Staff, students find exercise pays off in long run

Exercise is known for its many benefits; it can positively impact your mental health, physical health and it can overall help you become a more rounded person.

However, when talking about exercise, where to start is a topic that is often neglected. Especially now, in the bustling years of high school, balancing home and school, and for some of us, work life can already be challenging. Adding exercising to that extensive schedule, in turn, can seem like a huge hassle, and for many, impossible. 

Even then there are still so many forms of exercise to choose from. Endurance building, muscle building, flexibility building—people find themselves struggling as they try to figure out where to start and what would be best for them. For those struggling to exercise more, it’s understandable why many just avoid exercising altogether. 

Frank Romanazzi, a weightlifting coach at the high school, along with P.E. teachers and coaches Parker Bolt and Brad Remmert, want to help students realize the importance of exercise and hope students implement their lessons into their everyday lives.

“We’re trying to develop healthy habits at a young age,” Romanazzi said. “Most of our population are students first, sometimes athletes, but also kids. Outside of the physical benefits I think we can help them develop healthy habits.”

For those struggling with time management, Romanazzi suggests just focusing on getting steps in. “It’s generic,” Romanazzi said, “But getting your steps in, especially when you’re sitting at school for most of the day, can go a long way.”

Students around the high school also expressed their passion for exercising. Senior Olivia Bartelt shared that she prefers to build her endurance through her running, “Having good stamina is super important for enjoying life. You can do whatever activities you want for much longer with a good stamina.” 

She also recommended for beginners to start out slow. “Work your way up so you don’t get miserable and injured. Start by running 10 minutes, and when that’s not so bad, go to 15 and so on.”

Sophomore Josh Schipper said he prefers to build muscle through weight lifting, stating that, “it can improve your everyday activities and can protect your joints from injury, which is especially important if you play a sport.” 

Although he prefers muscle building, he also said it’s important to do some flexibility training. “Adding a yoga day in between muscle building days will help you build flexibility and balance while doing the rest of the workouts during the week.”

Sophomore Addilyn Pence said that she finds all forms of exercise important. “I believe that every form of exercise has something to offer your health.” 

As for recommendations on how to start, Pence said to take your time and experiment. “Experiment with what makes you feel the happiest and healthiest because what works for one person doesn’t always work for the next.”

To those struggling, Romanazzi wants to remind people that, “exercising is a process. We live in the society of instant gratification, but developing fitness doesn’t work that way.”