line awhile to order and even longer to get their coffee.

Dunkin also serves breakfast all day long. They provide a variety of different breakfast items to choose from such as: sandwiches, wraps, hash browns, bacon, bagel minis, and a variety of bagels, muffins and donuts. On sandwiches you can get sausage, bacon, or turkey bacon, cheese, and egg. You can also customize the sandwich to not include those toppings, as well as the choice of bread including, English muffins, bagel, croissant, or sour dough bread. The sandwiches are made hot and ready and only cost around three dollars. You can also choose from a variety of donuts and a variety of numbers that you want. Dunkin also provides a wide variety of munchkins which are donut holes. This allows you to try more of the flavors they provide. Also in the bakery section, Dunkin has bagels and muffins, while providing many different flavors and toppings.

With that being said, Dunkin’ Donuts provides the most variety of breakfast and coffees at the lowest prices. With fast serving and hot and ready food, people should go to try.