Helping to educate students on how to live active and healthy lives, the high school’s strength training class teaches students how to move in a variety of different ways.
According to wellness teacher Joshua Wagner, strength training is a class that teaches students how to do a plethora of exercises.
“It is a combination of body weight exercises, weighted exercises and cardiovascular activities that are designed to improve how people move in everyday life,” Wagner said. “We don’t focus on sport-specific training; instead, we teach students proper technique and form so they can build fitness habits to carry with them for life.”
In 2010 Wagner started developing the strength training class by pulling from his extensive background in fitness and education.
“I didn’t want physical education to be limited to just sports. The goal was to give students an understanding of how to move properly and how to build exercise programs they can use for the rest of their lives,” Wagner said.
According to Wagner, the class has many workouts that challenge students while working different muscle groups and techniques.
“We take different types of exercises, body weight, weighted movements and cardiovascular work, and mix them in a variety of ways to keep workouts both challenging and effective,” Wagner said. “The focus is on teaching proper technique and pushing students to improve, while also making sure they understand how those movements help them in everyday life and long-term fitness.”
For senior Charlotte McNeill, the class has allowed her to learn more about nutrition and fitness, improving her movement and technique.
“I honestly really improved as a person. I didn’t really have a clue about how important nutrition and exercise really were, especially fueling my body before and after workouts. You don’t have to lift a lot. You just do what you’re comfortable with and build from there,” McNeill said.
According to McNeill, there have been many tough moments in the class.
This is because throughout the semester students are completing workouts that push their limits in a variety of different fitness areas.
“The workouts are just awful sometimes, and there are moments where you feel completely exhausted, and you can’t keep going, but it’s that one extra set or one extra rep when you’re hurting that really makes you better,” McNeill said, “because you learn how to push through discomfort and keep going even when it’s hard.”
For senior David Gabriel Simrak, the class has pushed the boundaries of what he thought he was capable of, allowing him to challenge himself in class.
“Strength training is a way to push myself and learn about my body, and it’s shown me that what I think is the end isn’t really the end, and that I can always go further,” Simrak said.
According to Simrak, the class has many tough moments, but through the camaraderie shared between classmates, everyone helps to support one another and persevere on.
“It was nearing the end of the workout, I had just finished the sled pushing and was about to start the final couple laps, and I was pretty tired, but my buddy Philip came up next to me and started motivating me, telling me to keep going and not give up,” Simrak said.