Written by Suzanne Flaig, Director Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center

The well-being of any animal is largely dependent on having appropriate nutrition and feeding strategies. Horses are no different and we feed a lot of them at the Liberty Mountain Equestrian Center! Here are some of the basics related to taking care of horses and the general categories of feed that they need.
Forage
The bulk of any horse’s diet should consist of quality forage. Forage is generally considered pasture grass or hay (dried grass). Horses are designed to graze throughout the day. Think of horses in the wild that roam to find enough food to sustain themselves.  Or, if you ever see a grassy field with horses in it, chances are you will see horses with their heads down eating. Forage takes some time for a horse to chew, so they intake small, consistent amounts over time. They can eat up to 15 pounds or more of forage a day. Forage provides calories, protein, vitamins and nutrients and if it is good quality, horses do not need much more!
Concentrates
For most horse owners, concentrates are usually called “grain”. Many horses require additional grains to meet their daily nutritional needs depending on factors such as:  age, … Read More

Written by Sarah Yoder, Graphic Designer

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, mustering up motivation and finding time in your schedule to keep up physical fitness can be quite challenging. Now try adding collegiate academics into that mix. It often seems extremely difficult, almost impossible, to keep up with everything that needs to be done, let alone get a workout and consistent exercise in. For those who are just beginning their college experience (or even students who have been in school previously) and want to learn how to balance their health and fitness while in college, below are several valuable and informative tips!
Structure a schedule, prioritize, and take it one day at a time.
While this may sound like some cheesy advice you’ve heard from your mom or teacher already, creating a prioritized schedule and focusing on what needs to get done each day truly is a game-changer. This is especially true when it comes to trying to find extra time outside of classes and homework for additional activities such as exercising, hanging out with friends, and taking care of yourself.
The amount of time you have during each day, week, and month is a known quantity. This is an extremely helpful factor when creating a schedule. It … Read More

Written by Danielle Whitmire, Intramural Sports Coordinator

Struggling to think of a creative Valentine’s date idea for you & your significant other? Do you need a fun way to celebrate Galentine’s Day? Are you and your roommate just tired of watching Netflix all day, every day? Here are 8 Campus Rec activities if you’re looking to try something new this V-day:
Coast Down the Slopes & Coffee
Flex your ski/snowboarding skills at Snowflex or laugh as the two of you fly down the tubing runs. The best part? It’s all free for Liberty students! After your time on the slopes, you can warm up in the cozy Barrick-Falwell Lodge over a cup of The Muse Coffee and delicious pastries.
Pins & Pizza
Pick up one of your favorite pies from Woodfire Pizza Co., then go pick up some spares! The Montview Bowling Alley is a great place for a double date, a group outing, or a ladies’ night! To make it even better, the Montview Bowling Alley is hosting a BOGO Blacklight Bowling event from 6 p.m.–close on Valentine’s Day!
Gun Club & Gyros
Head up to LMGC between 2-6 P.M. on Valentine’s Day to practice your shooting skills and enjoy the mountain views! Afterwards, head … Read More

Written by Darienne James, Marketing Employee

Campus Recreation works hard to bring incredible experiences and activities to the Liberty student body each semester. Every opportunity provided is centered on the idea that being active can be enjoyable and that our holistic well-being matters!
For the entirety of the spring semester, you will have the opportunity to compete in the first ever Campus Rec Challenge. This challenge is not only a great way to stay active, but a way to push yourself while getting to know all that Campus Recreation has to offer. Those who complete the challenge will receive an award and be entered to win one of the grand prizes!
How to Participate
Make sure to pick up a challenge booklet at any of the Campus Recreation facilities, or in the Campus Recreation main office (located in Green Hall above Chick-fil-A)!
Here are the rules for participation:

The activities can be completed in any order and at any time throughout the semester.
They must be completed within operational hours at each facility.
After completing the activities, you must verify your completion with a faculty staff member. You will receive a sticker from the staff member covering that activity in your booklet.
You cannot get credit for your activity if … Read More

Written by Alivia Chenoweth, Marketing Manager

With Christmas coming up in exactly a week, that means it is crunch time to get gifts for your friends and family. Knowing where to start can be tricky, so that’s why we’ve come up with a specialized gift guide just for you! So, no need to have a bah humbug attitude about finding gifts this year because we’ve got your back.
The Fitness Fanatic
If the first thing on your mind every day is when you’re going to workout, then you are what we call a fitness fanatic. Listed below are a few items that are perfect for your at home or in the gym workouts. 

