When Susan Jensen’s daughter graduated from high school, Jensen became a college life guru for her daughter’s friends. Concerned about gaining the “freshman 15” pounds, the young women naturally flocked to Jensen, who, as a personal trainer with certifications from the American Council on Exercise, was well qualified to give advice.
Driven by the girls’ questions and the frustration of seeing young women using gym equipment incorrectly, Jensen began with a question: “How can I write a little guide that will help them understand the basics of nutrition and navigate through college life?” That initial inquiry eventually became a full-fledged book: College Basic Training.
Although she began by writing about dorm room snacks, the cafeteria and simple weight-free workouts, Jensen quickly realized that college difficulties spanned a much deeper range of topics than nutrition alone. While she was writing that initial chapter, Jensen’s daughter came home from school with some shocking eating disorder stories about a roommate, which left Jensen thinking, “There is no way I can write this book without addressing the huge problem with eating disorders.” So she began interviewing young women she knew, to add a personal touch to the book and to ensure she covered the range of topics that arise in college life. From media distraction to anxiety and depression, Jensen’s little book on nutrition morphed into a comprehensive college how-to guide.
The book itself, though, isn’t mammoth. “I did not want this to be a book that the kids would just throw on the bed and never read,” Jensen says. The chapters are concise, with a lighthearted tone. “You’ve got to find humor in college life,” she says.
Each chapter is supported with a personal anecdote from someone in Jensen’s life, which helps humanize sometimes difficult issues. Of course, parents have become a major audience for Jensen’s book as well. “Parents often read chapters [with their kids],” says Jensen, “and bounce things off of each other. It’s a great tool to open up communication.”
Because her own children were so instrumental in helping her write the book (almost all of the personal anecdotes come from their college-age friends), Jensen offered up a bit of advice to the readers of Plymouth Magazine that you won’t even find in her book—on how to be a good parent to a college student.
“If your kids start talking to you,” says Jensen, “let them keep talking. Whatever they say, don’t act shocked, don’t act appalled, because the minute you put your stamp of disapproval on what they say, they’re going to stop talking to you … [With my kids,] if I had concerns, I’d ask them questions about those concerns rather than showing disapproval.”
Some of the most difficult challenges, Jensen notes, are the most prevalent. Media distraction, with laptops and smartphones accompanying college students to class, has made time management a serious issue. “It’s a snowball effect,” Jensen says. Overconsumption of media means more work later on, lack of sleep, stress, exhaustion and an unhealthy lifestyle.
When it comes to hot-button topics, Jensen doesn’t shy away. She writes about how to minimize the risk of sexual assault, for example, all while insisting that young women are never culpable for the actions of others. “They need to know that if this happens to them, it’s not their fault—they need to know that someone pushing you over the boundaries is just not OK,” she says. “They need to be OK with finding help, rather than stuffing it and hiding it.”
College is a pivotal time in life: Students learn to strike out on their own and form lifestyle habits that they will carry with them for years to come. “Life is a series of decisions,” Jensen says, “and those decisions can make a huge impact on our lives. The better the knowledge, the better the decisions.”
College Basic Training is available at swanfitcoach.com, barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.
