Many students are involved in school sports and exercise at school, whereas others exercise outside of school on their own time. Students’ motivation to hit the gym vary from wanting to take a break from the drabness of school, work, and homework, to wanting to better themselves and stay in shape.

Among the 35 students across the grades who were polled, only 54.3% of students participated in school sports, with the other 45.7% challenging themselves with fitness. A majority choose to work out at the gym, while smaller percentages work out at school, at home, or elsewhere.

The gym can be a great place to unwind after a day of school. “I go to the gym to get away from all my stresses of the day to hit the volleyball around with my dad, and see improvement in myself from the first time I went.” Jaeger Randle said. Students are able to better their minds and bodies, while having fun.

Students also work out at school as practice for their sports. They are able to better themselves using the resources the school provides. “Not only am I working out at school and playing football,” Zachary Curry said, “I’m always doing something outside of school. I work to better myself with things like running a few miles after school or hitting weights.” 

Some do not have to leave the sanctuary of their home to get a workout, either lifting weights in a home gym, or jogging in their neighborhood. They take advantage of their surroundings to decompress and work on themselves. “I work out at home because it makes me happy!” Brooke Cranford said, “I like to feel good about myself, and I work out at home because I don’t have a lot of time to run to an actual gym. I normally start by stretching my body, then I have an abs routine, [and] arms and legs routines that I have put together! Then I end by stretching again. Working out and stretching is equivalent to a stress reliever for me, so I love it.” Simple workouts at home bring joy and could even benefit students who want to workout even if, for whatever reason, they don’t have access to a traditional gym.

Some work out in untraditional places, such as working on farms or participating in out of school sports. “In gymnastics you get a workout by just doing the skills but also we do something called “conditioning” which is like our workout time,” Naiomi Haughton said. “We can choose whether we want to do abs, legs, arms, etc. And, we also have a list for each of those categories for us to follow, if needed.”

There are many opportunities to unwind and workout as a teenager, and if you’re ever unsure whether or not or how to begin your fitness journey, just remember, “Just go for it!” Robyn Crittle said, “You’ve got nothing to lose and the worst that could happen is you get into shape, which isn’t even a bad thing!”