Personal Training Package: Our certified Personal Trainers are the best around and are here to get you back on track. After developing a personalized plan, they are here to teach you the correct workout form and keep you motivated. These packages are offered to students, staff, and faculty at a very discounted rate and are the perfect gift for the holidays.
Fitness Jump Rope: This kind of jump rope isn’t for double-dutch. Incorporating jumping rope into your workout routine is extremely beneficial for your heart and bone health and is an intense form of cardio.
Stack 52 Bodyweight Exercise Cards: Looking to incorporate some games into your workout? … Read More

Written by Heather Callahan, Associate Director of Fitness & Programming

Take a moment and set a timer for one minute. Make a tally of how many breaths you take during that minute. Try not to change or think too much about the span of the breath, try to breathe as comfortably as possible.
It is likely that you took about 12-20 breaths during that minute – which is the average for a human being. Now let’s look at a tortoise – they take an average of four breaths per minute. Comparing life spans, tortoises live an average of 98 years longer than human beings.
So, does breathing have something to do with longevity? Health research concludes this as a yes – good breathing practices are positively correlated to decreased mortality risk. Here’s why.
Breathwork Induces Stress Resilience
What is stress resilience? This is your body’s natural reaction to stressors in your environment. Having a good resilience to stress is a very good thing. Breathing practices bring you quickly to the present moment, which helps to reduce stress, symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD.
There are two important components of your autonomic nervous system:
Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) – “Fight or Flight”
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PSNS) – “Rest and Digest”
If you are familiar with these terms, you may have heard that good breathing practices … Read More

Written by Ashley Romero, Marketing Intern

We all started this year with words that we hoped would reflect the season ahead. Words that most likely did not end up describing the year that we would call 2020. As the holiday season comes closer and the leaves begin to fall, it is all too easy to look ahead to the new year and dream of leaving these crazy times in the past. But, what if we rested in the present? What if we shifted our perspective to be grateful for what this year has brought? With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we have a day carved-out in the year to reflect on the things we can be thankful for. An opportunity to leave this year with gratitude for what it was and not disappointment for what we think it should’ve been.
So, What Does Thankfulness Look Like?
For all you Friends lovers out there, you know that the first Thanksgiving of the show was one that was spent in a way that no one hoped for. Rachel hoped to go out of town, Joey and Phoebe hoped to go see their families, Chandler hated Thanksgiving due to his parents’ divorce, and Monica wanted a pristine meal. None of the friends got what they wanted, but after some thought they realized … Read More

Written by Victoria Dissmore, Marketing Employee

Getting a good night’s sleep is an integral part of your overall health and wellbeing, especially as a student. You need that sleep to be able to focus in class and do your homework well. If you’re having trouble sleeping or want to get better, deeper sleep, check out these five tips for improving your sleep quality.
Dim Your Lights
Having lights on around you at night will delay your melatonin production, telling your body that it’s not time to sleep and making it harder to fall asleep at bedtime. Instead of turning all your lights on at full brightness, dim them if they have a dimmer switch or unscrew a couple of lightbulbs if it’s a multi-bulb light. Also consider completely turning off overhead lights and switching on a lamp that’s not as bright.
You can also light a few candles or hang string lights to set the mood in the evening so by bedtime you’re ready to fall asleep.
One more thing to note is that darkness is crucial for a good night’s sleep, so try to shut out as much light as possible. Blackout curtains might be a good investment if it’s bright outside your bedroom windows and be sure to close your bedroom door if there’s light out in your … Read More

Written by Maria Campanella, Facility Manager at Hydaway Outdoor Center

It is officially summer and although things have been different surrounding our world lately, we are blessed enough to still get outside. In my opinion, the perfect pairing to an outdoor activity is ice cream, so I have compiled a short list of trips near Lynchburg that I have paired with a local ice cream shop for afterwards. This is a great beginner’s guide to the outdoor activities Lynchburg has to offer and the classic ice cream places as well.

Fly Fishing & MayLynn’s
One of the first trips we took as a group was to Hunting Creek for a fly fishing trip. Many of us were beginners, so don’t worry, it can be done! If you are a complete beginner and have no idea where to start, Angler’s Lane located in Lynchburg offers guided trips for people of all experience levels. Hunting Creek is a great location to learn and experience fly fishing for the first time as well. If you want to learn more, here is a great YouTube video to get you started!
MayLynn’s Creamery is well known for being one of Lynchburg’s best! You have two locations to pick from: their truck in Boonsboro or the shop location in downtown Lynchburg. Both locations are great … Read More

Written by Victoria Dissmore, Marketing Employee

It’s bowling night with your hall at the Montview Bowling Alley, and you want to do something besides a normal game. But what’s this? Your roommate has stumbled upon variations to the classic game on your lane’s bowling screen. Bowlin’ Hood? Monster Factory? Last Pin Standing? These will for sure give bowling night a refresher!

Skill & Classic Games
Start by asking the attendants at the desk to set up your lane as a timed game as opposed to by number of games. These special games are only available under timed mode. Once you get to your lane and input all players into the system, follow these directions:

Tap “Your Lane Your Way” at the top right side of the screen.
Choose “Skill & Classic Games” (third option down, on the left).
Choose which of the eight variations your group wants to play, touch the checkmark, and start bowling!

These games are simple variations on the classic bowling game, with different scoring rules and rules on which pins to hit. For an overview of each game, read on below!
3-6-9
Named because the system will insert an automatic strike in the 3rd, 6th, and 9th frames, this version will make your games faster and help you achieve a higher score.
The 3-6-9 default frames can be changed to any … Read More